Someone gave me a gift- the Australian Cast Recording of Priscilla-Queen of the Desert. I am actually not really big into jukebox musical, well except XANADU..
I was listening to it.. I really love it! I was wonderin' If its coming to the USA? I did some research on the internet-it says its going to have a World Tour..any news? I am kinda interested....
Here's some of the costumes- kinda Lion King meets Drag show, but looks fun!
I LOVE this recording! I sort of fell into it about a month ago, and I can't get enough of it. Nearly every single song on the entire CD was or is a personal favorite of mine while growing up: Downtown, Both Sides Now, MacArthurs Park and all the disco smashes! It'd clearly be terrific if this production found its way to Broadway!
It's coming to London sometime in 2009, I had a chance to see the show when I was in Melbourne in March and I absolutely loved it with fabulous costumes, a good set, great songs and of course the bus itself.
Jaystarr, the cupcake costumes are from the Mac Arthur Park number ("someone left the cake out in the rain"). The "Gumby" costumes are from I Will Survive.
The show opened in Auckland, New Zealand this week.
I have a friend who worked on it in AU. Apparantly it's not very good. It would need a lot of work before coming. It'd also have to be a very specific tour. It's not exactly a family show. I don't think it'd be able to play places like Nebraska and Kansas. I'm not sure how much money it'd make.
The original cast, which has been running almost two years in Australia, opened in Auckland on Tuesday. Here is the review from this morning's paper:
Forget the fashion hype around Sex and the City, the costumes in the new stage show of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert really have to be seen to be believed.
Usually, if a theatre critic talks first about the costumes in the show, people worry that it must be a bomb, but when we're talking Priscilla it really has to start with the outfits.
And what costumes! At Tuesday night's opening all the preshow hype was justified with absolutely gobsmacking outfits that really have to be seen to be believed. Human paintbrushes, cupcakes with candles that really light up and a whole zoo of Australian wildlife are just some of the highlights in a show where the outfits are almost their own characters. But then it's little wonder, given that the film's Academy Award-winning design team of Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner are at the helm.
The good news is the script and songs are equally strong and they're faithful to the movie so fans will be able to relive their favourite moments of the drag queen road trip from hell.
All the highlights are there, from Adam (Felicia) singing opera and riding the big bus in the desert to Bernadette trading insults with the local yokels and, of course, the iconic set pieces with their outrageous costumes.
Of the leads, I was most impressed with Tony Sheldon, who played Bernadette with just the right amount of class, and Daniel Scott (Adam), who was perfectly bratty and looked just fantastic in all his dance numbers. Both were great at echoing what fans loved about the film but reinterpreting it for the stage show.
The musical arrangement was as clever as the costumes, with plenty of camp flourishes and some witty tongue-in-cheek humour adding extra sparkle. The band were very tight and on opening night blasted out of the pit like a force to be reckoned with.
Matching them note for note were Sophie Carter, Amelia Cormack and Josie Lane, aptly named The Divas, who sang most of the songs, which the characters lip sync to.
Incredibly talented, they made drag standards such as Say a Little Prayer, I Will Survive and MacArthur Park sound fresh, lush and gorgeous. They belted them out with a power unaffected by their over-the-top costumes or the fact that they were dangling metres above the stage for most of the three-hour show.
The original movie was memorable for three star elements _ the strong cast, the costumes and the surreal landscape of the Australian outback. One of the most iconic scenes saw one of the drag queens singing opera atop the bus. This was always going to be difficult to re-create in the theatre and it is one scene that fell a little flat due to lighting that failed to capture the energy of the original.
Nit-picking aside, the costumes look a million bucks and there are some neat theatrical tricks that will impress fans of the movie. It's a fun night out that combines quality special effects with solid acting, singing and dancing.
OMG - I love the music in this show. A friend of mine sent me the CD & I've been playing it for months. I hope it makes it's way to NY.
Coincidentally the upcoming Broadway show "Trip of Love", which just completed it's initial run in Japan, has about a half dozen of the same songs as "Priscilla." I just wonder what kind of controversy that will cause if they both land here around the same time.
< Patty Duke (the original Neely O'Hara) & me (March 8, 2010)
Having seen the show twice I just couldn't imagine it without Tony Sheldon's portrayal of Bernadette. I'd hope that should PRISCILLA find its way to the U.S. he is part of the production.
It is one of the funniest and most enjoyable nights you can ever experience. Heck, booking a flight to London to see it would be well worth it in my opinion. You will leave the theatre smiling.
"Funny, that's what they said years ago about La Cage."
Were there lots of families at that show in the 80's? I don't know, but I can say that La Cage had something Prscilla won't...George Hearn and a score by Jerry Herman. We'll see...
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