Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

          When I first heard that they were making a stage musical out of one of my favorite cult classics, Priscilla, I cringed in fear; as I usually do when movies are being converted to stage form.  However, I can honestly say that I have never had this much fun in a theatre before.

          This show is jam packed with heart, amazing music, wonderful performances, mind-blowing costumes and just utter, utter fabulousness. It is a roller coaster of non stop energy and laughs.

          The show’s semi-narrators are, as I refer to them, the flying divas. The three proud Marys open the show by flying in from the ceiling, in full glitz and glamour, and astound you with a rousing rendition of “It’s Raining Men” while below them some very attractive dancing boys shake their groove thing in rainbow zoot suits.

 These ladies pop up often during the show, mainly while the bus is traveling or our actors are “transitioning” and sing such hits as “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, “Hot Stuff” and “I Say a Little Prayer”. They always show up with pounds of glitter, eye shadow, sequins and foot high maroon wigs and of course lots and lots of attitude (in a good way!).

The baton is then passed to another diva, known as Miss Understanding (naturally), who is the Emcee club our antagonistic protagonist glumly performs in. I mention her/him specifically because his/her impersonation of Tina Turner is stunning….as are his legs, and just as comparable.

Will Swenson (the token straight actor in the show) portrays our first drag queen, Tick/Mitzi with elegance and heart, and while his voice is not a pure as the rest of the cast, it does have personality and isn’t (completely) pitchy. Upon receiving a phone call from his wife (yes, you read that right….though if you’ve seen the movie none of this is a surprise!) that she is ready for a vacation from raising their 8 year old son (yes, you read that right….though if you’ve seen the movie none of this is a surprise!) and offers him and three friends a job performing in her casino in the middle of nowhere Australia.

Tick/Mitzi calls his best pal and confidant Bernadette, whom he discovers is mourning the death of her lover. What follows is the best funeral sequence ever conceived. This sounds morbid, but it is absolutely wonderful. It is the funeral you imagine when fantasizing the funerals of Elton John, Liza Minelli and Liberace (not that you fantasize about their funerals, but if you did….just sayin). It’s the kind of celebration of a life that any good Queen worth their weight in boas prays for.

Tony Sheldon portrays Bernadette and his is one of the most transformative and amazing performances I have had the pleasure of witnessing. He not only acts this role, he lives this role on stage. He is so immersed in the trueness of this character that you have no doubt believing in and falling in love with him/her.

Next we meet Adam/Felicia who has the fiercest body of his fellow actors, but also the least to offer as far as acting. He’s not terrible, just very forced (much like Guy Pearce was in the movie, so maybe it was a choice) acting. Lovely voice and terrific dancer, but nothing near the amount of hear the rest of the cast wears on their rhinestoned sleeves.

The set is mostly suggested by small pieces, but not in a way that you ever doubt where or you are or are distracted. The lighting is breathtaking. The bus itself is a 20ft LTD display and it is a joy to witness it being “painted” right in front of you as well as several light shows, sky displays and sunrises/sunsets that are presented.

The featured characters such as Cynthia (think dirty ping pong!), Bob and Shirley are hilarious as well, and the ensemble is an adrenalin army with tireless energy, that portrays many characters, both in and out of drag. They feature the awesome choreography in a way that makes you want to get up and dance along, is it weren’t for those bad knees.

I can’t start in on the costumes, or this would be 900 pages long. Suffice it to say, the costumes are worth the price of admission 100 times over. Even if you have seen the movie, they are wonderful to behold in person. 

The music, also, defies mere mortals descriptions. They are songs you’ve heard a million times on the radio, CD, MP3 or 8-track, but with this powerful blend of voices, you ain’t heard ‘em like this.

I have seen this show three times. I say this with no shame. I will continue to see this show as many times as possible, because for all the crap I have sat through in my life, it is wonderful to sit through a show that is JUST PLAIN FUN!!!!!