Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a jukebox musical with book by Australian film director-writer Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, using well-known pop songs as its score. Adapted from Elliott's 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical tells the story of two drag queens and a trans woman, who contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian desert. As they head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla, the three friends come to the forefront of a comedy of errors, encountering a number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, while widening comfort zones and finding new horizons.
Produced by Allan Scott in coalition with Back Row Productions, Michael Chugg, Michael Hamlyn and John Frost, the Simon Phillips-directed and Ross Coleman-choreographed original production of Priscilla debuted in Australia at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney in October 2006. Having had a successful run in Sydney, the production transferred to Melbourne in 2007 and then Auckland, New Zealand in 2008, before returning to Sydney for a limited engagement. The Australasian success of Priscilla provoked a two-year strong West End production in addition to its Bette Midler-produced Broadway debut in 2011. While the original production received one out of its seven Helpmann Award nominations, Priscilla was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical as well as two Tony Awards, winning these awards in the costume design categories.
Synopsis
Act I The drag queen Mitzi Mitosis – stage name of Anthony "Tick" Belrose – is performing at a club ("Downtown" [Australia and London]/"I've Never Been to Me"; "It's Raining Men" [Broadway]) when his estranged wife Marion, calls in for a favour. While Tick is offstage, fellow drag queen Miss Understanding performs her own number ("What's Love Got to Do With It?"). From the phone in Tick's dressing room, Marion reveals that she needs an act for a few weeks at her business in distant Alice Springs, Australia. Tick is at first reluctant, but Marion informs him that part of the reason she's asking is because their now eight-year-old son Benji wants to meet his father ("I Say A Little Prayer"). Tick confides in another fellow drag queen Farrah, before deciding he will leave for Alice Springs. Tick then calls a friend, a transgender woman named Bernadette to join him but Bernadette's husband has just died. The pair meet at the funeral ("Don't Leave Me This Way"), where Bernadette agrees to join him. Tick also asks a friend Felicia – stage name of Adam Whitely – to come with them ("Venus"/"Material Girl"), with Bernadette taking an immediate dislike to his show-off performance style. Nonetheless, the newly formed trio buy a "budget Barbie campervan" they nickname "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" ("Go West"). Tick informs them that the trip is a favour to his wife, but does not tell them it is also to meet his son who wants to see him ("I Say A Little Prayer (Reprise)"). As the journey to Alice Springs begins, Adam angers Bernadette after making transphobic jokes about her life before transitioning. Later the group arrives at a bar in Broken Hill, in full drag, and start a bar dance party ("I Love the Nightlife"), but when they return to the bus learn that the townspeople wrote hateful statements on the bus in spray paint. Tick is very upset, but Adam and Bernadette comfort him ("Both Sides, Now"/"True Colors"). While on the road, Adam practices his lip-syncing as Felicia sitting in the giant high heel on the roof of the van ("Follie! Delirio vano è questo! Sempre libera (from La traviata)"). The next morning, Priscilla breaks down and Adam buys lavender paint to erase the vandalism ("Colour My World"). They manage to get the locals of another town on their side and meet Bob, a mechanic from a small town nearby who agrees to help fix Priscilla. The group celebrates that they've found people that accept them ("I Will Survive").
Act II The second act opens with a group of bogans singing ("Thank God I'm A Country Boy"). Bernadette talks with Bob and learns that when he was in Sydney, he saw her when she was a young "Les Girl" ("A Fine Romance"). The two begin to grow feelings for each other. Later in a bar ("Thank God I'm A Country Boy Reprise"), the trio is about to perform ("Shake Your Groove Thing") when Cynthia, Bob's wife, interrupts their act by "popping" ping-pong balls ("Pop Muzik"). After this, the trio leaves, leaving Bob to wonder about his feelings for Bernadette ("A Fine Romance (Reprise)"). All of a sudden, Bernadette asks if he wants a free ride back to his real home, in which he agrees ("Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"). Later when they arrive, Adam dresses up like a woman to try to meet men ("Hot Stuff"), but ends up getting chased and nearly becomes the victim of a hate crime until Bernadette rescues him by kicking one of his attackers. Later as they arrive in Alice Springs, Tick reflects on the trip after someone literally leaves the cake out in the rain ("MacArthur Park"). As another act performs first ("Boogie Wonderland"), the trio gets ready to perform a variety of songs that they sang or lip-synced on their journey ("The Floor Show"). Afterwards, Tick finally meets his son, Benji, who accepts his father's sexuality and lifestyle ("Always on My Mind/I Say a Little Prayer") and Adam gets to perform his own solo Madonna hit, ("Like A Prayer" [Broadway]; "Confide in Me/Kylie Medley" [Australia and West End]), his favorite singer. Afterwards the gang talks about their plans after Alice Springs, and realize they can't leave each other ("We Belong"). They go off stage together and the company performs a medley of songs to close the show ("Finally (Finale)").
Cast information Original castsCharacterAustraliaWest EndBroadwayOriginal UK tourOriginal US tour10th Anniversary Australian tourAnthony "Tick" Belrose ("Mitzi Mitosis")Jeremy StanfordJason DonovanWill SwensonJason Donovan, Noel SullivanWade McCollumDavid HarrisBernadette BassengerTony SheldonRichard GrieveScott WillisTony SheldonAdam Whitely ("Felicia Jollygoodfellow")Daniel ScottOliver ThorntonNick AdamsGraham WeaverBryan Buscher-WestEuan DoidgeBobMichael CatonClive CarterC. David JohnsonGiles WatlingJoe HartRobert GrubbThe DivasDanielle Barnes, Sophie Carter, Amelia CormackZoe Birkett, Kate Gillespie, Emma LindarsJacqueline Arnold, Anastacia McCleskey, Ashley SpencerEmma Kingston, Laura Mansell, Ellie LeahEmily Afton, Bre Jackson, Brit WestCle Morgan, Samm Hagen, Angelique CassimatisMiss UnderstandingTrevor AshleyWesley SebastianNathan Lee GrahamAlan HunterNik AlexzanderBlake AppelqvistMarionMarney McQueenAmy Field, Yvette Robinson*Jessica PhillipsJulie StarkChristy FaberAdele ParkinsonCynthiaLena CruzKanako NakanoJ. Elaine MarcosFrances Mayli McCannChelsea ZenoLena Cruz***Farrah / Young BernadetteDamien RossSteven CleverleySteve SchepisRegan ShepherdTravis TaberAdam NovielloShirleyGenevieve LemonDaniele CoombeKeala SettleEllie LeahBabs RubensteinEmma PowellJimmyKirk PageTristan TempleJames Brown IIITaurean EverettFrankBen LewisJohn BrannochMike McGowanLeon KayDavid KochBenjamin**Joshua Arkey, Alec Epsimos, Rowan Scott, Joel SlaterGene Goodman, Red Walker, Cameron Sayers, Darius CapleLuke Mannikus, Ashton WoerzVariousShane Davis, Will B.Samuel Boyden, Sebastian Cocks, Aaron David, William Fleming, Ryder Hewison, Nikolas Karagianis, Elijah Slavinskis, Lenny Thomas, and Various others*In the West End production, the role of Marion was played by Yvette Robinson whilst Amy Field was on maternity leave (1 December 2009 – 25 September 2010).**In every production, the role of Benjamin is played by more than one actor, each alternating at certain performances, due to their young age. In the UK Tour the role of Benji was shared between around 30 different boys up and down the UK.
***In some productions (only) Farrah and Young Bernadette were played by the same Actor.
Productions
Australia (2006–08) Priscilla, Queen of the Desert premiered on 7 October 2006 at the Lyric Theatre, Star City Casino, Sydney, Australia and ended its run on 2 September 2007.Rivera, Larry. Directed by Melbourne Theatre Company artistic director Simon Phillips, it starred Tony Sheldon as Bernadette, Jeremy Stanford as Tick/Mitzi and Daniel Scott as Adam/Felicia with Michael Caton as Bob and Joshua Arkey, Alec Epsimos, Rowan Scott and Joel Slater as Benjamin.
The Sydney production transferred to the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, beginning previews on 28 September 2007 before opening on 6 October 2007. The show closed on 27 April 2008 to make way for the Australian premiere of Wicked.
The Melbourne production transferred to Auckland in New Zealand for a limited run, opening on 28 May 2008 and closed on 6 July 2008.
The musical returned to the Star City Hotel and Casino in Sydney on 7 October 2008 for the second anniversary of the show's premiere and closed on 21 December 2008. The show starred original cast members Sheldon and Scott, alongside Todd McKenney as Tick/Mitzi and Bill Hunter as Bob.
West End (2009–11)
A West End production started previews on 10 March 2009 at the Palace Theatre with the opening press night on 23 March. It is co-produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group and directed by Simon Phillips with musical arrangements by Stephen 'Spud' Murphy, choreography by Ross Coleman, costume designs by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, production designs by Brian Thomson, and lighting by Nick Schlieper. The original cast included Jason Donovan as Mitzi (aka "Tick"), Tony Sheldon as Bernadette, and Oliver Thornton as Adam/Felicia. Notable replacements include Ben Richards as Tick/Mitzi, Don Gallagher as Bernadette, Portia Emare as one of the Divas and Ray Meagher as Bob. The West End production closed on 31 December 2011.
Toronto (2010–11) The musical opened on 12 October 2010 at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto as a Pre-Broadway tryout. The musical featured all of the Broadway cast with a new production team. It received largely positive reviews and strong ticket sales. The musical played for 12 weeks, a month longer than originally planned, closing on 2 January 2011. Several modifications were made to the production.
Broadway (2011–12) Priscilla premiered on Broadway on 20 March 2011 at the Palace Theatre with previews beginning 28 February 2011. Before opening on Broadway, the show made its North American debut at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto for a limited 12-week tryout.
The original cast included Will Swenson as Tick/Mitzi, Tony Sheldon, again, reprising his role of Bernadette, and Nick Adams as Adam/Felicia. Choreography is by Ross Coleman, set design by Brian Thomson, lighting design by Nick Schlieper and costume designs by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner. Producers include Bette Midler, who joined the production team after seeing the West End production; Liz Koops and Garry McQuinn for Back Row Productions; Michael Hamlyn for Specific Films; Allan Scott Productions; David Mirvish; Roy Furman; Terry Allen Kramer; James L. Nederlander; and Terri and Timothy Childs.
The Broadway cast album was recorded in late January 2011 on Rhino Records for release on 15 March 2011. The production released video footage from their North American premiere on Tuesday, 15 February. The Broadway production closed on 24 June 2012 after 23 previews and 526 performances.
Italy (2011–14)