A charming little movie has been made into a hard-sell stage musical overloaded with kitsch — and it’s fun!
Priscilla — the one about the two drag queens and a transsexual touring way down under — has been given the glitzy, giddy treatment, with lots of production numbers coming out of absolutely nowhere.
The bus actually gets entrance applause! (Well, it’s the title character.)
And there’s a huge lipstick, descending divas, human cupcakes, and wigs made of pom poms.
An operatic lip-synch atop a giant high heel is followed by a painting-the-bus number with the cast prancing around as gigantic, glittery brushes!
]
There’s drama too, but it’s barely worth mentioning — like some scary homophobia that flees the plot really quickly, and one queen’s grappling with fatherhood, which is made way easier by the fact that the kid happens to be a cutesy moppet right out of fantasy land.
As a result, the show is as thin as a bulimic egret’s feather, but when it clicks, it’s as infectious as a rabid koala because the zingers keep coming along with the costumes, and by the end, they’re all dressed like animals and dancing to a disco medley!
For no real reason!
In the cast, Tony Sheldon gives a warm and funny star turn as Bernadette, while Nick Adams (above) is zesty as the “Madonna-be” Felicia.
I also liked the plus-size mullet lady in the bar growling “I Love The Nightlife” and Nathan Lee Graham rocks as the Tina Turner-impersonating MC, Miss Understanding.
Is it Mary Stuart? No, it’s not even Mary Poppins.
Do I recommend it? Sure.