Reviewed by Julianne Mosher
The Shea Theatre at Suffolk County Community College’s Ammerman Campus in Selden becomes the Australian desert for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but features a colorful rainbow of a story.
Directed by Mary Seymour, the jukebox musical written by Australian film director Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott uses well-known pop songs as its score. Based on Elliott’s 1994 cult-followed film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the show tells the story of two drag queens and a transgender woman who travel across the Australian desert in a camper they coined Priscilla to perform at a resort in Alice Springs.
The play starts out at the Cockatoo Club where the three divas (Michaela Fitzsimmons, Alani Etheridge and Angie Barrientos) start off by belting “It’s Raining Men.” We meet Miss Understanding, (Eleb Jr. Henrius), the MC of the club who plays his rendition of “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” and we meet Tick, (Will Begley), a down-on-her-luck drag queen.
Tick receives a phone call from his wife, Marion (Jadah Dixon), who after not seeing each other for several years as he makes a life for himself in the big city of Sydney, offers him a spot to perform his drag number at her casino in Alice Springs. Not only is she offering him a job, but she’s allowing him to finally meet his young son.
Excited for the opportunity for a fresh start, and to meet his child, Tick calls his old friend, Bernadette, (Thomas McGuire) a transgender woman and retired performer, and a young, semi-cocky drag queen named Felicia (Joseph Salerno). Felicia and Bernadette don’t get along, but reluctantly agree to board a beaten-up old camper they christen “Priscilla.”
The trio head west across the Australia on a weeks-long trip to reach their destination. Aboard the bus, they experience it all, from visiting hole-in-the-wall bars (performing disco anthems like “I Love the Nightlife” to unenthused country folk) to eventually breaking down in the middle of the desert. A lot of laughs, and even some tears, the trip for the three is quite the doozy as they meet an array of strange characters along the way.
When they finally make it to Alice Springs, the three perform together as a group in an epic lip sync that has the audience dancing in their seats.
While watching the show, one might not even realize they are being entertained by students who are surely on their way to stardom. While the talent of the three divas and the three queens is exceptional, the show becomes even more excellent with the addition of the ensemble cast who float between roles and different scenes effortlessly (Nicholas Maggipinto, Thomas Everson, Izzy Mangiaracina, Sarah Lange, Mia Lombardi, Krystian Karwowski, Max Venezia, Katelyn Carlo, Alberto Negron, Isabella Romero, Jennifer Sandusky, Kian Ventura).
During the two-hour show, the stage design changes rapidly. From dive bars to opulent gay clubs, one fun spectacle of the show is Priscilla, herself, which has its own set in itself and is a major focal point of the show. The costumes, too, are as colorful as you’d imagine considering the show surrounds three fabulous drag queens.
So, don’t miss this show. With other fun tunes like, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” “Material Girl,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” “True Colors,” “Hot Stuff,” and “Boogie Wonderland,” you’ll be singing and dancing along as if you were at the club, too.
The Theatres at Suffolk County Community College present Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in the Shea Theatre, Islip Arts Building, SCCC Ammerman campus, 533 College Road, Selden on April 24, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. and April 27 at 2 p.m. General admission is $15, veterans and students 16 years of age or younger $10. SCCC students receive two free tickets. To order, call 631-451-4163.
