Bringing wit, warmth, and staggering talent to every performance, it’s a safe bet that if musical icon Marcia Hines is involved in a project, it’s going to be unmissable.
Having wowed audiences around Australia with the original production ‘Velvet’, ‘Velvet Rewired’ brings Country Mike (played to perfection by Tom Sharah) to Velvet, a club loosely based on the infamous Studio 54 for some disco fuelled, high-energy self-discovery. “It’s about a guy who’s trying to find himself. He finds himself through songs and certain experiences that he encounters on stage. The story gets told through song, music, and dance, and some of the physical acts,” Marcia Hines says.
The show itself is close to Marcia’s heart, and something she’s thrilled to see audiences respond so passionately to. "It’s a bit of joy, great memories, and laughter. . . It’s got really great physical acts in it, really great music, some great dancing, and hopefully an evening to be shared and enjoyed by all!"
“It’s my Manager’s show, and he kinda created it around me, so while I’m not the star, I’m one of the very integral parts of it.” Marcia is the type of performer quick to turn conversations away from herself and towards her co-stars, and is thrilled to work with Tom Sharah again. “Tom, he’s just outstanding, you know? I worked with him in 'Shrek' some time ago in Brisbane, and he’s an outstanding performer. I have this thing about working with people who let you learn so much about yourself and your performing, and Tom is one of those people. I look forward to the relationship we build on the stage.”
Marcia is returning to the role of The Diva, the larger-than-life soul queen of 'Velvet'. “Diva is kind of like the spiritual mother. I’m there when things happen in the club, and it’s all done through song.”
Unsurprisingly, music is a vital element of the show, and for Marcia it’s just as vital in life off the stage. “So much about life is song. Some of our greatest memories are songs, they shape your life, they become the tapestry of your life as well. Even me, even though I write them, I’m always quite taken aback by songs that ring true to my heart, or that I can relate to. That’s the great thing about music, it seems to speak to everybody in a different way, but it speaks to everybody regardless.”
While many performers have a favourite song in a show, Marcia loves them all.
“I get to sing ‘You’ at the very end, which is my song. But I like all the songs, because I was able to choose them. There’s an Earth, Wind and Fire song in the show, and if anybody knows about them, their songs are terribly complex. That’s the one I kinda panic about, you know? If you’re a good performer, you should panic, but you gotta keep your nerves at bay as well.”
Image © Dan O'Brien
Marcia is a big fan of finding ways to challenge herself in performances. “Life is challenging, and I think, just to keep it real and bring some excitement to people, that’s really important to me. I hadn’t worked with circus acts before, and they’re such a great, caring bunch of people. They know so much about their physicality, and you learn so much about your own. That was one of the greatest things about getting involved in ‘Velvet’ – it was another side of the industry I didn’t know about.”
“It’s great to look out and see people’s faces light up when they hear songs that meant something to them or still mean something to them. It’s so great to look into the audience and see families going out with each other, and just celebrating, enjoying, and making a memory they can talk about for some time.”
Velvet Rewired 2022-23 Australia Tour Dates
From 16 November – Wynnum Spiegeltent, Wynnum Fringe (Brisbane)From 22 December – Sydney Opera House
From 8 February – Canberra Theatre Centre
From 16 February – Gluttony (Adelaide Fringe)
From 22 March – Theatre Royal (Hobart)
From 12 April – Townsville Civic Theatre
From 19 April – Civic Theatre (Newcastle)
From 26 April – Athenaeum Theatre (Melbourne)
