Drag queens, disco music and debauchery, oh my!
The Broadway tour of “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” is rolling into the Adrienne Arsht Center and audiences are guaranteed a fun and fabulous evening. The show, which is based on a 1994 Australian cult movie, is running from Thursday to Sunday in the Ziff Ballet Opera House.
The musical comedy tells the story of two drag queens – Anthony “Tick” Belrose who goes by the stage name Mitzi, and Adam Whitely who goes by Felicia – and a transsexual, Bernadette. The trio takes a road trip across the Australian Outback in a ramshackle pink camper, which they christen Priscilla, to play a show in a remote desert spring. Misadventures and laughs follow, all set to an irresistibly catchy, thumping disco soundtrack.
The entire show is an outrageously fun and raunchy two-and-a-half-hour parade of wacky costumes, outrageous wigs and exquisite eye candy. The audience was showered with ribbons, sparkles and Ping-Pong balls and it was simply impossible not to smile, laugh and sing along.
Despite the colorful chaos, Chris Klink, Bryan West and Scott Willis, who play Tick, Felicia, and Bernadette respectively, easily shined. Their Australians accents were smooth and their singing even better.
Klink, who is the understudy for Tick, perfectly embodied a drag queen undergoing a midlife crisis. Willis played his character Bernadette’s budding relationship with mechanic Bob, played by Joe Hart, with a warm and tender touch. West sparkled as the overly flamboyant Felicia and his verbal sparring with Willis was comedic gold. The trio’s dilemmas are easy to relate to and backed by a talented ensemble; they are the dynamic force behind the musical.
So hop aboard Priscilla and come prepared for a whirlwind of bawdy jokes, glitter and heartwarming moments.