With fond memories of Terence Stamp in the 1994 film I took along two teenage girls with me to the Palace Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue to see the winner of the “Best New Musical 2010”.
For those of you who haven’t heard it’s a story about three drag queens (one of which is a recently bereaved transsexual) travelling across the Australian outback in a bus called Priscilla to perform a special series of shows in Alice Springs.
Having posed outside for a photo with the huge high heeled, sparkling shoe we scanned the merchandise stand – pink feather boas and sparkly tees (we selected some fitted black ones bearing the words “Life is an adventure – dress accordingly”).
We climbed the stairs to the Grand Circle and munched on Maltesers while we waited. I think the air conditioning was struggling in the heat as the temperature was at melting point (for the Maltesers anyway). Drinks in the bar (with an order for the interval) were priced so high I thought we were actually in the desert.
Anyway, the stage screen had a large map of Australia showing the route from Sydney to Alice Springs. We were excited. The music struck up and we were away – gender illusionist heaven. Sparkle paradise. The words “I’ve been to paradise, but I’ve never been to me” were the opening lines, just like in the film (actually, the whole production was pretty faithful to the film for those who were wondering).
We meet the main character and enjoyed an excellent impression of Tina Turner doing “What’s love got to do with it?”. And rapidly moved onto “Say a little prayer”. The funeral of Trumpet is an explosion of extraordinary costumes and “Don’t leave me this way” is close to perfect.
The three singing angels belted out number after number (“She’s got it” was particularly memorable), despite the fact that they were suspended from the ceiling and swung around the set while they did so. The immortal line “Cock in a frock on a rock” arrived about the same time as the three Swedes with the bus and a toe tapping version of delightfully silly “Go west”. It’s camp, camp, camp and my girls could hardly believe their eyes.
For me, the highlight of the production – as in the film – is the opera number where one of the drag queens mimes to La Traviata while attached to the roof of the bus as it sails across the sands. This production had added comedy – something which I felt made it score much higher than the film version. Loved, loved, loved the staging that showed Priscilla making progress on her journey – with kangaroo, koala and even corgi road kill.
“Thank God I’m a country boy” provided a temporary relief from all the 80s dance numbers and the bar scene was great fun. We were all singing along by the time we got to “Girls just wanna have fun” and “I will survive”. My two young companions were prepared with the lyrics so that they could sing along with “Shake your groove thing”. They adored the cake outfits for “Macarthur Park” and were totally impressed with the way in which they portrayed the bus being painted (and how marvellous it was when the bus displayed other scenes using that same technology). Hoots of laughter when the trio reach their destination and show a very fast run through of their show.
And finally we have the song that we’ve all been waiting for –“Finally”. Most people in the theatre were on their feet at this point and singing and dancing along with the cast. A visual feast, a joyous ride of dance floor classics and outfits that take your breath away. My girls enjoyed themselves immensely – even though they coyly remarked that it was a bit rude in places. Well, Priscilla gets my vote for a thoroughly entertaining and fun evening. Go girls!
:angel: :angel: :angel:
