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Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted: March 21, 2011 03:14 AM
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10Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: "Priscilla" Totters In
Read More: Broadway , Musical , Nick Adams , Priscilla Musical , Priscilla Queen Of The Desert , Priscilla
Theater , Will Swenson , Entertainment News
PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT -- THE
MUSICAL * 1/2 out of ****
PALACE THEATRE
Bachelorette parties have a new go-to destination. The
musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert offers silly
costumes to let them giggle, enough male flesh infabulous shape to let them squeal and plenty of songsthey already know to let them sing along. Best of all,there's only a wisp of a plot to distract them from theirrevelry.
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Unfortunately, anyone who comes to the show expecting a little heart and soul from the movie along with
high heels and glitter will be sorely disappointed. It would be nice to say Priscilla is harmless fluff. But it
just isn't true. The story is familiar if unusual: A drag queen gets a call from his one-time wife who saystheir little boy wants to meet his daddy. (He is six, after all.) Why not bring some friends along and stagea show at her casino in the middle of nowhere, specifically Alice, Australia? Before you can say "roadtrip," our hero Will Swenson is in a fabulously decked out bus with his sparkly friends Bernadette (Tony
Sheldon), a voice of world weary wisdom; and Felicia (Nick Adams), the bitchy one who gets under
Bernadette's skin, loves Madonna and just wants to have fun!
So do we, but it's not to be. A disco ball appears at the very beginning, with a trio of divas floating over a
neon bridge belting out "It's Raining Men." The crowd claps hopefully, with a couple of cartoonishcostumes and a big cast revving the engine up. But that's about it for visual flair. Old disco tunes comeand go at random. At one point some confetti comes down in the first act; it could have happened at any
moment and you wouldn't blink an eye. That's not a good thing when confetti falling on the audience
feels arbitrary; your reaction should be a smile of delight, not "why now?"
Where to begin with the problems? The book by Stephan Elliott & Allan Scott is flat, with mild jokes
from the movie joined by milder rejoinders here. The high point, as such, is a gag about highway roadkillthat climaxes by having them run over a Teletubby. The emotional pull of a father looking to connect withhis son but fearing rejection is raised at the beginning and resolved at the end in about five minutes flat.
The three leads have so-so voices at best here (half the time they are lip-syncing to songs belted out with
flair by the divas). Will Swenson (so magnetic in Hair ) feels anonymous here and struggles with most of
his songs (the random inclusion of "MacArthur Park" is his best number). Sheldon is a pro at this inAustralia but must compete with the tremendous gravity Terence Stamp brought to the role in the film.It's not a draw. Adams has the best time of it with his flippant lines, not to mention being in such
spectacular shape that some of those brides-to-be might reconsider their standards for what a man can
look like.
The biggest problem -- literally -- is Priscilla itself. Much of the film takes place on and around that big
bus. They've dealt with this on Broadway by plopping a gigantic bus right in the middle of the stage andbasically leaving it there. Sometimes it rotates to the left; sometimes it rotates to the right. Sometimesthe side lifts and we watch the fellows trading quips on the bus. For those scenes, they're stuck in a tinyset with a whole lot of nothing surrounding them on the stage. It feels lumbering and literal. Perhaps the
bus should have been fanciful (composed of gigantic high heel shoes?) or playfully part of their
imagination. Anything other than the hulking hunk of metal delivered by Brian Thompson. The costumesby Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner are diverting for a while. But even there we become jaded too quickly.If they are painting the bus, we know dancers will come on stage decked out as giant paint brushes andwe merely shrug.
Whatever modest magic was conjured by Mamma Mia -- which has a similar clutch of great songs and an
equally thin plot -- is not conjured here by director Simon Phillips. The film and the actors involved all
deserved better. Lessons are learned by the lads. But the only lesson we take away is the old one: all thatglitters is not gold.
THE 2010-2011 THEATER SEASON (ratings on a four star system)
Angels in America revival at Signature *** out of ****
Beautiful Burnout at St. Ann's Warehouse **
Blood From A Stone ** 1/2
The Broadway Musicals Of 1921 at Town Hall ***Devil Boys From Beyond **
The Diary Of A Madman with Geoffrey Rush at BAM ***Driving Miss Daisy **
Elf *
Elling **
A Free Man Of Color ** 1/2
Popeater: Brad and
Angelina's Strict Nanny
Requirements
Shelterpop: Unplugging
Appliances: Do I REALLY
Have to Do This?
What To Do About Smelly
Feet
Noam Chomsky Is the World
Too Big to Fail? The
Contours of Global Order
AOL Real Estate: Prince
William and Kate to Live in
Royal Mansion
TV Squad: Maria Menounos
Relives Her Paparazzi
'Wardrobe Malfunction' on
'Lopez' (VIDEO)
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Gatz ***
Good People with Frances McDormand **
The Grand Manner **
The Great Game ***
Gruesome Playground Injuries ***
The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing **
The Hallway Trilogy: Paraffin ***
The Hallway Trilogy: Rose ***
The Importance Of Being Earnest ** 1/2
The Interminable Suicide Of Gregory Church *** 1/2
John Gabriel Borkman * 1/2
La Bete ** 1/2
Les Miserables ***
Lombardi **
The Merchant Of Venice *** 1/2
Middletown ***
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore *
Mistakes Were Made ** 1/2
Nixon In China *** 1/2
The New York Idea **
The Nightingale and Other Short Fables at BAM ***
Other Desert Cities **
Our Town with Helen Hunt ***
The Pee-wee Herman Show ***
Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert -- The Musical * 1/2
The Road To Qatar *
Room ***
The Scottsboro Boys ****
Small Craft Warnings zero starsThree Sisters (w Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard) *** 1/2Timon Of Athens at Public with Richard Thomas ***
The Whipping Man **
Wings **
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown **
AT THE NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL
Blood Ties ***
Fellowship * 1/2
Fingers and Toes ** 1/2Frog Kiss *** 1/2The Great Unknown ** 1/2Nighttime Traffic **Our Country *PopArt *Shine! The Horatio Alger Musical ** 1/2Show Choir **Tess: The New Musical **Trav'lin' ***Without You *** 1/2
*****
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinionmakers as guests. It's available free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and alsoavailable for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and
reviews .
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
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PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCAL
Michael Giltz
Freelance writer and raconteur
Posted: March 21, 2011 03:14 AM
BIO
Become a Fan
Get Email Alerts
Bloggers' Index
2
35
0
10Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: "Priscilla" Totters In
Read More: Broadway , Musical , Nick Adams , Priscilla Musical , Priscilla Queen Of The Desert , Priscilla
Theater , Will Swenson , Entertainment News
PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT -- THE
MUSICAL * 1/2 out of ****
PALACE THEATRE
Bachelorette parties have a new go-to destination. The
musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert offers silly
costumes to let them giggle, enough male flesh infabulous shape to let them squeal and plenty of songsthey already know to let them sing along. Best of all,there's only a wisp of a plot to distract them from theirrevelry.
MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
9/11 Responders Warned
They Will Be Screened For
Terrorism Ties (EXCLUSIVE)
Jerry Seinfeld, Donald Trump
Rip Each Other In Heated
Political War Of Words
PlayStation Network Could Be
Down For Days FOLLOW USBIG NEWS: Celebrities | Britney Spears | LeAnn Rimes | Lindsay Lohan | Tribeca Film Festival | More...
PHOTOS: The
Funniest People
Not On TwitterMiranda Kerr &
Orlando Bloom
Step Out To 'The
The Funniest
Someecards For
Easter 2011Weekly Roundup of
eBay Vintage
Clothing Finds
News Web
Like 276K April 24, 2011 | Log In | Sign Up
Get Alerts
SHARE THIS STORY
Submit this story
Get Entertainment Alerts
Sign UpPHOTO GALLERIES
Like 20K
Like 4K
FRONT
PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCAL
Unfortunately, anyone who comes to the show expecting a little heart and soul from the movie along with
high heels and glitter will be sorely disappointed. It would be nice to say Priscilla is harmless fluff. But it
just isn't true. The story is familiar if unusual: A drag queen gets a call from his one-time wife who saystheir little boy wants to meet his daddy. (He is six, after all.) Why not bring some friends along and stagea show at her casino in the middle of nowhere, specifically Alice, Australia? Before you can say "roadtrip," our hero Will Swenson is in a fabulously decked out bus with his sparkly friends Bernadette (Tony
Sheldon), a voice of world weary wisdom; and Felicia (Nick Adams), the bitchy one who gets under
Bernadette's skin, loves Madonna and just wants to have fun!
So do we, but it's not to be. A disco ball appears at the very beginning, with a trio of divas floating over a
neon bridge belting out "It's Raining Men." The crowd claps hopefully, with a couple of cartoonishcostumes and a big cast revving the engine up. But that's about it for visual flair. Old disco tunes comeand go at random. At one point some confetti comes down in the first act; it could have happened at any
moment and you wouldn't blink an eye. That's not a good thing when confetti falling on the audience
feels arbitrary; your reaction should be a smile of delight, not "why now?"
Where to begin with the problems? The book by Stephan Elliott & Allan Scott is flat, with mild jokes
from the movie joined by milder rejoinders here. The high point, as such, is a gag about highway roadkillthat climaxes by having them run over a Teletubby. The emotional pull of a father looking to connect withhis son but fearing rejection is raised at the beginning and resolved at the end in about five minutes flat.
The three leads have so-so voices at best here (half the time they are lip-syncing to songs belted out with
flair by the divas). Will Swenson (so magnetic in Hair ) feels anonymous here and struggles with most of
his songs (the random inclusion of "MacArthur Park" is his best number). Sheldon is a pro at this inAustralia but must compete with the tremendous gravity Terence Stamp brought to the role in the film.It's not a draw. Adams has the best time of it with his flippant lines, not to mention being in such
spectacular shape that some of those brides-to-be might reconsider their standards for what a man can
look like.
The biggest problem -- literally -- is Priscilla itself. Much of the film takes place on and around that big
bus. They've dealt with this on Broadway by plopping a gigantic bus right in the middle of the stage andbasically leaving it there. Sometimes it rotates to the left; sometimes it rotates to the right. Sometimesthe side lifts and we watch the fellows trading quips on the bus. For those scenes, they're stuck in a tinyset with a whole lot of nothing surrounding them on the stage. It feels lumbering and literal. Perhaps the
bus should have been fanciful (composed of gigantic high heel shoes?) or playfully part of their
imagination. Anything other than the hulking hunk of metal delivered by Brian Thompson. The costumesby Tim Chappel & Lizzy Gardiner are diverting for a while. But even there we become jaded too quickly.If they are painting the bus, we know dancers will come on stage decked out as giant paint brushes andwe merely shrug.
Whatever modest magic was conjured by Mamma Mia -- which has a similar clutch of great songs and an
equally thin plot -- is not conjured here by director Simon Phillips. The film and the actors involved all
deserved better. Lessons are learned by the lads. But the only lesson we take away is the old one: all thatglitters is not gold.
THE 2010-2011 THEATER SEASON (ratings on a four star system)
Angels in America revival at Signature *** out of ****
Beautiful Burnout at St. Ann's Warehouse **
Blood From A Stone ** 1/2
The Broadway Musicals Of 1921 at Town Hall ***Devil Boys From Beyond **
The Diary Of A Madman with Geoffrey Rush at BAM ***Driving Miss Daisy **
Elf *
Elling **
A Free Man Of Color ** 1/2
Popeater: Brad and
Angelina's Strict Nanny
Requirements
Shelterpop: Unplugging
Appliances: Do I REALLY
Have to Do This?
What To Do About Smelly
Feet
Noam Chomsky Is the World
Too Big to Fail? The
Contours of Global Order
AOL Real Estate: Prince
William and Kate to Live in
Royal Mansion
TV Squad: Maria Menounos
Relives Her Paparazzi
'Wardrobe Malfunction' on
'Lopez' (VIDEO)
DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5
Sam Waterston
Saving Easter Island’s Marine
Ecosystems
David O. Russell
FDR Said it All in 1936 -- Who Will
Follow in His Steps Today?
More Celebrity News at People.com
Like 1K
Like 1K
Like 1K
Like 664
Like 3K
Like 56
Like 52
Lindsay Lohan Is 'Angry'
About Jail Sentence
READ MORE
Antoine Dodson Arrested
READ MORE
Stefano Langone RevealsHis Relationship Status
READ MORE
Royal Wedding Guest ListRevealed: Who's Going?
Gatz ***
Good People with Frances McDormand **
The Grand Manner **
The Great Game ***
Gruesome Playground Injuries ***
The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing **
The Hallway Trilogy: Paraffin ***
The Hallway Trilogy: Rose ***
The Importance Of Being Earnest ** 1/2
The Interminable Suicide Of Gregory Church *** 1/2
John Gabriel Borkman * 1/2
La Bete ** 1/2
Les Miserables ***
Lombardi **
The Merchant Of Venice *** 1/2
Middletown ***
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore *
Mistakes Were Made ** 1/2
Nixon In China *** 1/2
The New York Idea **
The Nightingale and Other Short Fables at BAM ***
Other Desert Cities **
Our Town with Helen Hunt ***
The Pee-wee Herman Show ***
Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert -- The Musical * 1/2
The Road To Qatar *
Room ***
The Scottsboro Boys ****
Small Craft Warnings zero starsThree Sisters (w Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard) *** 1/2Timon Of Athens at Public with Richard Thomas ***
The Whipping Man **
Wings **
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown **
AT THE NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL
Blood Ties ***
Fellowship * 1/2
Fingers and Toes ** 1/2Frog Kiss *** 1/2The Great Unknown ** 1/2Nighttime Traffic **Our Country *PopArt *Shine! The Horatio Alger Musical ** 1/2Show Choir **Tess: The New Musical **Trav'lin' ***Without You *** 1/2
*****
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinionmakers as guests. It's available free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and alsoavailable for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and
reviews .
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
TOP VIDEO PICKS 1 of 10
Lindsay Lohan Back in the
Slammer
Beckhams In, Obamas Outat Royal Wedding
Olsen's Wacky Fur Outfit
MOST DISCUSSED RIGHT NOW 1 of 2
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More Celebrity News at Popeater.com
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Bradley Cooper?!
Like 321
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Minaj, Ke$ha Form Super
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Like 255
mayhemstudios
RT @sbeasla : What happens when
you tickle a little penguin?
http://j.mp/dEZjCM via
@huffingtonpost
twsuccess
Antoine Dodson Arrested For
Marijuana Possession
http://huff.to/edLaIo
Lindsay Lohan
Quickly Released
From Jail After...
Antoine Dodson
Arrested For
Marijuana
Possession
'The Hangover 2'
Trailers: New TV
Spots...
'The Office' Season
Finale: Jim Carrey
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Buy a link here Sponsored Links
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SHOCKING: Apple iPad for $24.87
TODAY ONLY: Auction site to give away 1,000 iPads for $24.87!
Channel9Today.org/Shocking-Deals
Trade Free for 60 Days.
Plus get up to $500. Apply at E*TRADE Securities.
www.etrade.com/tradefree
DO NOT buy Auto Insurance!
A secret to saving you money now. $9 Auto Insurance is here!
www.Consumer-Insurance.org
Loading comments…
Buy a link here Sponsored Links
Mom Is 55, Looks 30...
Her clever $5 wrinkle therapy angers Botox Doctors. Find Out How!
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HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
NBA
Afghanistan
Fast Food
Gas & Oil
NASA
Hockey
Brian Williams
Gabrielle
Giffords
Mexico
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »
ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE
Advertise | Log In | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ | Contact Us
User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | Powered by Movable Type
Copyright © 2011 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
RyoPutra Lagunya jordin sparks RT @uath : RT @PinoSugama : Why does love
always feel like a battlefield (˘_˘")
3 minutes ago from ÜberSocial
nasli123 Dieses Video musst du dir ansehen! -- Big Time Rush ft. Jordin Sparks -
Count on You 【HD 】 http://t.co/N81aATn via @youtube
7 minutes ago from Tweet Button
Get AlertsFRONT
PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY SPORTS STYLE WORLD FOOD LIVING IMPACT EDU LOCAL