Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical might be about a bunch of blokes who like to dress up like birds etc., but it's still one of the most accessible musicals
EVER. A statement I feel happy to make because of the song book, which is a collection of the catchiest pop tunes you ever had the misfortune to get stuck in your head.
If you've seen the
film, then you'll know the collection of songs I'm referring to, some of them at least, and if I mention them I run the risk of you singing them in your head while you're reading the rest of this recommendation. But I'm going to anyway, one per paragraph:
Go West: If you've seen the film then you'll know the story, a sweet and sentimental tale done up in too much makeup and too many sequins, about a drag queen commissioned to bring his/ her show from chic Sydney to rough and rugged Alice Springs. Grabbing some companions for the road, and their mode of transport for the journey, Priscilla the bus,
dubbed: Queen of the Desert, they set off.
They're lovin' the nightlife
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: On the way they have some adventures, and bring something new, and colourful to the wide open spaces of the Australian outback. Meaning the costumes as well as the singing and dancing frivolity. The costumes were designed by the team who
won the Oscar for doing the costumes for the film, and deserve very gasp and accolade they get – they're beyond something. They even add pace to the production by the epic number of costume changes the cast undergo - creating what's best described as a cyclone of colour and pop. On the stage and behind it.
I Will Survive: In the end the three intrepid trailblazers, and their bus reach their destination and make it back again. But several people learn something along the way. And it's not just you realising that sometimes a man in a dress looks better than a woman might if he's belting his lungs out and having a ball on stage.
I Love the Nightlife: This is the sort of musical that will make you feel good to be alive. I'd like to say it's pure, unadulterated exuberance, but I doubt that it's unadulterated.
