Richard Marx looking forward to return engagement at Stuart's Lyric Theatre

Friday, November 23, 2012

By Colleen Wixon
Posted November 23, 2012 at 4 a.m.


Richard Marx is doubly excited about coming back to Stuart's Lyric Theatre next week.

The Grammy-award winner is performing two evening shows this year, a follow to last year's sold-out event at the Lyric.

"It's a beautiful little place, and we had a really fun show there. I'm psyched that we're coming back and doing two nights this time," said Marx, known for 1990s hits such as "Endless Summer Nights," "Right Here Waiting" and "Hold On To the Night."

During his more than 30-year musical career, Marx has sold more than 30 million albums and recorded 14 No. 1 singles. Songs Marx penned for other artists also have translated into hits. The country single "Long Hot Summer" Marx wrote for Keith Urban went to No. 1 last year. He won a Grammy award for "Dance with My Father," which he co-wrote with Luther Vandross.

Marx performs at 7 p.m. Nov. 28 and 29.

As with last year, Marx is continuing his solo acoustic style tour. But he promises this show will have a few new elements for those who saw his performance last year.

"When I first started doing this solo acoustic tour, I really thought I wouldn't do it past six months maybe, and I would cover as much ground as I could in six months. It was much more fun than I ever imagined," he said.

But after a year, Marx said he started returning to the same venues.

"To places where we've already played, I make it a point to reshuffle the set. I still do the majority of hits, but I do a different set list, swap out for different songs," Marx said. "It's not a completely different show, but it's 50 percent reshuffled."

Last year, singer Olivia Newton-John surprised the audience by joining Marx on stage. Marx said Newton-John, who has a home in Jupiter, happened to be in town and wanted to visit with him. Right now, he said he isn't planning on any special guests.

But audiences might hear songs from Marx's first Christmas album, released in late October. He said he will begin performing some of the Christmas songs in shows after Thanksgiving.

"If it's pre-Thanksgiving, you risk nausea," he said. "You risk audiences throwing up, and I don't want that. I hate when the audience vomits. It's OK if the performer on stage vomits, but if the audience vomits, that's not good."

Marx kicked off his 16-city tour Nov. 14, with several stops set in smaller cities such as Stuart and Coral Springs. He said while he doesn't map out the venues personally — that's left up to his managers — the larger cities often don't have the type of venue that works well for his style of show. Usually, the facilities are too big, he said.

Venues such as the Lyric are the perfect size, he said.

"I've had some of the best nights I've ever had in my life on the road in towns I've never heard of. I'd never heard of Stuart, Florida, before, but it's an amazing venue. That's a total win-win for me," Marx said.

Another bonus for him? He has six Florida performances scheduled in late November and early December.

"It's just killer. It's perfect routing. I get to be away from Chicago in the dead of winter for a week," he said.

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