| priscilla_programme_notes.docx |
Programme Notes - Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical
Hello and welcome to the Grand Opera House, Belfast and this production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. My name is Amy and I will be describing Act 1 for you, my colleague Florence will be describing Act 2. The first act will last for 60 minutes then there will be an interval of 20 minutes and the second act will last for 65 minutes.
The show is based on the Oscar-winning film written by Stephan Elliott. Directed by Ian Talbot OBE, with choreography by Matt Cole, and stunning costumes by Vicky Gill, this musical extravaganza is packed with an iconic soundtrack full of your favourite 80s and 90s disco and dance anthems.
Character and Costumes
Tick (Mitzi when he’s in drag) is played by Kevin Clifton from Strictly Come Dancing. Tick is of medium height with short mousy hair and a pleasant face. When Tick is not in drag he wears a tee shirt or vest, jeans and trainers. At the funeral he wears a black suit. As Mitzi he appears on stage at the Cock or Two Club in a short, glittery dress with a feathery bolero and tall white stiletto shoes with long black socks. He wears a full, curly blonde wig. At the pub in Broken Hill Mitzi wears a sparkly dress with pink and yellow checks and a pink wig with yellow and blue ribbons. At the Woop Woop Hotel Mitzi (and all the drag queens) wear a green top, a wide yellow skirt and tall green pill-box hat with a pom-pom on top. On Ayres Rock Mitzi wears a purple cocktail dress and a blue wig with bright purple feather fascinators sticking up left and right.
Adam or Felicia when in drag, is a tall, slim young man with short hair. He is played by Nick Hayes. When Tick first introduces him to Bernadette he is wearing very short denim hotpants and a bright pink sleeveless vest. At the pub in Broken Hill he wears a massive pink wig with ringlets, a bra top, a tutu and long, ruffled legwarmers in tropical neon colours. At the Cooper Pedy Drive-In Adam is Felicia, in a long, straight auburn wig and a very short, sequined red dress with calf-length black boots. On Ayres Rock Adam is bare-chested but for a harness that holds on a pair of golden butterfly wings with long streaming ribbons in pink, blue, orange and yellow. He has a matching corset round his torso, small pants and pink feathers covering his bum. On his head he wears a very tall, peach, ostrich feather show-girl headdress.
Bernadette is played by Adele Anderson. Bernadette is a tall, slim, older transgender woman with a wig of shoulder length blonde curls. When she is not performing Bernadette wears conventional summer dresses, and at the funeral she wears a hat with a black net veil. On Ayres Rock she wears a long pink evening gown and a remarkable headdress of long pink and peach feathers, radiating all round her head from one ear to the other, all set in a hat of pale lilac flowers.
During the casino show Bernadette, Felecia and Mitzi all have multiple costume changes. They start in knee length lurex (except Felicia who is in a mini skirt), change to extravagant ruffled leggings, and they have headpieces that look like a burst of brightly coloured flowers in blue, pink, orange and purple. Next they don pink capes and pointy hats, then A-line skirts and green blouses. Finally, they are in different matching outfits – Bernadette’s has a knee-length neon pink ruffled skirt, Mitzi has a dress made from squares of different pastel-coloured sequins and Felicia is in the ruffled neon leg warmers. They each have big pompadour wigs.
The Divas: These three ladies feature throughout the show joining in with all the songs. They are played by Leah Vassel, Bernadette Bangura and Jessie May. They wear long sparkly sequinned dresses in white and silver and have big, Marilyn Monroe blonde wigs.
Jessie May also plays Shirley, the owner of the Broken Hill Pub. Shirley has dark unkempt hair and a round face, she is short and stout and has very large breasts. These appear to be without any support as she shakes them around a lot while trying to dance.
Miss Understanding the drag artist who runs the Cock or Two Club has a massive curly wig, a sequined waistcoat and short, glittery hotpants.
Lars, Lars and Lars, the three Swedish men that Adam entertains, all look alike with long blond hair. They wear belly tops, very tight denim shorts, boots and carry small backpacks.
Bob the mechanic, played by Peter Duncan, wears blue overalls or a checked shirt and jeans with brown desert boots. He is short, stocky and grey haired.
Cynthia, Bob’s wife is played by Isabella Glanznig Santos. Cynthia is a pretty young woman with dark hair in a long bob. When she first enters she is in a tight, short red dress. In the Woop Woop she wears a red corset and black, fringed panties.
Marion, played by Billie Hardie, is of medium height and slim with long dark hair. She wears a professional red skirt suit. Benji, Tick’s 6 year old son, wears a casual shirt and chinos.
The ensemble: It is almost impossible to describe all the costumes of the ensemble but think gaudy, outrageous, exotic, multi-coloured costumes with frills, flounces and feathers. Dazzling silver sequinned dresses. Think huge fancy headdresses and multi coloured wigs and also imagine bejewelled sandals, high wedge shoes and studded leather boots. One notable sequence is when they sing ‘Someone Left the Cake Out’ wearing a tight red and white polka dot leotard with a wide ruffled white collar, hats that resemble whipped cream with a cherry on top and they carry polka dot parasols.
Scenery
When we first enter the theatre, the curtains are open and we can see an image of a large glitter ball with a map of Australia printed on the mirrored surface. The image opens centrally to reveal The Cockatoo Club.
On the right of the Cockatoo Club is a wall mounted phone and several tall round drinking tables sit in various parts of the floor. There is a central rectangular dais for performances with a backdrop of red velvet curtains. To the left is a small D.J desk.
The main and most versatile prop is Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the bus for which the show is named. The single decker bus takes up most of the stage. It has metal sides, two large wheels, curtained windows and a door by the driver’s seat. When it rotates the interior of the bus is visible with cushioned seating doubling as sleeping bunks. Between brightly coloured window drapes there is a pole with fluffy boas and other costumes used by the drag artists. At the rear is a small cocktail bar.
In this view there is a frame between the wheels that can be lowered to allow easy access for the actors. Towards the end of the show a set of silver steps will be lowered from the bus allowing the cast of singers and dancers to utilize them.
Priscilla is a versatile prop as it comes apart in sections all of which are on wheels. The individual sections will become small buildings in a mining town, a pub bar, as well as slot machines in the Alice Springs Casino. In the final act Priscilla, bathed in red light will represent Ayres Rock.
The Broken Hill Pub is a run-down establishment in the middle of nowhere. The bar counter is rough wood. There is a small stage, but seating consists of plastic crates.
In The Woop Woop Hotel and Bar the band use large rectangular hay bales on which they dance and sing using farming tools such as hoes, rakes and buckets. There is a circular stage where the drag artists, as well as Bob’s wife, Cynthia will perform. The dressing rooms are of rough wood.
Cooper Pedy is described by Bob as the “toughest little town in Australia, miners, opals and gelignite and that’s about it”. Priscilla comes apart in sections to represent small outbuildings and the inside of a pub in the mining town. It is dark and hostile towards strangers.
The Alice Springs Casino owned by Marion is spacious, and patrons gamble at slot machines (again, sections of Priscilla are used) and sit on chairs with a circular metal base. The casino entertainment stage is large with a frame of flashing spotlights. The dressings rooms are private with individual curtained cubicles on wheels. The music speeds up during the drag queen’s performance and costume changes are lightning fast, facilitated by a member of the cast wheeling a large screen from the left of the right of the stage.
The scenery behind the bus is simply a blue sky with fluffy clouds or a deep red sunset whilst they travel through the outback. Apart from the Alice Spring Casino the lighting tends to be low key and most of the clubs and pubs that the drag artist visit are basic and quite crude illustrating the lack of panache in outlying districts of the Australian outback.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Hello and welcome to the Grand Opera House, Belfast and this production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. My name is Amy and I will be describing Act 1 for you, my colleague Florence will be describing Act 2. The first act will last for 60 minutes then there will be an interval of 20 minutes and the second act will last for 65 minutes.
The show is based on the Oscar-winning film written by Stephan Elliott. Directed by Ian Talbot OBE, with choreography by Matt Cole, and stunning costumes by Vicky Gill, this musical extravaganza is packed with an iconic soundtrack full of your favourite 80s and 90s disco and dance anthems.
Character and Costumes
Tick (Mitzi when he’s in drag) is played by Kevin Clifton from Strictly Come Dancing. Tick is of medium height with short mousy hair and a pleasant face. When Tick is not in drag he wears a tee shirt or vest, jeans and trainers. At the funeral he wears a black suit. As Mitzi he appears on stage at the Cock or Two Club in a short, glittery dress with a feathery bolero and tall white stiletto shoes with long black socks. He wears a full, curly blonde wig. At the pub in Broken Hill Mitzi wears a sparkly dress with pink and yellow checks and a pink wig with yellow and blue ribbons. At the Woop Woop Hotel Mitzi (and all the drag queens) wear a green top, a wide yellow skirt and tall green pill-box hat with a pom-pom on top. On Ayres Rock Mitzi wears a purple cocktail dress and a blue wig with bright purple feather fascinators sticking up left and right.
Adam or Felicia when in drag, is a tall, slim young man with short hair. He is played by Nick Hayes. When Tick first introduces him to Bernadette he is wearing very short denim hotpants and a bright pink sleeveless vest. At the pub in Broken Hill he wears a massive pink wig with ringlets, a bra top, a tutu and long, ruffled legwarmers in tropical neon colours. At the Cooper Pedy Drive-In Adam is Felicia, in a long, straight auburn wig and a very short, sequined red dress with calf-length black boots. On Ayres Rock Adam is bare-chested but for a harness that holds on a pair of golden butterfly wings with long streaming ribbons in pink, blue, orange and yellow. He has a matching corset round his torso, small pants and pink feathers covering his bum. On his head he wears a very tall, peach, ostrich feather show-girl headdress.
Bernadette is played by Adele Anderson. Bernadette is a tall, slim, older transgender woman with a wig of shoulder length blonde curls. When she is not performing Bernadette wears conventional summer dresses, and at the funeral she wears a hat with a black net veil. On Ayres Rock she wears a long pink evening gown and a remarkable headdress of long pink and peach feathers, radiating all round her head from one ear to the other, all set in a hat of pale lilac flowers.
During the casino show Bernadette, Felecia and Mitzi all have multiple costume changes. They start in knee length lurex (except Felicia who is in a mini skirt), change to extravagant ruffled leggings, and they have headpieces that look like a burst of brightly coloured flowers in blue, pink, orange and purple. Next they don pink capes and pointy hats, then A-line skirts and green blouses. Finally, they are in different matching outfits – Bernadette’s has a knee-length neon pink ruffled skirt, Mitzi has a dress made from squares of different pastel-coloured sequins and Felicia is in the ruffled neon leg warmers. They each have big pompadour wigs.
The Divas: These three ladies feature throughout the show joining in with all the songs. They are played by Leah Vassel, Bernadette Bangura and Jessie May. They wear long sparkly sequinned dresses in white and silver and have big, Marilyn Monroe blonde wigs.
Jessie May also plays Shirley, the owner of the Broken Hill Pub. Shirley has dark unkempt hair and a round face, she is short and stout and has very large breasts. These appear to be without any support as she shakes them around a lot while trying to dance.
Miss Understanding the drag artist who runs the Cock or Two Club has a massive curly wig, a sequined waistcoat and short, glittery hotpants.
Lars, Lars and Lars, the three Swedish men that Adam entertains, all look alike with long blond hair. They wear belly tops, very tight denim shorts, boots and carry small backpacks.
Bob the mechanic, played by Peter Duncan, wears blue overalls or a checked shirt and jeans with brown desert boots. He is short, stocky and grey haired.
Cynthia, Bob’s wife is played by Isabella Glanznig Santos. Cynthia is a pretty young woman with dark hair in a long bob. When she first enters she is in a tight, short red dress. In the Woop Woop she wears a red corset and black, fringed panties.
Marion, played by Billie Hardie, is of medium height and slim with long dark hair. She wears a professional red skirt suit. Benji, Tick’s 6 year old son, wears a casual shirt and chinos.
The ensemble: It is almost impossible to describe all the costumes of the ensemble but think gaudy, outrageous, exotic, multi-coloured costumes with frills, flounces and feathers. Dazzling silver sequinned dresses. Think huge fancy headdresses and multi coloured wigs and also imagine bejewelled sandals, high wedge shoes and studded leather boots. One notable sequence is when they sing ‘Someone Left the Cake Out’ wearing a tight red and white polka dot leotard with a wide ruffled white collar, hats that resemble whipped cream with a cherry on top and they carry polka dot parasols.
Scenery
When we first enter the theatre, the curtains are open and we can see an image of a large glitter ball with a map of Australia printed on the mirrored surface. The image opens centrally to reveal The Cockatoo Club.
On the right of the Cockatoo Club is a wall mounted phone and several tall round drinking tables sit in various parts of the floor. There is a central rectangular dais for performances with a backdrop of red velvet curtains. To the left is a small D.J desk.
The main and most versatile prop is Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the bus for which the show is named. The single decker bus takes up most of the stage. It has metal sides, two large wheels, curtained windows and a door by the driver’s seat. When it rotates the interior of the bus is visible with cushioned seating doubling as sleeping bunks. Between brightly coloured window drapes there is a pole with fluffy boas and other costumes used by the drag artists. At the rear is a small cocktail bar.
In this view there is a frame between the wheels that can be lowered to allow easy access for the actors. Towards the end of the show a set of silver steps will be lowered from the bus allowing the cast of singers and dancers to utilize them.
Priscilla is a versatile prop as it comes apart in sections all of which are on wheels. The individual sections will become small buildings in a mining town, a pub bar, as well as slot machines in the Alice Springs Casino. In the final act Priscilla, bathed in red light will represent Ayres Rock.
The Broken Hill Pub is a run-down establishment in the middle of nowhere. The bar counter is rough wood. There is a small stage, but seating consists of plastic crates.
In The Woop Woop Hotel and Bar the band use large rectangular hay bales on which they dance and sing using farming tools such as hoes, rakes and buckets. There is a circular stage where the drag artists, as well as Bob’s wife, Cynthia will perform. The dressing rooms are of rough wood.
Cooper Pedy is described by Bob as the “toughest little town in Australia, miners, opals and gelignite and that’s about it”. Priscilla comes apart in sections to represent small outbuildings and the inside of a pub in the mining town. It is dark and hostile towards strangers.
The Alice Springs Casino owned by Marion is spacious, and patrons gamble at slot machines (again, sections of Priscilla are used) and sit on chairs with a circular metal base. The casino entertainment stage is large with a frame of flashing spotlights. The dressings rooms are private with individual curtained cubicles on wheels. The music speeds up during the drag queen’s performance and costume changes are lightning fast, facilitated by a member of the cast wheeling a large screen from the left of the right of the stage.
The scenery behind the bus is simply a blue sky with fluffy clouds or a deep red sunset whilst they travel through the outback. Apart from the Alice Spring Casino the lighting tends to be low key and most of the clubs and pubs that the drag artist visit are basic and quite crude illustrating the lack of panache in outlying districts of the Australian outback.
We hope you enjoy the show!
