Photos by Jeanne Bransbourg and Adam Moffitt

On Different Stages: An Interview with David Marino

by Sienna Edwards

Montréal’s David Marino has seen many stages in his life as a performer, but his role as Maxence in Théâtre du Lido’s 2025-2026 production of Les Demoiselles de Rochefort in Paris might be his biggest yet. The stage musical started as a movie musical starring Catherine Deneuve and François Dorléac, directed by Jacques Demy. It is a saturated delight filled to the brim with skilled choreography that surrounds the story of two sisters falling in love with different men visiting Rochefort, France. Maxence is a young navy soldier who yearns for the muse of his portrait. Marino has been singing since the age of six, and since then has become a finalist on La Voix Québec, done countless solo jazz shows in New York City and Montréal, and starred in several theatre productions such as Sweeney Todd (Opera Maine, 2025) and Spring Awakening (Contact Theatre, 2024). “Every time I went on stage, I loved it,” Marino says about performing as a child. “I don't know if you've seen Billy Elliot, but there's a line where he's like, ‘it's like electricity.’ It's kind of similar to that; it just feels nice to be on stage.”

Marino is a multifaceted performer, but his newest role in Paris shows how adaptable one has to be to succeed in a performance career. “It was mostly the French skill that was the most difficult, I'm not a native French speaker…and then having to do a role where I'm not only French, but I also am a Parisian and have to speak without an accent.”

Marino states that speaking to his costars and immersing himself in everyday life in Paris has helped his French skills, and though his accent–which is neither Parisian nor pure Québécois–sticks around, everyone has been “very nice” about it, even during interviews.

Besides language, the show has also tested him physically. Marino says that building the stamina to do the same show every night has been an adjustment, but it's also been helpful for future jazz performances. “Now that I know that I can do that, I'm gonna be more confident in terms of doing shows every night.” Since it is a high-profile production, long press days have also been an adjustment. He describes his most gruelling day: “[...] a really long radio show, and then they put you in a bus, and we had to go to this TV station, and then get on the bus and go back, and then do the show. That was really long, but also fun.”

However, the role itself doesn’t physically demand much change from the actor’s usual capabilities: “During my song, [a] bar descends, and I have to jump on top of the bar, and then I do a little jazz dance for, like, 10 seconds. That's the only dance I do.” While the ensemble performs elaborate choreography, Marino describes Maxence as “in [his] own universe.” However, he is very open to dancing roles in the future: “I take dance classes–I love to dance. I wouldn't say I'm a professional dancer to the level of some of these dancers, but I'd love to be able to dance in a show.”

Though the role of Maxence isn’t too dissimilar to Marino’s usual routine, there are still new things to discover within it. As opposed to when he played Melchior in Spring Awakening with a less melodic soundtrack, he felt he “belonged right away into the universe of the show” with Michel Legrand’s compositions. However, Legrand’s intervals and phrasing were something he had to work particularly hard on. “[Maxence’s] song is one of the hardest songs to sing because there's so many interval jumps, so to get that accurately is not easy.” Marino tells me he had vocal lessons and practiced independently in order to perfect the routine. “I'm so used to being David Marino up there, just singing my songs at my concerts, and that's so different from playing a character…when you're in a musical, you have the director and the choreographer and you're more told what to do and where to go. As opposed to, when I'm doing a concert, I'm my own boss. That's different, too, and also fun. It's more of a collaboration.”

What motivates Marino to keep improving? Keeping things fresh. “There's always something to learn–something new to discover with the way I approach the song or the text. Just reminding myself to be open to new things and to be open to whatever hits me on stage that night is what keeps me inspired. Obviously, I have to stay within the confines of my track but within that, there's always room for new things.”

David Marino’s debut EP, “The Debut Sessions,” and upcoming performances can be found at davidmarinomusic.ca.