Tony Sheldon

I am new to this board but I wanted my first post to be a tribute to Tony Sheldon, who left the London production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical on Saturday night after 4 years and over 1000 performances as Bernadette. The show changed my life. I first went to see Priscilla as I liked the film and wanted to see how the musical would compare but I ended up going back time and time again because of how happy the show made me feel and purely to see Tony's performance. I am sure anyone else who has seen the show would agree that he is absolutely phenomenal. From the moment he steps out on stage you cannot take your eyes off him and cannot believe how perfectly he plays the role. I thought Terence Stamp did a good job in the film but, as Tony has said himself, Terence's take on Bernadette was gloomy and there was none of the sparkle and glamour that Tony injects in to her. Tony makes her funny and confident and joyful, as I would imagine a famous Les Girl star would be, but he also makes Bernadette a totally real. You don't believe it is a character on stage, you believe it is a person. A person who has lived a difficult life but has always fought hard to come out on top and whose struggles have only made her stronger. The interactions between Bernadette and Adam/Felicia are especially moving as you really feel it is Bernadette finally being able to be a mother to a child she couldn't have. Tony hits every note in Bernadette's characterisation - the tough side when she is protecting her friends from the outbacks prejudices, the soft side when she is consoling Adam and falling in love with Bob, the serious and heart breaking side when she is talking about how being a transexual is "always good for a supper invite" and the funny side when she is holding her own against Adam's put downs and bitchiness. Bernadette is a woman and Tony's ability to capture her femininity was astounding. I often heard people who were sitting near to me in the theatre say, when talking about Bernadette, "isn't she marvellous?!" and "isn't she wonderful?!" - people geuninely thought Bernadette was played by a real woman and that is because Tony plays her as a real woman. I am so fortunate to have been able to see such an incredibly talented actor in his West End debut and only wish I had stumbled across Tony's work sooner but I hope to be able to see him again, whether it be in Priscilla on Broadway, or in another role in Australia or hopefully London again. I would love to see him play a totally different role one day as he has said in interviews that people forget he has been an actor for 40+ years and has played Shakespearean characters among many others and tend to associate him with a dress. I do not want to be one of those people. I will always say that I found his work through Priscilla and through his amazing portrayl of Bernadette but I hope to be lucky enough to see him on stage again but in trousers next time!! I hope he gets his chance to shine on Broadway as he deserves it more than anybody else. He has dedicated the last 4 years of his life to Priscilla and Bernadette and he should get every form of recognition possible. The West End has had pure gold in it's midst and now New York should be allowed to witness his incredible talent.

well said! Love that man! He deserves to be on Broadway! He's absolutely the nicest man at the stagedoor! Missing you & your Bernadette already Tony!

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Well said. Did anyone attend his final performance on Saturday? Any reports?

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Jodiew thanks for posting this … I feel exactly the same way but you’ve expressed it so beautifully.

I hope you get another chance to see him perform … what a gorgeous tribute you have given to a wonderful actor.

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Great first post Jodie, hope this is first of many posts for you.

Agree about 'Tony Sheldon' he is/was a revelation in what is a very poor show.

Mama look at POL's avatar. Doesn't that say it all?

Khashoggi,

The final show had a great atmosphere, it was obvious lots of people were there to give Tony Sheldon a fond farewell. He got a lovely round of entrance applause which delayed his first few lines. It was also a nice touch when the "Excuse me, class coming through" line received cheers and applause. I was at the matinee as well and there were more moments then when the leads and some of the ensemble looked a bit teary - by the evening they seemed much more composed and gave it their all. As I've said on another thread, I was a bit surprised at the fact that there were no flowers / speeches at the curtain call, but I've heard it was because 11 cast members were leaving in total and it would have taken too long.

The standing ovation started as soon as the three leads were raised to the top of the bus and went on for several minutes through the reprise and the bows. I was so glad I was there, having been at the very first preview on 10th March. As JodieW says above, the West End has had gold in its midst this past year in Mr Sheldon.

EDIT: I have a short clip of the final bows from Saturday which I will try to upload later.

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Updated On: 3/9/10 at 05:48 AM

Sorry to hear about your weekend being marred Mama, hope you get at least some of the important stuff back. And sorry we couldn't seem to catch each other - I did look out for you in the Dress Circle before the show started but obviously didn't spot you by the front stalls in the interval. I was wearing turquoise but decided to dispense with a matching boa because I ended up with a bright blue neck last time I wore one!

I had heard Tim Rice was there, dancing along at the end. It was a fantastic atmosphere, even more so than usual, and it definitely seemed like an actual closing night. I suppose it was for many and, much as I love the show and wish the new cast all the luck in the world, I have no plans to return to the Palace any time soon (so many other shows still to see)! NYC next year may be a different proposition, especially if Mr Sheldon gets to make his well-deserved Broadway debut.

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Updated On: 3/9/10 at 07:56 AM

I imagine it won't be long before your ipod is handed into police, when they see whats on it!!! making light of something horrible and truly sorry to hear that happen to you.

Before I had an iPod, I once had a CD wallet stolen from the car - I was annoyed, of course, but I wish I could have seen the thief's face when he found out it was just full of CD-R copies of cast recordings, plus a few film soundtracks.

Sorry to hear about that though, Mama, but glad you had such a great time anyway!

Thank you for all of your kind comments.

MamasDoin'Fine - I am so sorry to hear that your belongings were stolen after you had such a wonderful time on Saturday. I hope you have managed to get your Passports and credit cards replaced without too much trouble.

Tony's last show was indeed stunning. I spent the whole evening in floods of tears but I still enjoyed the show and loved the fact that he got such a wonderful reception from the minute he stepped out.

I hope Priscilla continues to do well in the West End as I do think it is a marvellous show but Tony's departure will leave a void that, in my opinion, is impossible to fill. Let's hope Broadway can have the honour of having him on one of it's stages before too long - if they pass up the chance they'll be very foolish!

Jodie

I haven't seen Don Gallagher's interpretation of Bernadette for myself but, from what I've seen and heard so far, I suspect she will be quite different from Tony Sheldon's character.

The "class coming through" line was added during the London run and it occurs in the Broken Hill bar scene when Bernadette is trying to force herself between a bickering Tick & Felicia to enter the pub. It's one of my favourite lines, it almost always gets a laugh and it seems completely apt for both the character and the actor.

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That's so awful. I can only think of one possible upside: at least you were spared Love Never Dies!

I had much the same experience when a CD wallet was stolen from my car once- damn I hope that thief sat through the whole of my Marie Christine cd!

It was particularly annoying because disc 1 of my London Follies double cd was in there, and know you can only get the highlights!

Mama I hope there's not too much hassle with re-arranging your documents and stuff. May the thieves be given 5 years... at a David Essex musical.

PS 'covered in pink boas'- a little de trop n'est-ce pas?

Updated On: 3/10/10 at 03:17 AM

Mama, how awful about your stuff Glad you got home okay!

I have blogged about the first night of new cast at Priscilla here: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THEATRE_TALK_Priscilla_Sparkles_At_Cast_Change_While_Jersey_Boys_Prepares_20100310.