Priscilla Queen of the Desert

What a tremendous celebration of glitter, fun and energy by the talented cast and creative team of Lamproom Musical Theatre Company.  Priscilla - Queen of the Desert is a glorious journey through the Australian Outback with three Sydney-based drag queens, Tick, Bernadette and Felicia, whose travels are not just a way of getting to their gig in Alice Springs, but are also an opportunity to explore the country and learn more about themselves and their friendship.

The show really is a laugh a minute with wonderful jukebox songs which had all the audience dancing in their seats.  The ensemble were full of enthusiasm and embraced their various roles, routines and production numbers.  Musical Director, Pete Lane, had supported the cast to give their all in the songs.  Energetic choreography created by Joe Hodgkinson had the ensemble and Drag Chorus moving with passion to the well-known pop numbers.   Well done to the Drag Chorus for their work in high heels and in some challenging costumes.

Joe Hodgkinson as Miss Understanding strutted her stuff with confidence and quick retorts (a word of warning to the audience - Don’t be late!).  Ellen Holiday was super as Marion, the deserted wife of Tick and mother of Benji and Beverley Jennings was hilarious as Shirley the drunken bar owner.  Ellie Simmons should run a masterclass on stealing the moment with a cameo role.  Her Cynthia was amazing - it was fast, furious and wonderfully comic whilst still holding on solidly to the character as well as managing to emit ping pong balls on demand.  The impromptu round of applause from the audience was very well deserved.

Benji was played on Wednesday night by Harry Thomas who did a fabulous job particularly when singing ‘Always On My Mind’ with Tick.  He captured the open authenticity of a six-year-old waiting for a visit from his father which was wonderful.  Harry certainly has a bright future ahead of him in Musical Theatre.  Friends who watched Alfie Gosnay take the role of Benji on Tuesday night also commented on his excellence in the role so it’s important to commend his performance as well.

David Cooper played Bob giving him a lovely and genuinely caring nature leaving the audience sure that he would look after Bernadette.  The Divas, Lisa Kendall, Ruth Lockwood and Amy Vickers, have strong voices which were put to great use with the powerful songs.  They also looked stunning and moved elegantly.

The show is demanding for the three leads and they certainly carried it off.  Robert Gordon as Felicia demonstrated his great dancing skills, camping it up with style and finesse as well as a raft of innuendo.   Lee Caddick captured the mannerisms of drag queen Bernadette sharply putting in their place anyone who dared to cross her.  The role of Tick was taken by Jacob Whitehead whose strong vocals were well used and who engaged the audience in his anxieties and worries sensitively.  The three worked well together, bouncing off each other with wicked pace and making the most of every opportunity that the show offers.

There was great use of the space, bringing a huge bus onto the Lamproom stage.  The title role, Priscilla, was played by a bus! Which was brilliantly decorated with totally on theme ideas and was well managed with her various twists and turns by both cast and crew, as well as little costume change of her own.  Lighting and sound was excellent whilst props and stage furniture was moved swiftly around the stage.  I should also recognise the work the crew had done to install Priscilla in this limited space.  Charades really is the place for the hire of the sensational costumes needed for this show and it’s important to congratulate the dressers for their efforts in undertaking some very quick and complicated changes.

The show was a wonderful celebration of the brash, the glitz and the glamour, but there are also some very sensitive themes and emotional moments contained within the narrative and these were well handled by the cast.  A standout for me was the enjoyment everyone on stage was getting out of the performance and this totally came across to the audience.  Congratulations to Director, Ashley Booker, for his creative vision (and bravery) in bringing this huge show to Lamproom – it really was an absolute joy complete with high heels, sequins and canons of rainbow glitter.

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