It's Raining Men!...

The Palace Theatre in Times Square

Craig and I enthusiastically holding up our autographed Priscilla playbills in front of the 'I ♥ Will Swenson' poster

Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, directed by Simon Phillips, and produced by the Divine Miss M aka Bette Midler, is billed as "the two happiest hours on Broadway." Never has an advertisement been more true! It was perhaps the most fun I've ever had at the theatre. I never wanted it to end!

Ben and Roland's friend Craig was visiting from Texas for a few days, and as he had already come equipped with a ticket to the show, they decided to play the lottery to see if they could join him. Luck was on their side, and they ended up with tickets for themselves, plus two extra. So I ended up with a front row seat to watch two drag queens and a transsexual road trip through the Australian outback in a bus named Priscilla!

The other ticket was given to an impossibly cute Brazilian boy named Tiago who was solo, and who was desperate to see the show. It was nice sitting next to him. Just saying. Come to find out, Tiago is not only an actor, but he is the dance captain for the Brazilian production of Priscilla which opens in March. (Dance captains are responsible for knowing every single step for every single actor in the show, for making sure people aren't falling off the stage or bumping into each other, for making sure that the actors are consistently 'hitting their marks' and keeping the performance from 'drifting', for holding rehearsals, and for teaching incoming actors the choreography. Most of the time they work as swings as well, which means they are able to fill in any part if an actor is sick and what not.) Tiago was so sweet, and his enthusiasm was pretty intense. He was quietly singing along to all the numbers, rhythmically moving his hands and making obvious mental notes of the characters' blocking. There is a point in the show, when the cast comes out to the audience and brings people on stage to boogie down. The lovely Israeli girl sitting on the other side of me, who was a flight attendant and who had seen her "favorite show" Priscilla countless times during her layovers in NYC, leaned over to me and asked if I wanted to go on stage. I inferred that she had already been on stage a few times herself, and that she was friendly with the actors, and that she could get me up there if I so desired.  I answered that we should get Tiago up there instead, which is exactly what we did. When the dancers came off the stage, I grabbed Tiago's arm and pulled him up off of his seat forcefully. He had a ball up there shakin' his groove thing. When he got back to his seat, I said to him, "Now you can say that you've been in the Broadway production as well!" The guy was beaming. I'm super pumped for him.

But I digress. The true star of the show, who was melting male and female hearts alike, was Will Swenson (Tick/Mitzi). He is a bright shining star that has "it" whatever it is. It was almost difficult to take my eyes off him to watch the show as a whole. Maybe it was the way he rocked that dress made entirely of flip-flops, or the way he shimmied in the cheerleader outfit, or even the way he frolicked amongst the dancing cupcakes. I think there is just something strangely attractive about watching a straight man throwing away inhibitions and gaying it up. Whatever it was, Will Swenson is utterly engaging and damn talented; he played Tick with so much heart, managing to garner an enormous amount of empathy for a character in a very unusual circumstance. Craig and I bonded in our love for him. Craig was brave enough to ask for a picture. Me, not so much. I just awkwardly complimented him, smiled like a dork, and had him sign my playbill.


Moving on to Tony Sheldon, who I was also very much in love with. Mr. Sheldon, who comes from the land down under, has been playing Bernadette- the transsexual matriarch- since the original Oz production, appearing in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Toronto, and London's West End. Prior to his Broadway debut he had 1200 performances of Bernadette under his belt! I honestly can't imagine anyone else playing that role better than him. His Bernadette has a lovely vulnerability underneath her spunky exterior. He is astoundingly good. So much so that it was quite shocking seeing him out of costume outside the theatre after the show. It's almost as if Tony Sheldon shouldn't exist because he makes Bernadette so real. But there Mr. Sheldon was, soft-spoken and elegant, looking like a classically trained actor who would be typecast in period melodramas or Shakespearean tragedies. And he was so gracious and appreciative that it warmed my heart.

Nick Adams (Adam/Felicia) and his bulging biceps lit up the stage with his unabashed sassiness and exhibitionism. His insanely muscular body is somewhat distracting really, especially when his toned buttocks are planted directly in front of those of us in the first row. The sheer athleticism of his dancing was impressive. At one point he jumped up and then landed in a split, resulting in an audible gasp from the entire audience. No one would be able to tell that this is Adams' first starring role on Broadway if it wasn't written in the playbill. He exudes confidence. This kid is going to do well for himself.


I also want to give props to Nathan Lee Graham (Miss Understanding), who rocked out a Tina Turner number at the top of the show that was hilariously awesome. The angelically floating Divas- Jacqueline B. Arnold, Lisa Howard, and Anastacia McCleskey- whose beautifully powerful voices soared over the crowd, were a stunning trio. Also standouts were J. Elaine Marcos as Cynthia, and Keala Settle, who played various characters as one of the ensemble players. They were both hilarious. And the entire rest of the cast was magnetic as well. It's rare to be able to say that every single person in a cast was amazing, especially a relatively large cast such as this one, but they all were. Though many of them have been in the show for a year now, there wasn't a hint of flatness or staleness to be found. Every single actor on stage was so full of energy, so alive behind the eyes; every single person brought something special to the performance.


The costumes, designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, were nothing short of spectacular. Outrageous sequined and glitter coated wigs and headpieces, sky-high platform shoes, flirtatious thongs and bustiers, flamboyant dresses, mile-long eyelashes, and ostentatiously flared bell-bottoms- all in a rainbow of colors and patterns. The grandiose sartorialism is a vivid celebration of unconventional self-expression.

I tend to prefer shows that are built around original music, as opposed to recycled hits that you've heard millions of times- jukebox musicals, they are often called. Although Priscilla uses jukebox tunes, even the overdone gay anthem I Will Survive, the idiosyncratic characters and the heartwarming story are so captivating, that you can only fall in love with it. Best time ever! Take a sneak peak at the two happiest hours on Broadway:

The musical is based on the 1994 cult classic Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert  directed by Stephan Elliott, and starring Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving, and Terence Stamp:

"You with the sad eyes/ Don't be discouraged/ Oh I realize/ Its hard to take courage/ In a world full of people/ You can lose sight of it all/ And the darkness inside you/ Can make you feel so small/ But I see your true colors/ Shining through" --Cyndi Lauper, True Colors