BWW Reviews: PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT Arrives in the Mojave

"Priscilla Queen of the Desert" has traveled from the Australian outback to the Mojave and will be in residence through August 18 at the Venetian Resort and Casino. The national touring company of the Broadway show is way more flamboyant than the source material in the 1994 movie.

The show tells the tale of Tick (Wade McCollum) - aka "Mitzi" - a drag performer without a gig. He gets a call from his ex-wife inviting him to see their son and to appear in her casino in middle-of-the outback Alice Springs. So Tick and friends get on a ratty old bus they dub "Priscilla" and set out to get there.

Traveling with Tick are the young Adam (Bryan West) - aka "Felicia" - and Bernadette (Scott Willis), a formerly well-known lip-synching performer who has fallen on rough times. Bernadette is, for most of the show, the heart of the matter. A fading transsexual, she's everyone's "mom" and does a wonderful vrsion of "A Fine Romance," sweet and moving.

As they, joined by others, make the journey the music is all familiar to the audience, as it consists of 80's hits, beginning with "It's Raining Men" and including such pop tunes as "MacArthur Park" (for which they actually do have a cake left out in the rain), "Material Girl," "I Say A Little Prayer," "Hot Stuff," Girls Just Want To Have Fun" and "I Will Survive," among others. It's fun hearing these songs and the audience responded to the music, quietly singing along, clapping and nodding in time to the music.

The book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott is intact. David Hyslop's direction is "based on" Simon Phillips' Broadway direction and the New York choreography is "recreated by" Joshua Buscher. The fabulous costumes are by Tom Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner and makeup is by Cassie Hanlon.

This production of "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" is, as they say in Australia, "heaps" of fun. The only quibble one might have is that the theater in the Venetian, which was specifically designed for "Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular" seems too much for this show. People were heard to say that they "couldn't understand" the spoken words or, even when they knew the lyrics, couldn't understand them." While the Australian accents here sound just generally British. That's fine here, as apparently most Americans cannot easily distinguish British from Australian accents. (With close relatives in Australia, I heard this discrepancy immediately but most admit that for the majority of the audience this doesn't matter.)

"Priscilla Queen of the Desert" deserves an audience here in Las Vegas. It's a perfect show for our city: flamboyant, fabulous fun. See it while you can.

'Priscilla" plays Wednesday through Monday evenings at 8 pm. Tickets are $74.40 to $173.40 including taxes and fees and are available by calling 702-414-9000 or online at Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott is intact. David Hyslop's direction is "based on" Simon Phillips' Broadway direction and the New York choreography is "recreated by" Joshua Buscher. The fabulous costumes are by Tom Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner and makeup is by Cassie Hanlon. This production of "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" is, as they say in Australia, "heaps" of fun. The only quibble one might have is that the theater in the Venetian, which was specifically designed for "Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular" seems too much for this show. People were heard to say that they "couldn't understand" the spoken words or, even when they knew the lyrics, couldn't understand them." While the Australian accents here sound just generally British, that is acceptable as the accent clearly is not American and most Americans cannot easily distinguish British from Australian accents. (With close relatives in Australia, I heard this discrepancy immediately but most admit that for the majority of the audience this doesn't matter.) "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" deserves an audience here in Las Vegas. It's a perfect show for our city: flamboyant and fun. See it while you can. 'Priscilla" plays Wednesday through Monday evenings at 8 pm. tickets are $74.40 to $173.40 including taxes and fees and are available by calling 702-414-9000 or online at http://www.venetian.com/Las-Vegas-Entertainment/Resident-Shows/Priscilla-The-Musical/" target="_blank">http://www.venetian.com/Las-Vegas-Entertainment/Resident-Shows/Priscilla-The-Musical/

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