Feature: MARIANNE PHOENIX RETURNS TO THE STAGE WITH “SINGIN’ FROM MY SOUL”

After decades of performing and making Las Vegas home, Marianne Phoenix is stepping back into the spotlight with Singin’ From My Soul, a deeply personal show built around 15 songs that speak to love, life, and the experiences that have shaped her.

“It feels like I’m alive again!” Phoenix says. “Once a performer, always a performer.”

Asked why now was the right time to create the show, Phoenix offers an answer as candid as it is empowering. “I’m going to give you a straight answer here!” she says. “Because I finally had enough money to produce my own show, and that’s a first!”

That independence has allowed Phoenix to shape the production on her own terms, carefully choosing music that reflects her journey.

The title Singin’ From My Soul captures the heart of the project. “Singin’ From My Soul… singing is my second language,” Phoenix explains. “I have so much to say from everything that I’ve learned and loved in my life.”

Selecting the material took time. Phoenix spent a year determining which 15 songs would best express what she wanted to share with her audience. “It took me a year to decide which songs would be the very best to deliver my message of what life means to me,” she says.

Phoenix has been performing since 1971 and, at 72, remains drawn to the lush, romantic sounds of the 1970s, particularly the soft pop and cabaret music that informs the show. “My heart lies in the lush love songs of days gone by,” she says.

Her musical sensibility was shaped early. She grew up with parents who loved music and dancing, while her mother performed as a singer during the World War II era. “I was exposed to gorgeous music through my parents, who loved music and loved dancing,” Phoenix recalls. “My mother was a fine singer back in the World War II days.”

Time has also changed the way Phoenix hears and interprets those songs. Love and hope now carry a different weight than they did earlier in her career. “With so much life experience and such depth of love in my life, there are songs I’ve been singing forever that now inspire me in completely different ways,” she says. “I could never have imagined love growing so much deeper and more meaningful. Now these songs have become vital messages that I want to be remembered by.”

Las Vegas provides another important part of Phoenix’s story. She has spent decades in the city’s entertainment community and considers it home. “I met the love of my life here. My grandchildren were born here. My friends and fellow performers from my era—most of them are still around—and they mean the absolute world to me.”

That love story is intertwined with music.

Phoenix is married to Whitney Phoenix, the longtime Las Vegas pianist who is celebrating his 28th year performing at Bellagio. Their shared life has naturally made music part of their relationship, and Whitney plays a central role in Singin’ From My Soul as the show’s musical director and arranger.

“It has been my complete honor to be the wife of the Las Vegas Piano Man,” Marianne Phoenix says. “He plays those 88 keys straight from his heart, through his fingers. Bellagio is home for us.”

Of working with her husband, she adds, “Whitney is my musical director and arranger. Everything musically in the show reflects the beautiful creativity of this extraordinary, loving and talented man.”

For Marianne and Whitney Phoenix, the occasion is a double rainbow for two Las Vegas performers. Marianne brings her music to the stage while Whitney celebrates 28 years beneath Bellagio’s iconic Chihuly glass ceiling. Together, they call it “An Evening of Heart, Music and Gratitude.” Whitney’s 28 years at Bellagio represent a remarkable chapter in his career, while Marianne’s show brings her decades of performance into an intimate musical portrait.

Asked whether being onstage again has reminded her of anything she had forgotten about herself, Phoenix pauses before giving a characteristically direct answer.

“My honest answer is no,” she says. “I have always known who I am, and it sure is good to be back!”

That self-assurance comes through in the show. Marianne Phoenix isn’t trying to recreate an earlier version of herself; she is presenting the music from the perspective of who she is today. “I am absolutely grateful for the opportunity to shine again,” she says. “This show is my legacy.”

More than anything, Marianne Phoenix sees Singin’ From My Soul as a personal story that audiences may recognize as their own. The result is a musical evening built around what Marianne Phoenix believes connects us all: love, hope, memories, relationships, and the passage of time.

“It’s going to be a show like no other,” she says. “Seriously, it’s my story and I am certain that it is also the story of every member of my audience.”

After more than five decades as a performer, Marianne Phoenix has plenty of stories to tell. This time, she is telling them through the songs that have stayed with her.

She is singing them from her soul.