PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT

So about two weeks ago, I had the opportunity of attending the opening of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the musical. And I have to say it was absolutely AMAZING!... the costuming, the dancing and obviously the music, just awesome.

I had seen the film, from which the stage version was adapted, years ago. I might have been in high school as I recall... yikes- So it's definitely been a hot minute since I was familiar with the plot, characters etc. The other night, out of boredom, I decided to revisit the original 1994 release, and was pleasantly surprised! The story was incredible- it's no wonder that they decided to do a stage version of this tranny trek through the desert-the only question is why it took so long? The screen to stage adaption really did the film justice. There was an obvious attempt to keep true to the story and characters while making it revenant enough to a younger audeince by replacing ABBA references with the queen of re-invention- Madonna.
Other than the aforementioned, the plot translation from screen to stage, even with the obstacle of the fourth cast member- the bus- seemed flawless and on point. What a marvel of set ingenuity.
The play really monopolizes on key sequences in the story where one would expect a musical number and effectively interjects them, enriching the overall story telling experience.
The nuances of the stage characters as mirroring their screen counter parts was impeccable- from Ticks trepidatious attitude, to Felicia's exuberant and boisterous swagger to Bernadette's wistful and contemplative demeanour. These traits were not only exhibited in effective acting and convincing dialogue, but were re-inforced in the way the actors would move and perform the musical numbers on stage-it was all encompassing.
The music itself was fun and playful. I mean when referencing disco, funk and 90's hits- how could it not be??? The costuming- lets not even talk about it. Gorgeous... just gorgeous. The show is about drag queens... just imagine what you might expect and multiply it by at least 10. The costumes aren't afraid to be over the top, literal translations in the most interesting way. Example- in the scene where the cast members start painting the bus and they brake into 'Colour My World' by Petula Clark- those back up dancer bitches show up in dresses that mimic the silhouette of giant paint brushes... Genius!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKK1vTIEj9s
Loved it soooo much. It rekindled my affection for the movie... colourful, vibrant, delicious. What more is there to say.