Thespi-honest #2: Priscilla Queen of the Desert
I am a certified theatre nerd. Ask me about almost any show and I guarantee I can give you some facts or opinions about it. With all of this knowledge and memory I’m going to deep dive into every show I’ve seen specifically in NYC and maybe adding some memorable tours and other performances. Yesterday I covered my first show in NYC, but today I’m going to talk about maybe one of the most memorable nights I’ve had in the theatre.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Where: Palace Theatre
When: August 2011
Favorite Song(s): Material Girl, MacArthur Park, & We Belong
During my first trip to New York, I was allowed to pick the shows for the weekend. I decided that these shows should be one that everyone in my family would enjoy. I settled on a new show at the time, Priscilla Queen of the Desert. All I knew was that it was about three men who travel across Australia to reconnect with family and that all the songs were pop music. My family was sold. We walked to the theatre and the box office gave us four seats in the front row.
Now for anyone who actually knows the show or the movie would know that one key thing was missing from my synopsis of the show, the men who travel cross-country are drag queens. Act 1 came and went, my mother and I were loving every single second. This show was a spectacle from beginning to end. My father was amused but, my 12-year-old brother was having none of it. He was uncomfortable and to this day hates musicals and the fact that I made him sit through this show. Act 2 began with a song where actors from the show come into the audience and pulled people on stage to dance. One actor came down to the front row and said to my brother, “You have not smiled this entire show”. He reached out his arm, grabbed my mother and pulled her up. It was hysterical watching my mother square dance on a Broadway stage.
I love this show! I am not lying when I called this show a spectacle. This was the first time I really appreciated costumes and set design. These costumes were extravagant and beautiful. Nine years later and I still remember the flip flop dress, the Gumby, cupcake, and paintbrush costumes. If you have never looked at the costumes from this production I highly recommend looking at them.
Priscilla, besides the fun and glitter (lots and lots of glitter), has such a great story attached about accepting who you are, and not caring what other people think. It sounds trite now but at the time it was such a great message to hear. It’s so funny. One of the characters uses those one-line zingers that you wish you could come up with in a moment’s notice. The music uses all pop songs which is super fun and campy. Even though the songs don’t necessarily further the plot they are still a part of the character and are relevant to the actions and motivations in the musical.
Finally, this was the first show I saw with the original Broadway company. The three leads; Tony Sheldon, Will Swenson, and Nick Adams were phenomenal. They all portrayed fully realized characters who were grounded during this over-the-top musical, and their voices were great!
After seeing the show, I listened to that cast album so much. When it came on tour a few years later my mother and I took so many of our relatives to see it. It’s such a fun show!
