Priscilla, the Musical

When I arrived in Sydney, Gigi had already lined up lots of things to fill up my itinerary. One of the things on her list was watching a musical, and she gave me two choices, Billy Elliot or Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Billy Elliot has received rave reviews (both for the movie and the musical), but it was no contest for me- I definitely wanted to watch Priscilla live. I loved the movie, and I remember buying the CD of the soundtrack as soon as I got out of the theater. That CD became well-worn, since there were just too many drag queen karaoke favorites in it that I could sing along to. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert also marked my early days as a fag hag.

Gigi had a hard time getting tickets, as a lot of the shows were sold out. After a lot of conscientiousness on her part, she finally bagged us two tickets for the eve of my birthday. I was really pumped to see the musical (and sing along to the music, of course!) So I started to sing the songs from the soundtrack any time I got a chance, to get into the mood. (While walking along the street, in the shower, while strolling in the mall etc.)

On the night itself, we had a typical late start from the apartment, and got to Lyric Theater a mere five minutes before the show was to begin. Well, we made it, and that's all that mattered. The show was everything I expected it to be, and I was amazed by how effectively they were able to translate the film onto the stage. (A quick summary for those who have not seen the movie- three drag queens from Sydney travel across the Australian outback in a bus nicknamed "Priscilla" to perform at a casino in a remote town. It is revealed later on that the drag queen who planned the gig actually agreed to perform as a favor to his wife, who owns the casino. He is also revealed to have a son.) They were able to communicate the vastness of the landscape with the use of a revolving stage.

The music was great, the performances funny, and the costumes, just FABULOUS. They hired the same costume designer as the one hired for the movie (the costumes in the movie merited an Oscar in 1994), and the costumes just added to the visuality of the whole performance (Cupcakes as skirts, and candles as headdresses!). And how could they go wrong with the songs? "I Will Survive", "I Love The Nightlife", "I've Never Been To Me". Gigi gave me the CD of the soundtrack as my birthday gift. It had more songs than the film version, for some reason. I had a wonderful time during the show, and I was singing the songs in it for days after. "I don't think that I can take it, 'cause it took so long to bake it, and I'll never have that recipe againnnnn......."