Velvet Rewired (Starring Marcia Hines) Opens In Melbourne This Month

What genre of music has more power to uplift, excite and get your body moving more than disco? There simply isn’t one, and there is no singer more equipped to be your glittering tour-guide through Boogie Wonderland than Australia’s own Queen of Pop, Marcia Hines.

Although truthfully, with a career spanning over five decades, it’s impossible to pin down Hines’ royal status to any one genre, with a repertoire of pop, disco, gospel and much more hidden up her elegant (and sparkling) sleeves.

The Star Observer was lucky enough to speak with Ms Hines before she arrives in Melbourne for the final leg of her national tour with the smash-hit show Velvet Rewired, the latest career highlight in a long love story between Australian audiences and our adopted Pop Queen.

Continuation Of Velvet

Velvet Rewired is the continuation of the smash-hit sensation Velvet which was first staged in the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2015 and received a nomination for the ARIA award for the Original Cast Recording. Now coming to Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre, Velvet Rewired brings us back into the story of ‘Country Mike’ (played by Tom Sharah). Without wanting to give too much away, Ms Hines told us that “Velvet Rewired is a story of redemption.” Country Mike’s story of self-discovery happens on the backdrop of Velvet, a club in the style of Studio 54, a found family full of inspiring performers “and the assistance he gets from the denizens there to find himself again ten years after we last saw him as a young man.” The cast is chock-full of breathtaking talent, performers at the peak of their field bringing their passion and art to one glorious love letter to disco.

Returning for round two of this story of self-discovery and found family is “The Diva”, the spiritual mother of the club played, of course, by our own Marcia Hines. The latest in a long line of breathtaking performances from an artist Australia has called our own since she first moved here at just 16 years old. Velvet Rewired doesn’t require audiences to have seen Velvet, Ms Hines says it’s “just a really good ride and a top night out that we all need at this point in time. There are so many amazing and unusual talents in the show.” Audiences will be treated to a range of songs chosen by Ms Hines, including her own 1977 smash hit single ‘You’. “As a performer you have to try and find something new every time you sing a song that’s been a part of your legacy. It’s fun looking into the audience and seeing their reaction to a song they may have grown up with.”

Director Craig Illot brings his unique skill at directing across genres, ranging from classic dramatic theatre through to musicals and opera. This wealth of experience enables him to create an environment where genuine emotion and vulnerability blend seamlessly with jaw-dropping dance, circus performance and musical numbers.

After a rough couple of years for the performing arts community, you can just tell that the performers are absolutely relishing the feedback from audiences, and the joy of performing with each other. The returning cast features ‘The DJ’ (played by Musical Director Joe Accaria) and new additions to the family Marc “Fullout” Royale, aerialists Danny Golding and Harley Timmermans, vocalists Jacinta Gulisano and Sasha Lee Saunders and even international roller-skating acrobat duo Sven and Jan!

Last Stop Of The Tour

When speaking about the experience of this national tour Ms Hines said that “the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne is the last stop on what has been a seven-month tour of Velvet Rewired and we have been blessed with wonderful audiences and full houses. Everyone leaves feeling joyous and uplifted and this is a combination of the music and the circus performers and the joy we have in performing. I hope your readers join us and enjoy the performance as much as we enjoy performing for them.”

With only 15 shows between Wednesday the 26th of April and Sunday the 7th of May, head to The Athenaeum Theatre’s website to book tickets before they’re all gone! For more information about the show, the talented cast and crew, and some fabulous clips and reviews, check out Velvet Rewired’s website, and get ready to be dancing in your seat!