Three drag queens travel across Australia in the musical \u201cPriscilla Queen of the Desert,\u201d while dancing, singing and giving fabulous performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t decide which was more impressive between the costumes or the singing,\u201d said Shirley Holmes, 55, a regular attendee of San Jose Broadway.<\/p>\n
The main character of the story is Tick, played by Wade McCollum, a drag queen who goes by the name Mitzi. Tick has not seen his son in several years so he sets out on a journey with two close friends.<\/p>\n
Bernadette, played by Scott Willis, is a former drag queen and now transsexual who joins Tick. Bernadette ends up falling in love with Bob, a heterosexual male, on their way to see Tick\u2019s son.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis (production) was one of my favorites,\u201d said Holmes. \u201cI never saw the movie, but all aspects of the play were flawless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam, also known as Felicia, played by Bryan West, is a younger and more snarky drag queen that rivals Bernadette throughout the plot.<\/p>\n
\u201cFelicia is really fierce and does crazy production numbers,\u201d West said in a statement on broadwayworld.com \u201cThere\u2019s never a dull moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam and Bernadette make comedic remarks on each other’s beauty, age, personality and more.<\/p>\n
The two argue about which music to play while they use song titles from Madonna and Diana Ross including \u201cLike a Virgin\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m Coming out\u201d to make personal jabs at each other.<\/p>\n
The plot includes emotional scenes that involve acceptance, prejudice, love and the difficulties that come with being a parent.<\/p>\n
The trio stops at a bar where they face a closed-minded crowd that writes slurs upon their bus and violently attacks one of the queens.<\/p>\n
What really makes this musical powerful is the fun and over-the-top songs. Priscilla Queen of the Desert\u2019s score consists of diva, disco-pop songs.<\/p>\n
The Weather Girls\u2019 \u201cIt\u2019s Raining Men,\u201d Donna Summer\u2019s \u201cHot Stuff,\u201d Gloria Gaynor\u2019s \u201cI Will Survive\u201d and four Madonna songs, including \u201cMaterial Girl\u201d were sung by the cast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe songs were marvelous,\u201d said Phyllis Hagan, 75, staff of O\u2019Connor Hospital. \u201cThe performances had so much energy and movement.\u201d<\/p>\n
West said in a statement on broadwayworld.com that singing \u201cLike a Prayer\u201d was the most enjoyable part of the show for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho wouldn’t like singing Madonna every night?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The costumes were just as dramatic as the ones used in the movie, which included long flowing gowns, large wigs and glittery, sequined fabrics.<\/p>\n
The play used three characters credited under the role \u201cdiva,\u201d who were suspended high in the air to sing some of the more vocal songs, unlike the movie.<\/p>\n
A huge bus lit up and rotated in the center of the stage during most of the movie as the main set piece.<\/p>\n
The play was directed by Simon Phillips, produced by Randall A. Buck and adapted from the book by Stephen Elliott and Allan Scott.<\/p>\n
The run for the tour is over, but \u201cEvita\u201d will be playing at San Jose Broadway until Nov. 24, followed by the Australian Bee Gees show in February.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three drag queens travel across Australia in the musical \u201cPriscilla Queen of the Desert,\u201d while dancing, singing and giving fabulous performances. \u201cI couldn\u2019t decide which was more impressive between the costumes or the singing,\u201d said Shirley Holmes, 55, a regular attendee of San Jose Broadway. The main character of the story is Tick, played by…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":88904,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"staff_name":[629],"class_list":["post-8954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","staff_name-justin-san-diego"],"yoast_head":"\n