Priscilla is still queen of the musicals
Priscilla: Queen of the Desert Until tomorrow Bord Gais Energy Theatre Verdict: Strewth, it’s fair dinkum!
IF you don’t come out of a performance of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert with a huge smile on your face, then I think you need to question if musical theatre is for you.
This is one of the most feelgood shows on tour at the moment, and the fact it also promotes inclusivity, understanding and compassion is simply a bonus.
Telling the story of two gay men, one with a wife and child, the other flamboyant and fun, and a transgender woman, it’s refreshing to think it was bringing conversations into the global psyche when the film was released 25 years ago, if somewhat sad to think many of the conversations still need to be had.
The story revolves around Tick, a drag queen working under the name Mitzi Matosis, who gets a call from his wife, who seems rather understanding about her husband’s homosexuality. Their eight-year-old son is, however, getting curious about his dad and she’d like to tie in a reunion with a stint on stage at her casino in the Australian outback.
Tick reluctantly agrees and manages to convince his friends Bernadette, a newly-bereaved transgender woman, and Adam, known on stage as Felicia, to accompany him. They buy a battered old bus, name her Priscilla and set off to Alice Springs.
Along the way they make a number of pitstops in country bars, where they meet an array of hateful characters, who subject them to homophobic and transphobic abuse. Though hurtful, the experiences help strengthen the bond between them.
There are also good eggs too, in particular mechanic Bob, whose wife Cynthia also performs one of the funniest and most outrageous scenes in the whole show. I won’t spoil it!
Priscilla wouldn’t be complete, of course, without a floorfiller soundtrack and with girls’ night out heavyweights such as It’s Raining Men, I Will Survive, Hot Stuff, Venus and What’s Love Got To Do With It? alongside a plethora of other toetappers, you’ll be wriggling in your seat all night.
Adam’s utter dedication to Kylie Minogue is a central theme — one I suspect was devised by co-producer Jason Donovan, although maybe that’s just my inner teenager’s wishful thinking. Whoever thought of it, many of her hits also feature, never a bad thing.
Joe McFadden is excellent in the lead role, but he is outshone by the utterly gorgeous Nick Hayes as Adam/Felicia and Miles Western as Bernadette, the latter bringing wonderful compassion and stoic determination to the character.
Special mention must also go to the three Divas, who deliver much of the music, and the wig and wardrobe department, who clearly have overactive imaginations and underactive censorship. The outfits are utterly fabulous.
This is a riotous, hilarious, glamorous story of fabulousness and friendship. Go and see it.