#1
Posted: 10/28/10 at 6:19am
The reviews are in and they love her!
The Toronto Star:
'Toe-tapping honey of a show is no drag'
by Richard Ouzounian
**** (out of four)
Let's get one thing straight (although that might be an unfortunate choice
of word in this case): Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, which
opened Tuesday night at the Princess of Wales Theatre is not a drag in any
sense of the word.
This eye-popping, ear-pleasing, toe-tapping honey of a show moves like a
cyclone from start to finish and will leave you gasping for breath on
numerous occasions, thanks to its spectacular spectacle, its raunchy humour
and its virtuoso performances.
But there's another way in which the show isn't a drag.
Although its three leading characters are men who dress as women (as are
most of the ensemble), the ultimate message you come away with is not one
about gayness, or cross-dressing, or any garden variety of sexuality.
The magic in Priscilla Queen of the Desert is that it tells the story of a
trio of individuals who have been cheated of love in this world and need to
find it desperately.
Bernadette is an aging transsexual, whose latest lover, a 25-year-old stud
named Trumpet, just choked on his peroxide fumes. But as played by the
inimitable Tony Sheldon, she emerges as a character of the greatest dignity.
She has the poise of Queen Elizabeth II, if only you could picture the
monarch with a gift for trash-talk and lip-synching.
And when she finally stumbles into love, your heart swells along with hers.
This is a performance of sheer brilliance, underplayed to perfection, with a
world of feeling and comic timing underneath.
Also doing first-rate work is Will Swenson as Tick, the one with a secret:
he was married once and had a child. In fact, he's leading his buddies
across the desert in the battered bus that gives the show its title, to get
to know his son better.
Swenson is totally masterful, showing us the campest of queens at one moment
and then a father with an aching heart the next. His wounded eyes are worth
the price of admission.
Then there's Nick Adams as Felicia, the wild young thing of the trio, with
his passionate devotion to Madonna, his vicious tongue and his
self-destructive ways. I've never seen a more dazzling smile on an actor and
the fact that he uses it to mask a character filled with massive self-doubt
makes it even more impressive.
One also must pause to praise C. David Johnson as Bob, the straightest of
straight men who finds a way to accept and even love this strange trio.
Johnson earned my undying respect when he calmly ad-libbed his way through a
technical snafu on opening night by saying "They spent a lot on the bus," to
thunderous laughter and applause.
The costume designs of Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner are the other stars of
the evening, a never-ending display of colour, camp and humour, while the
direction of Simon Phillips and the choreography of Ross Coleman display
everyone in the best light.
Some people might argue that the show moves from an exclusively gay
perspective, but that's like saying Fiddler on the Roof is only for Jewish
audiences.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical is a grand, glorious and gorgeous
piece of musical theatre that will fill the heart of anyone who has ever
loved - or wanted to be loved.
**********************************************************************************
The Toronto Sun:
'Priscilla, Queen' musical is aces
by John Coulbourn
There are eight buses a week out of this town -- and you should be aboard
one of 'em.
We're not talking the Red Rocket or even Greyhound, however.
We're talking a bus named Priscilla, also known as the Queen of the Desert,
made famous in the hit movie that bore her name, as in Pricilla, Queen of
the Desert.
Now, she's back on the road, playing in musical theatre form, at the
Princess of Wales Theatre, where -- having conquered Australia and London's
West End -- she launched herself Tuesday on the road to Broadway. The
production sported enough glitz and feathers to re-upholster a decade worth
of Pride Parades, and more six packs than your local beer store.
Adapted by Stephan Elliott (who wrote and directed the movie) and producer
Allan Scott, Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: The Musical is true to its
roots in much the same way as the old Classic Comics were to the novels that
inspired them -- which is to say, it hits all the high notes of the tale in
a highly visual way. Anyone expecting nuance or subtlety should know to
avoid drag shows, in much the same way they no doubt avoided Classic Comics.
Classic Comics, however, never came with soundtracks and it is the music in
this particular jukebox musical that fans are almost certain to enjoy -- a
medley of '80s hits from Madonna (Like a Virgin), Cindy Lauper (Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun), The Weather Girls (It's Raining Men), Gloria Gaynor (I Will
Survive) and Alicia Bridges (I Love the Night Life), with a bit of swing, a
bit of opera and a bit of country thrown in for good measure.
Some of it is lip-synched, performed by Jacqueline B. Arnold, Anastacia
McClesky and Ashley Spencer and mimed by drag queens determined to make it
their own, but a lot of it is actually sung as opposed to merely channelled.
For those unfamiliar with the turf, Priscilla tells the highly episodic
story of three drag queens -- Bernadette, an aging transsexual played by
Tony Sheldon; Tick, a reformed bisexual played by Will Swenson; and Adam, a
young gay Lothartio played by Nick Adams -- travelling across the Australian
Outback to Alice Springs in the bus of title. At the end of their trip,
there is a gig at the local casino, and a reunion between Tick and his young
son, conceived, it seems, back in the days when his gate swung both ways.
Bernadette, for her part, is grieving the loss of a lover, while Adam has
long had a fantasy involving a frock, a rock (in this case Uluru, formerly
known as Ayers Rock) and a -- well, we'll leave the rest to your
imagination.
Along the way, the trio encounters and fabulously faces down a few demons,
both personal and societal, with Priscilla playing inadvertent matchmaker
when she breaks down and requires the ministrations of a courtly mechanic
named Bob (C. David Johnson) who's about to make like a ping-pong ball and
bounce right out of his marriage.
Under the direction of Simon Phillips, with choreography by Ross Coleman,
this is the granddaddy of all drag shows, dressed up like its grandmammy,
thanks to the costumes of TimChappel and Lizzy Gardiner, who in the main
eschew the female impersonation of 'classic drag' in favour of a sort of
performance androgyny.
Reviewed here in preview, this is, not surprisingly, a show that delights in
the outrageous and the flouting of convention -- but it also remains oddly
chaste for all that, a nod perhaps to too tender middleclass sensibilities
that can ultimately make or break a musical like this.
All four of the principals thankfully prove to be very dab hands at fleshing
out sketchy characters, supported by a hardworking ensemble featuring
performers such as J. Elaine Marcos and Keala Settle, each of whom comes
close to stealing the showwith small but memorable turns.
Shiny as a zirconia sunburst, and deep as a dime, Priscilla turns theatrical
convention into theatrical confection at every turn -- a show that gives you
a good time but still makes you think you might want to take her home to
meet mama anyway.
Assuming, of course, that mama has a broad mind and a great sense of
humour -- or a very good pacemaker.
The Toronto Star:
'Toe-tapping honey of a show is no drag'
by Richard Ouzounian
**** (out of four)
Let's get one thing straight (although that might be an unfortunate choice
of word in this case): Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, which
opened Tuesday night at the Princess of Wales Theatre is not a drag in any
sense of the word.
This eye-popping, ear-pleasing, toe-tapping honey of a show moves like a
cyclone from start to finish and will leave you gasping for breath on
numerous occasions, thanks to its spectacular spectacle, its raunchy humour
and its virtuoso performances.
But there's another way in which the show isn't a drag.
Although its three leading characters are men who dress as women (as are
most of the ensemble), the ultimate message you come away with is not one
about gayness, or cross-dressing, or any garden variety of sexuality.
The magic in Priscilla Queen of the Desert is that it tells the story of a
trio of individuals who have been cheated of love in this world and need to
find it desperately.
Bernadette is an aging transsexual, whose latest lover, a 25-year-old stud
named Trumpet, just choked on his peroxide fumes. But as played by the
inimitable Tony Sheldon, she emerges as a character of the greatest dignity.
She has the poise of Queen Elizabeth II, if only you could picture the
monarch with a gift for trash-talk and lip-synching.
And when she finally stumbles into love, your heart swells along with hers.
This is a performance of sheer brilliance, underplayed to perfection, with a
world of feeling and comic timing underneath.
Also doing first-rate work is Will Swenson as Tick, the one with a secret:
he was married once and had a child. In fact, he's leading his buddies
across the desert in the battered bus that gives the show its title, to get
to know his son better.
Swenson is totally masterful, showing us the campest of queens at one moment
and then a father with an aching heart the next. His wounded eyes are worth
the price of admission.
Then there's Nick Adams as Felicia, the wild young thing of the trio, with
his passionate devotion to Madonna, his vicious tongue and his
self-destructive ways. I've never seen a more dazzling smile on an actor and
the fact that he uses it to mask a character filled with massive self-doubt
makes it even more impressive.
One also must pause to praise C. David Johnson as Bob, the straightest of
straight men who finds a way to accept and even love this strange trio.
Johnson earned my undying respect when he calmly ad-libbed his way through a
technical snafu on opening night by saying "They spent a lot on the bus," to
thunderous laughter and applause.
The costume designs of Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner are the other stars of
the evening, a never-ending display of colour, camp and humour, while the
direction of Simon Phillips and the choreography of Ross Coleman display
everyone in the best light.
Some people might argue that the show moves from an exclusively gay
perspective, but that's like saying Fiddler on the Roof is only for Jewish
audiences.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical is a grand, glorious and gorgeous
piece of musical theatre that will fill the heart of anyone who has ever
loved - or wanted to be loved.
**********************************************************************************
The Toronto Sun:
'Priscilla, Queen' musical is aces
by John Coulbourn
There are eight buses a week out of this town -- and you should be aboard
one of 'em.
We're not talking the Red Rocket or even Greyhound, however.
We're talking a bus named Priscilla, also known as the Queen of the Desert,
made famous in the hit movie that bore her name, as in Pricilla, Queen of
the Desert.
Now, she's back on the road, playing in musical theatre form, at the
Princess of Wales Theatre, where -- having conquered Australia and London's
West End -- she launched herself Tuesday on the road to Broadway. The
production sported enough glitz and feathers to re-upholster a decade worth
of Pride Parades, and more six packs than your local beer store.
Adapted by Stephan Elliott (who wrote and directed the movie) and producer
Allan Scott, Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: The Musical is true to its
roots in much the same way as the old Classic Comics were to the novels that
inspired them -- which is to say, it hits all the high notes of the tale in
a highly visual way. Anyone expecting nuance or subtlety should know to
avoid drag shows, in much the same way they no doubt avoided Classic Comics.
Classic Comics, however, never came with soundtracks and it is the music in
this particular jukebox musical that fans are almost certain to enjoy -- a
medley of '80s hits from Madonna (Like a Virgin), Cindy Lauper (Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun), The Weather Girls (It's Raining Men), Gloria Gaynor (I Will
Survive) and Alicia Bridges (I Love the Night Life), with a bit of swing, a
bit of opera and a bit of country thrown in for good measure.
Some of it is lip-synched, performed by Jacqueline B. Arnold, Anastacia
McClesky and Ashley Spencer and mimed by drag queens determined to make it
their own, but a lot of it is actually sung as opposed to merely channelled.
For those unfamiliar with the turf, Priscilla tells the highly episodic
story of three drag queens -- Bernadette, an aging transsexual played by
Tony Sheldon; Tick, a reformed bisexual played by Will Swenson; and Adam, a
young gay Lothartio played by Nick Adams -- travelling across the Australian
Outback to Alice Springs in the bus of title. At the end of their trip,
there is a gig at the local casino, and a reunion between Tick and his young
son, conceived, it seems, back in the days when his gate swung both ways.
Bernadette, for her part, is grieving the loss of a lover, while Adam has
long had a fantasy involving a frock, a rock (in this case Uluru, formerly
known as Ayers Rock) and a -- well, we'll leave the rest to your
imagination.
Along the way, the trio encounters and fabulously faces down a few demons,
both personal and societal, with Priscilla playing inadvertent matchmaker
when she breaks down and requires the ministrations of a courtly mechanic
named Bob (C. David Johnson) who's about to make like a ping-pong ball and
bounce right out of his marriage.
Under the direction of Simon Phillips, with choreography by Ross Coleman,
this is the granddaddy of all drag shows, dressed up like its grandmammy,
thanks to the costumes of TimChappel and Lizzy Gardiner, who in the main
eschew the female impersonation of 'classic drag' in favour of a sort of
performance androgyny.
Reviewed here in preview, this is, not surprisingly, a show that delights in
the outrageous and the flouting of convention -- but it also remains oddly
chaste for all that, a nod perhaps to too tender middleclass sensibilities
that can ultimately make or break a musical like this.
All four of the principals thankfully prove to be very dab hands at fleshing
out sketchy characters, supported by a hardworking ensemble featuring
performers such as J. Elaine Marcos and Keala Settle, each of whom comes
close to stealing the showwith small but memorable turns.
Shiny as a zirconia sunburst, and deep as a dime, Priscilla turns theatrical
convention into theatrical confection at every turn -- a show that gives you
a good time but still makes you think you might want to take her home to
meet mama anyway.
Assuming, of course, that mama has a broad mind and a great sense of
humour -- or a very good pacemaker.
). See you in NY!!
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