Priscilla Queen Of The Desert - The Musical
In 1994 Australian Stephan Elliott plotted a road comedy film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, featuring two drag queens who use female clothing and makeup to imitate and exaggerate the female gender for entertainment purposes. The story centered around a drag queen named Tick (Josh Houghton), married to a woman named Marion. He gets a call from her asking to come to visit his son, who has been asking about him. Tick is conflicted about meeting him and fears what his son will think once he sees he is living his life as Mitzi Del Bra, a female impersonator. His estranged wife (Brittany D. Parker), who manages a hotel-casino, convinces him to come back by offering him an opportunity to perform at the casino. He persuades his friends and fellow performers, Bernadette and flamboyant and sarcastically obnoxious younger drag queen Adam (Felicia), to join him in traveling through the Australian Outback desert on a bus named Priscilla. And that's where this fun begins.
From the book by Stephan Elliot and Allan Scott and based on the film, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Mercury Theater Chicago brings this cult classic to the stage that is incredibly witty and hilarious. The story about Tick's ambivalence over his life decisions and crossing the Desert for the love of seeing a child has a warm feeling that will bring a tear to your eyes. These will be tears of sadness and complete joy as this production is 100% a blast.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert features the sensational theater royalty Honey West, who is magnificent as the transgender woman Bernadette, and two drag queens, Tick and Adam, go trekking on a road trip across the Desert on a bus Adam swindled his mother to purchase. Josh Houghton (Tick/Mitzi) was stellar in his performance. His warmth, kindness, and love for accepting others while wishing the world could reciprocate captivated the audience. Kudos to him for not allowing the fake eyelash, which fell off his eye twice, from interrupting his performance. The star of the evening was Shaun White as Adam/Felicia. He is so sarcastic, obnoxious, and hysterically funny that I'm still laughing now. White was exceptional, and if there is any empathy in your soul about the challenges LGBTQ individuals have to endure, it will surface during the scene where a gang of thugs beats him up after finding out he was impersonating a woman. He is an actor Chicago theaters need to embrace and showcase as I can't see any role he couldn't conquer.
It was good to see Michael Kingston, King Maximilian from Cinderella at Paramount Theater playing the role of Bob, and the amazingly talented Jessica Brooke Seals (Diva) spread her wings from Black Ensemble Theatre. Seals is out of those hidden gems in the theater waiting to explode. Brittany D. Parker (Marion, Shirley), Heather J Beck, and Lydia Burke (Divas) are returning to Mercury Theater, with special praise to the youngest actor on stage, Gabriel Solis, in his limited role as Benji. He was adorable.
There are so many laughable moments in this play, like when Tick sings, 'Bernadette has left her cake out in the rain and a plethora of well-known songs, (It's Raining Men, I Say A Little Prayer, I Love The Night Life and True Colors) you find yourself glued to the performances. And the Divas are fierce when singing I Will survive, and the show-stopping is "We Belong," sung by Adam, Tick, and Bernadette.
Although in 1994, homosexual activity became legal across Australia, many countries like Tajikistan, Yemen, Serbia, and Germany still have laws against same-sex relationships (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, and Egypt). Some countries have harsh penalties of up to 20 years in prison and even death. Americans viewed the film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as a bridge that would bring gay lifestyles into the mainstream." Even though it's more accepted today in the US, many in Congress are trying to reverse course — which will have the same catastrophic issues as the reversal of Roe vs. Wade. As a Christian, I lean towards the teaching of God. However, as I walk as an example of God, I believe in the freedom to choose — allowing judgment to come from above.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud, or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance ”
Priscilla Queen of The Desert is a tender, thoughtful, and powerfully stimulating musical with outstanding performances.
Let's Play Theatrical Review Highly Recommends this outlandish, funny, and thoroughly entertaining bus ride into the Desert.
Mercury Theater Chicago
Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical
Book by Stephan Elliot and Allan Scott
Directed and Choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter
Jul 15 – Sep 11, 2022
