Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The musical based on the 1994 film, debut in 2006 in Sydney and later transferred to the West End. The show follows the journey of two drag queens and a transgender woman as they travel across Australia in an old bus named Priscilla.

Alyn Johnson as Tick/Mitzi gave an outstanding performance as the ‘married with a son he didn’t know’ gay drag queen. He managed to tread the difficult balance between femininity and boyish masculinity with thoughtfulness and wit. The scene with Benji was emotionally spot-on. Take a bow Alyn, you captured the very soul of this role

Jonathan Coombs as Bernadette retained just enough masculinity to make sure we didn’t forget this characters roots but was feminine enough to ensure we related to him as a woman. His mannerisms and expressions were spot on and he radiated warmth and humour which gave a lovely depth to his character.

Kurt Richards-Sterl as Adam/Felicia was a whirlwind in heels and brought the perfect amount of camp humour to the role. Kurt played the bitch Felicia with a look and naturalness that was credible.

This trio had a lovely humorous rapport which made their friendship utterly convincing.

An special mention needs to be given to the 3 divas; three exceptional singers, Ceri Goodwin, Lois Beard & Rushelle Flowers, who provided the backing group and musical narration, offering their powerfully voices to the drag queens’ numbers and helping to move the story on.

All the supporting principals performed their roles with such joyfulness, as did the company, and their enthusiasm and energy carried over into the audience.

The costumes were excellent, from the headdresses and wigs of the drag queens to the outrageous paint brushes and cupcakes of the ensemble they provided a feast of colour and extravagance.

This production that was a challenge well met by a clearly confident and well rehearsed company and it received a great and well deserved rapturous reception from the audience.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.