Review, Words and Photos by Deana Morgan
Well, what a ride aboard “Priscilla!” the Queen of the Desert, “camptastic” tour bus which transports lead characters Bernadette, Tick and Felicia from Sydney to Alice Springs in this hilariously funny and heart-warming, romp of a jukebox musical!
Pricilla Queen of the Desert – Directed and choreographed by Dee Bennie-Marshall who has done a truly amazing job of bringing a sterling cast together and preparing them for this “back by popular demand” weeklong run at Rotherham Civic Theatre.
Based on the smash-hit movie, Pricilla Queen of the at the core of the musical the glamorous Sydney-based performing trio played by Ashley Booker (Bernadette), Ben Loy (Tick) and Matt Roddis (Felicia) agree to take their drag show to the middle of the Australian outback. It must be said that all three principals were outstandingly good and managed to hit just the right balance of drag-queen camp, pathos, humour, fun and a sense of adventure.
Based on the smash-hit movie, Pricilla Queen of the Desert at the core of the musical the glamorous Sydney-based performing trio played by Ashley Booker (Bernadette), Ben Loy (Tick) and Matt Roddis (Felicia) agree to take their drag show to the middle of the Australian outback. It must be said that all three principals were outstandingly good and managed to hit just the right balance of drag-queen camp, pathos, humour, fun and a sense of adventure.
They hop aboard battered old bus Priscilla, searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they ever could have ever dreamed of. Led by Musical Director Matthew Symonds, this show embraces a floor filling playlist of get up and boogie dance tracks and the orchestra did the score real justice. The vocals throughout were exceptional. Of particular note I must give credit to the sass and vocal prowess of the three vocal “Divas”, Grace English, Kirsty Taylor and Ellie Simpson: all three giving punch packed deliveries and showing real vocal skill.
One of the many things I loved about this particular production was the entire commitment, across the board, from the whole cast with some memorable supporting cast performances by Rachel Marshall, Darren Mann-Saunders, Theo Mayne, Sally Beech, Helen Edwards and Alfie Houghton the youngest cast member playing 10-year-old Benji. This talented young fella is one to watch!
With a dazzling array of outrageous Olivier and Tony award-winning costumes (we’re talking dancing paintbrushes, cupcakes, feathers, glitz and Glam with a capital G) the staging and technical spec for this production was impressive. Priscilla herself takes centre stage and she revolves, she moves, invites you in and she is the glue that holds our three queens together. The producers clearly think on a grand scale with topflight production values comparable to the West End.
We left Rotherham Civic Theatre totally buzzing. We danced, we sang along, we cried a little however we laughed … a lot! Given that the theatre community has suffered so badly during the recent pandemic what I saw of Rotherham Musical Theatre Company last night I can tell you they are most certainly coming back stronger than ever. Well done to one and all and “break a leg!” for the rest of the run. Closes Saturday 13th November. It’s a near sell out so grab a ticket fast!
This performance contains strong language and adult content that some might find offensive. Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Catch RMTC in Kinky Boots planned for October 2022.
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