OBSERVER: Coo-ee to Marie
Congratulations to Trek Musicals, founded in 2016 by Graham Ford, to produce and tour new Australian musicals, on showcasing Coralie McKenzie’s A Coo-ee To Marie, a tribute to Australia’s Queen of Irish song – Marie Narelle.
With co-directors Darren Rosenfeld and Michael Try, Coralie takes us back to the early twentieth century on a journey to acquaint us with one of Australia’s famous but forgotten internationally acclaimed lyric sopranos, Marie Narelle.
The Ormond Uniting Church was an acoustically perfect venue to enjoy the beautiful voices without amplification. Huge kudos to musical director Graham Ford for coaching the heavenly a capella performances of My Lagon Love and Morning Prayer.
Another highlight for me was the stunning, well-balanced duet Sainted Mother by Kimberly Colman as Marie Narelle and Jenny Wakefield playing Eva Mylot.
Their professional experience shone through in their solos: Kimberley’s Goodbye and Jenny’s Abide with Me.
Irish melodies are so accessible and singable to the audience; it would have been lovely to have some more sing-alongs. Singing along to I’ll Tell Me Ma was most enjoyable.
It was a delight to hear Mother Machree sung by a true tenor, thank you, Darren Rosenfeld and the ‘Cherry Ripe’ quartet was divine.
The beautiful costumes supplied by Village Costuming deserve a special mention, notably the exquisite gowns worn by Marie and Eva.
All in all, it was a pleasantly enjoyable afternoon listening to age-old Irish ballads very rarely sung and sung with exceptionally good voices.
Listening to Marie Narelle’s history was most interesting and informative.
I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of this famous Australian icon until this performance.
I was pleased to learn that another production in tribute to Marie Narelle is in the works.
For information on this and future productions, go to https://trekmusicals.com/
Review by Lucy Nicolson