A joyous, funny, colourful, jukebox musical romp featuring three drag queens on a journey, that had me smiling so much my jaw ached.
I don’t know where to start with this review as I loved all of it – the costumes were wonderful, the band, led by Lucas Elkin was amazing, and the cast were magnificent in roles that demand an ability to portray the larger-than-life characters with real confidence. The lighting effects were great – especially loved the rainbow lighting in the Colour number. It was fantastic to be in a full house, with the audience buzzing before the show and clapping along with the music from start to finish – what a great reaction for the players on the opening night, ending with a well-deserved standing ovation – theatre is back!
Three drag artists, Felicia, Tick and Bernadette (a transgender woman) are up against the Australian outback as they head from Sidney to Alice to perform in a show. Surprised to learn that their long-time friend Tick is actually married to a woman who owns the venue, the three of them cross the desert in an old bus, making new friends and encountering prejudice on the way. But Tick has another surprise up his sleeve, as he also has a son he has never met – how will that work out when he finds out what his dad does for a living. The story brings up issues faced by LBGTQ+ communities before that name was even coined.
The numbers are mainly (but not exclusively) upbeat disco, kicking off with the three Divas bursting onto stage with ‘It’s Raining Men’ – Hallelujah! What a powerful start and top singing from the wildly dressed Christine Poole, Elle Brown and Rosie Parrish, with wigs getting higher and madder by the number.
The three leading ladies played by Jacob Nightingale, Gareth Mullan and Jeremy Warbrick are the lynchpins of this show. They succeeded in challenging roles that demanded bravado and stage presence by the bucket, with the right amount of empathy so that it’s not just a comedy turn. One of my favourite numbers was the MacArthur Park cake number.
There were impressive performances throughout – Sam Fuller was in his element with his scantily clad ensemble, (and as a bonus I now know where ALW got the male ensemble costumes for Cinderella). Anna Murgatroyd was great as Tick’s neglected wife Marion, and exceptional as the Opera Diva with outstanding vocal performance.
Last but not least – the ensemble had some great numbers and astonishing costumes, including paintbrushes and cakes, and with the choreography provided by David Mallabone, this created some wonderful musical theatre sets.
It was hard to believe this was a first night – some initial nerves were quickly overcome and Priscilla turned out to be one of the most entertaining shows I’ve seen in ages! Get tickets while you still can.
Photo credit Peter Buncombe Photography
Tickets https://www.cambridgeartstheatre.com/show-performances…
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