One of Australia’s most popular leading ladies is “looking swell” as the inimitable Dolly Levi – and thrilled to be starring opposite her real-life husband.
Dolly Gallagher Levi, the irrepressible, meddling matchmaker from Yonkers in Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly!, is one of the most colourful female roles in musical theatre, and a character that Marina Prior has had her eye on.

Now, to her considerable delight, Prior is about to star in a new production of the ever-green musical for The Production Company in Melbourne, directed by Gary Young. “It’s been a dream of mine to do this iconic show, and after the body of work that I’ve done I feel that this is the right time to do it. It’s one of those fortuitous things. It’s been offered to me at a time when I feel ready for the challenge and excited to take it on, and that doesn’t always happen so I’m really happy about it,” says Prior.

^{Marina Prior}

One of the leading ladies of Australian musical theatre, Prior landed her breakthrough role as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance in 1983, leaving university to take...