Review: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Priscilla, Phenomenal Fabulous Fun!!

by Louw Mulder.

After a sold-out season in Cape Town, with raving and praising reviews, it was time for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to embark on its Johannesburg journey. Its run at the Artscape Theatre set the standard very high, and after the opening night in Johannesburg, Priscilla, the Musical, matched all expectations.

Over the years, the South African Theatre industry has proved that it can do justice to classical masterpieces like Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Sound of Music, but recently with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and now Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, it has also shown that it can pull off the fun genres in musical theatre, to high acclaims. And that is what I am most proud of overall; the health of our Musical Theatre industry.

This show is colourful, crazy, and fun-filled with all types of elements that will make a theatre experience as entertaining as Priscilla was. The story is about the journey of a transsexual performer, and her two drag-queen friends who decided to travel across Australia, in their bus called Priscilla. The gay characters are played humorously, with no offensive scenes towards the more straight theatre goer.

There are many moods within this production of Priscilla.  From homophobia, to nobody cares, from the need for love, to the acceptance between a son and his gay dad.  Yes, it sometimes tickles the not-so-funny bone.  Be it as it may, it all adds up to a realistic tale, with more truths hidden in the storyline than just the super fun tale of three queens.  On a serious note, seeing this production on stage here in South Africa, with no censorship or rebellious campaigns against its main theme, made me as gay man myself, very proud of how far we have come.

With this Metro Goldwyn Mayer feature film adapted for the stage, this production flows with international standards, produced locally without flaw. The script is witty, cheeky, and creates delightful enjoyment during the whole journey. The music is well-known, and are anthems in their own right. The set is successfully a huge contributing factor to the whole experience; bus and all.

As with every gay-themed production, wigs and costumes, put the cherry on the cake, or more fitting, the tiara on the queen. It is big, extravagant, and spectacular. To say that this production uses 471 costumes, 45 wigs, 120 pairs of shoes and 200 hats and headdresses, you might get an idea of how huge the wardrobe department for Priscilla is. What is remarkable, is how quick and fast some of these costume, and make-up changes are. A fun fact of the show, is that the fastest wig and make-up change, is only 15 seconds – it sometimes just seems like magic.

But with a great script, loved music and awesome costumes, you still need a cast good enough to give these elements life on stage. Even this was done with a stellar cast, energetic and true to the show. The ensemble see names like Zane Gillion, Thembeka Mnguni, Michael Fullard, and one of my favourite actresses, Taryn-Lee Buys. David Dennis plays Bernadette as if he created the persona, while Tick and Mitzi were played by a very talented straight guy, Daniel Buys.

But then there was the role that stole the show. Everyone loved the rebelliousness and the cocky attitude of young Adam, or in some instances Felicia, the loose cannon of the touring threesome. Phillip Schnetler plays this role to the tee, and his role has been raved about in almost every review, even mine. His flamboyant attitude and camp, yet talented portrayal of this character, adds a different dimension to the show. At times it felt as if Dennis and Buys’ character was to support the role of Schnetler’s, and not the other way around.  I really enjoyed seeing Schnetler playing this role as it was clear he made this character his own.  I would look out for his name in future productions.

Overall, Priscilla, Queen of the theatre, sorry, the desert, is a production that will make every member of the audience feel good. It is like the serotonin of theatre, promising a feel-good, entertaining experience. But thinking back after the show, there was one thing that didn’t work for me as well as I hoped. The final curtain call was very short. With music of this nature, the very capable band, under the direction of Bryan Schimmel, I thought that a few minutes longer with a medley of all the songs, could have been an even bigger memorable finale… seeing that the whole house was on their feet in any case, after a given standing ovation.

Well done to everyone involved with this production. It is a must see, and so you must, before you miss the bus.

This journey to fabulousness is produced by Showtime Management, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, and Nullarbar Productions in association with MGM on Stage.  Priscilla, Queen of the Desert will be on stage at the Teatro in Montecasino, till the 18^th of June, 2017.

 

This review was edit by Bronwyn Kerry.  Photos by Nardus Engelbrecht