69. Drag it up!
Musical Review: Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
At: The Palace Theatre, London
Cast: Jason Donovan, Oliver Thornton, Tony Sheldon
WARNING: POST CONTAINS SPOILERS.
I was lucky enough to see the musical 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert' for my friend's birthday celebrations this week. Based on the Australian film of the same name, it features 3 drag queens who travel across Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs in an old bus named 'Priscilla'. The stand-out character for me was the brilliant Bernadette; the aging transexual full of witty one-liners, portrayed perfectly by Tony Sheldon. The wickedly fun Felicia played by Oliver Thornton was also very similar to how I remember him/her in the film. The tension and banter between these two characters is the predominant source of humour in the show. The other main character, Tick who is otherwise known as Mitzi, brings them together with his quest to perform in a casino in Alice Springs. The other characters do not know his real reason for wishing to embark on this journey; he has a wife and a son in Alice he has not seen for many years.
I have just one negative point to make: I thought Tick's storyline was slightly out of place. The uplifting songs, brilliantly extravagant costumes and jokes made by the characters juxtaposed against a somewhat serious storyline didn't work together in my opinion. In the film I remember seeing more of the character's emotions which didn't really translate across to the musical. It does however, successfully deal with issues such as homophobia and feelings of being an outcast from society.
The strength of the musical is that it is incredibly fun and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face! The songs are upbeat, catchy and guaranteed to have you singing along (at least in your mind!). The sets are beautiful, I particularly liked the inside of the bus 'Priscilla' complete with palm trees, banana bean bag and flamingos!
The highlight though was definitely the incredible costumes. They were designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner who also designed the costumes for the film! My favourites were: the cupcake dresses, the Marie Antoinette-influenced dresses which created the shape of the Sydney Opera House, the extremely glittery dress worn by the opera singer who sang on the shoe on top of the bus, the amazing headpieces and the animal influenced outfits at the end.
To summarize, it was a thoroughly enjoyable show, one I highly recommend!
I have just one negative point to make: I thought Tick's storyline was slightly out of place. The uplifting songs, brilliantly extravagant costumes and jokes made by the characters juxtaposed against a somewhat serious storyline didn't work together in my opinion. In the film I remember seeing more of the character's emotions which didn't really translate across to the musical. It does however, successfully deal with issues such as homophobia and feelings of being an outcast from society.
The strength of the musical is that it is incredibly fun and is guaranteed to put a smile on your face! The songs are upbeat, catchy and guaranteed to have you singing along (at least in your mind!). The sets are beautiful, I particularly liked the inside of the bus 'Priscilla' complete with palm trees, banana bean bag and flamingos!
