MARS HILL, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Mary Mikels is a versatile songstress out of Raleigh, N.C. with a love for hymns, showtunes and patriotic standards.
Mikels is performing two benefit shows in collaboration with the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre of Mars Hill, with proceeds to be split between SART and the ABCCM Veterans Restoration Quarters, a volunteer-led veteran support organization.
The first Mikels’ show was performed at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 14 at the Owen Theatre in Mars Hill. The second will be held at 4 p.m. this afternoon, Saturday, March 15.
Mikels has been performing onstage since 2021, but she’s been singing far longer than that, including on “American Idol.”
“I’ve been singing ever since I can remember. I don’t remember not being able to sing,” Mikels mused. “In fact, I sang pretty much everywhere I went, every chance I had.”
As she grew up, Mikels was introduced to gospel, jazz and Italian opera, all of which she incorporates into her shows. However, musical theater is what captured her heart from a very young age. Show tunes continue to occupy the center of her performances today.
“I had received different musical soundtracks, one of which being “The Sound of Music” for my 7th birthday, and now that is my favorite musical of all time,” Mikels shared. “When I started singing professionally, I really kind of dove into musical theater on Broadway.”
Mikels did not follow the typical path to the stage. She was born blind and with hearing loss in one ear, but neither would be “a problem for Mary-a,” to paraphrase a track from “The Sound of Music.”
Not only was the young artist boundlessly dedicated to her craft, Mikels was also born with the gift of perfect pitch.
“Perfect pitch is something that I used to think that everybody had. I didn’t know that there was such a thing as perfect pitch when I was little. I thought everyone knew what note was what. I thought everyone knew that this is a G,” Mikels sang. “And this is a C, and this an E-flat.”
Perfect pitch is ability to detect the exact note of a sound. Before she knew what musical notes even were, Mikels was aware that different pitches had to be called something.
“I used to listen to the blower outside the window when I was really little and I was fascinated that it would go mmmm,” Mikels hummed. “I thought, that thing has got to have a name. It’s got a name. What is mmmm? And so, then when I started learning notes, that’s when I thought, oh, that’s what that is.”
For the record, the leaf blower was singing “different notes on different days.”
“It depends on where those leaves were, I guess,” Mikels laughed.
Mikels will be bringing her voice to SART with a wide array of music. For audiences who attended her show at the Mars Hill theater last April, there may be a few familiar tunes, but Mikels promised a variety of tracks for her hour and fifteen minute performances.
“They’re gonna hear a little bit of “Phantom of the Opera,” some Italian opera, a little bit of “The Sound of Music,” definitely some patriotic, and, of course, some little bit of Christian songs,” Mikels teased. “They’re gonna hear all of it.”
The benefit shows are pay-what-you-wish, with tickets available at sartplays.ludus.com.
“Because we have a generous group of donors which include First Citizens Bank and Rick Bagley that agreed to underwrite the concert, every dollar that we make from the concert and the ticket sales go straight to either SART or Veterans Restoration Quarters,” said Will Ezzell, managing artistic director of SART. “The concert is pay-what-you-wish, so that if people feel led to give a generous donation, they can, but that we aren’t creating any barriers to access for anyone to be able to experience this wonderful thing.”
For more information about Mary Mikels’ SART shows, visit www.sartplays.com/liveonmars.