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Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical

Author: Luke Spencer

Information

Date
28th April 2017
Society
Port Talbot Musical Theatre
Director
Keith J. Clarke
Musical Director
Matt Hampson
Choreographer
Keith J. Clarke

When one has seen such an iconic film as Priscilla one wonders if a stage musical following the journey of three female artistes will live up to expectations. Will the music be right, will it capture the essence of the film, will the company onstage do it justice? Well, I have to say that all those questions were answered so very positively! From the moment the band began, under the excellent direction of Matt Hampson, I knew the audience were in for a treat.

The set was cleverly designed and moved with ease, the ensemble were slick and focused, the lighting was at times sublime and the costumes… well what can be said? They were magnificent and the entire company coped so well with some very fast and complicated costume changes, ably assited be a fantastic team backstage.

The three ‘Divas’, Danielle Davies, Catherine Hooper and Vicky Milne, were great and worked vocally very well together in their numbers. There were fine performances by Bryn Stone as Bob, Helen Caudle as Shirley, Michael Roberts as Frank and the Pastor, Catherine Borwn as Marion and a lovely heart-warming performance of Benji by Finn Radford.

Aled Rees was an excellent Miss Understanding and special mention must go to an hilarious performance of Cynthia by Antionia Williams, who had the audience laughing from the minute she came on stage.

However, this show relies heavily on three main characters and if these are miscast then the show has the potential to be a complete flop. I was thrilled by all three of the three principal ‘girls’! Carlton Gronow gave a fabulous performance as Tick, aka Mitzi, and he took the audience with him on his own personal journey to see his ex-wife and son. Joseph Crabbe was an outstanding Adam, aka Felicia, and brought the perfect amount of camp humour to the role and working every single amazing costume he donned. The performance of the night for me came from Hefin Carwyn Rosser as Bernadette. I was at times touched with sadness for this character, moved with emotion, doubled with laughter and above all so very impressed by such a real and thoughtful portrayal of this difficult role. The three worked so well together it was like they had been on stage with each other for years.

Congratulations to the entire company and thank you so much for an evening of wonderful entertainment.

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