Priscilla Queen of the Desert the musical

Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical

The show must go on, in this NSOS are to be praised for their tenacity. Pulled the day before opening March 2020 due to covid, rescheduled then cancelled in 2021, also dealing with inevitable cast changes, they kept the faith bringing us a funny, fabulously glamorous extravaganza.

Based on the famous 1994 film with the book by Australian film director Stephan Elliot and Allan Scott. This Juke-box style musical is chocked full of dance floor favourites from the get-go.

The story tells of two drag queens and a trans-woman contracted to perform a drag show in Alice Springs, a remote resort town in the Australian desert. Setting out from Sydney in a bus named “Priscilla”, the three friends encounter a variety of characters together with all manner of stereotypical reactionary homophobia along the way.

Our three road trip Queens are Jordan Drakeford as Tick, who comes alive as his drag alter ego Mitzi. His friend the sassy Felicia, played superbly by Nathan Adams, who has a love/hate relationship with Tick’s friend Bernadette, a transgender woman portrayed by Paul Deakin. Their extremely barbed witty dialogue is the root of much of the bawdy comedy in the show.

When these three were not singing live, performing the traditional drag-art of Lip Sync, they have their bedazzling Divas, Hannah Pearson, Katy Ernest and Stephanie Richardson singing the well-known classics from the disco heydays.

So many of the cast worthy of a mention, Miss Understanding the MC played by (Crystal Decanter) Matthew Worsdale, whose Tina Turneresque performance was fabulous; John Stone brought a light tenderness as Bob the fan of the glory days of drag, his wife Charlie Marlow almost stole the show as Cynthia, the Ex-Exotic dancer, completely hilarious.

The cast numbers were glitzy full-on showstoppers, performed with real pizzaz, great movement, spot on harmonies. Costumes throughout were completely dazzling, oh so many changes.

Director/choreographer Martyn Knight says it’s been quite a journey bringing the show to the stage. Bring it, he and his expert team certainly did. MD Kelvin Towse certainly put his thirty years’ experience to the fore, musicians and singers shone; everyone knows these songs so well, so to pull them off live takes a great deal of effort.

This show has a resonating universal message of acceptance, behind the mask and the make up people are more alike than they are different. We all have dreams and aspirations, and friends who are as honest as we sometimes need them to be.     

A little contrived? Maybe. That said Priscilla is a real feel-good show, something we’re all in need of right now.                  

Well worth the wait.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.