REVIEW OF “PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL”, STAGED BY OTAKI PLAYERS.
By Penelope Haines
Last night I attended the opening night of “Priscilla, Queen of the desert – the musical”. Did I enjoy it? Well that would be a resounding “YES”, and I can’t recommend this show highly enough.
It’s being staged at Southwards Museum Theatre rather than in Ōtaki, and when you realise the show involves a bus being on stage, you will understand why it couldn’t have been performed at Ōtaki Theatre.
It was a lovely evening of entertainment that began with the warm welcome afforded by the suitably glitzed up and glamorous front of house crew.
So, what is ‘Priscilla’ about?: “Two drag queens and a transgender woman head into the Australian desert …”. It almost sounds like the start of a bad joke, but this show is rich, generous and energetic. The plot is a tad thin, but it’s easy to overlook this in the energy, good humour and exuberance of the show.
Three performers are contracted to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs. They are an ill- assorted group, and there are significant tensions – in particular between the ladylike Bernadette and the young, crass Felicia. In the lavender bus named Priscilla, they head west from Sydney on an epic road trip, encountering a number of strange characters as they widen their horizons and step outside their comfort zones.
Yes, there are incidents of ugly homophobia, but the overarching theme of this show is tolerance. This good cheer, coupled with a great musical soundtrack of hits from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s makes for a gaudy, fabulous, funny and high-energy evening of entertainment.
The musical is adapted from the 1994 Australian cult comedy film ”The adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the desert,” and I was interested to see how this stage show would manage without the iconic vastness of the red Australian desert, such a feature of the original movie.
I needn’t have worried. This rollicking performance by the Ōtaki Players; the glitter, the sequins and lights; the fabulous (and over-the-top) costumes, and pulsating music more than make up for the loss of the dusty outback. The choreographers have done a wonderful job. The dancing being energetic, well-rehearsed and a pleasure to watch.
One iconic scene from the original movie remains – the aria sung from on top of the bus. In this version, Felicia mimes and lip-synchs while the operatic vocals are supplied by a lovely Hannah Chisholm.
The three protagonists are wonderful: Bernadette, is an unquiet soul at the start of the show mourning her lover and awaiting the conclusion of sex change treatments. Ably played by Corran Crispe, Bernadette is the matriarch of the group, providing comfort and acerbic comment in equal measure. Nor is she lacking in other strengths as she demonstrates with some swift knee action when threatened by a bunch of homophobes.
Mitzi , or Tick, as he’s known, has a secret family his friends know nothing about. The emotional heart of the musical is Tick reuniting with his long lost son. Robert Arnold is superb in this role. His voice and stage presence is strong and brings stability to the ensemble – although not at the expense of humour. It will take me some time to recover from the plot exigencies that allowed him to sing, straight faced, Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park”. For those of my generation, you will recall the opening lyrics are “Someone left the cake out in the rain …”
Laurence Boyd carries the role of Felicia, a masochistic, exuberant exhibitionist whose intemperate excesses lead the trio into danger. Laurence is an outstanding performer – stealing centre-stage every moment he stepped into the limelight. Singing, dancing and acting – he was superb.
The “Girls” camp it up with great elan, energy and exuberance, ably abetted by the Divas. Jessica Clough, Erin Lindley and Charlotte Kerrigan provided backing vocals and were an act in their own right. Their costumes were extraordinary, their singing precise, and Erin Lindley’s strong voice provided some important muscle to their supporting role.
Special mention must be made of Desree Morrison, who played Marion, Tick’s divorced wife. If everything else in this show is a celebration of excess – singing, dancing and costumes, then Marion’s role provided grounding and moral decency to the story. This is a woman who loves her son, and wants what is best for him. She accepts Tick for what he is, and insists he be involved with their boy.
Enormous kudos to Wardrobe and the costume designers. The sheer array of flamboyant clothing is mind-boggling and enormously enjoyable for the audience to see.
Similarly, the music. It was a small group on stage, but under the musical direction of Graham Orchard and Andrea King, they provided the soundtrack for the show. Given the enormous variety in tempo and style they had to deal with, this was no easy task.
And finally, when it comes to discussing staging – the elephant in the room. The Bus. Priscilla is a character in her own right. The circular stage allows an external and an internal view of the bus, and clever lighting allows us to imagine her painted in all her lavender glory.
This was the only part I felt failed. The painting scene achieved the appropriate hue as the actors painted the bus, – but in later scenes Priscilla had returned to being white. A small issue in the scale of things.
Overall? A triumph for Ōtaki players. It would be hard to find a dud note in the entire production.