Priscilla Queen Of The Desert Is Giving An Upgrade For Its 2018 Season

The return of ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ works because the producers were smart enough to stick with the plot but modernise the music.

Those hideous Charlene and Vanessa Williams songs has been trashed and to get around Abba’s refusal to allow anything anywhere anymore (unless you hand over your first born), this show has a newness to the 20 something year old story. No Abba? No problem! Just add Kylie and you actually improve the show for Australia. ‘Better The Devil You Know’ and ‘Confide In Me’ did not go unnoticed with the crowd, nor did the Kylie t-shirt at one point.

The 70s pop has been replaced mainly with 80s pop. M’s ‘Pop Muzik’, Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘Boogie Wonderland’, Pat Benatar’s ‘We Belong’, and Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With Me’ play instead of ‘Billy Don’t Be A Hero’, ‘Take A Letter Maria’ and ‘My Baby Loves Lovin’. The revised music also ups the tempo of the show. I should give a special mention to ‘Thank God I’m A Country Boy’. Working a John Denver song into the soundtrack took some guts but hey, they were in Woop Woop.

I couldn’t help but notice the use of Cyndi Lauper’s ‘True Colours’ and ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ in the show as well. Producer Michael Cassel was the man behind Cyndi’s ‘Kinky Boots’ in Australia so I guess he only had to ask (and hey, he already had the sheet music). Like a good frock, these tracks are a perfect fit.

Veteran performer Tony Sheldon is the old Queen, Bernadette, David Harris plays Tick and Euan Doidge is Felicia, the movie roles played by Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. Veteran Aussie act Robert Grubb (Neighbours, The Flying Doctors) is Bob. The role of the ping pong ball was played by itself.

Sheldon is a natural at Bernadette after having played the character over 1000 times in the original stage-show eight years ago.

Simon Phillips, who directed Love Never Dies for Andrew Lloyd-Webber, is working this show to perfection.For the costume designers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, this must have been a dream job. There is no such thing as “too over the top”.

‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ opens in Melbourne on January 31 and then heads to Sydney in May, Adelaide in August and Brisbane in September.