Priscilla on Broadway
The reviews of the Broadway production of Australian hit Priscilla Queen of the Desert are out, and while early reviews were a mixed bag, the balance has swung to positive reviews, while Tony Sheldon’s Broadway debut has been received extremely positively all round -
‘Elegant and dignified, the Australian actor could pass for Cate Blanchett's mother.’ The Hollywood Reporter
‘Sheldon, who has played Bernadette in prior productions of the musical, gives the most deeply felt performance …’ AM New York
‘Sheldon, whose rich performance is crucial to this show staying grounded and authentic …’
‘Tony Sheldon, who has been with the show from its Australian debut, is particularly winning as the gracious-lady transsexual Bernadette …’ NY Times
'His Bernadette is simultaneously outrageous and human, caustic yet warmhearted.' Variety
… he barely seems to be speaking from a script. Sheldon's heartfelt performance is a welcome counterweight to the wackier parts of the show; it's not going too far to say he's the glue that keeps it together. Associated Press
The old guard of female illusionist is embodied by Bernadette (Tony Sheldon), a grand dame in every transsexual way. … Sheldon wittily portrays the genteel yet gutsy Bernadette with steely poise and a razor edge beneath her ladylike demeanor while resembling, at certain angles, Uta Lemper on steroids. New Jersey News Room
And check out the rave for Tony's performance in Peter Filichia's blog - here's just a sample
Broadway may not be in a Golden Age, but it’s certainly in a Golden Age of Drag. In that last decade, eight men who’d played at least one scene in a dress received a Tony nomination for either Best Actor in a Musical or Best Featured Actor in a Musical. …
We’ll have at least one other drag nominee this season, too, and perhaps three for the “leading ladies” of Priscilla Queen of the Desert: … But the one with the best chance to win is Sheldon as Bernadette …
Sheldon … captures the heart and soul of a real woman. Oh, he does have a line early in the show where he’s so surprised by a piece of information that he drops his feminine voice and gives us his “real” deep masculine one. But aside from that let’s-go-for-a-gag moment, he’s all girl.
A tough one, mind you, a la Elaine Stritch. Like her, he’s profane and takes no garbage from anyone. But that’s only when he’s provoked. Otherwise, Sheldon’s Bernadette wants to be as elegant as Anne Bancroft. For that matter, Sheldon very much resembles the late Mrs. Brooks – and Anne, I hope that if you’re tuning in from heaven, you’ll forgive me for that.
What follows is a series of extracts from the Broadway reviews, with links so you can check out the full reviews.
Jocelyn Noveck gives a positive Associated Press review, and raises the question of a Tony Award for best Curtain Call:
… Some people — many people, likely — won't be able to get enough of "Priscilla," … a gaudy, bawdy, corny, campy and good-naturedly vulgar jukebox musical that's been one of the most anticipated Broadway shows this season.
… Those seeking refined wit and subtlety should look elsewhere.
But it's hard to imagine people wandering into "Priscilla," … not knowing what they're getting into: a loud, boisterous evening fueled by familiar disco tunes and some of the zaniest costumes in memory. (A few questions arise: Did they raid Cher's closet? A Bob Mackie warehouse? Are there a lot of naked birds flying around?)
… Tony Sheldon, the Australian actor who is so comfortable as the older transsexual Bernadette, having played the role well over 1,000 times overseas, that he barely seems to be speaking from a script. Sheldon's heartfelt performance is a welcome counterweight to the wackier parts of the show; it's not going too far to say he's the glue that keeps it together.
And the eye-popping costumes are by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, who created the Oscar-winning designs for the film.
They save some of their best for last — in fact, for the curtain call. (Is there no Tony for best curtain call?) Cast members come out first as cockatoos. Then a few emus. Then come the lizards, the koalas and the kangaroos. Finally, the three leads come out, in crazy get-ups with something like billowing sails attached — they seem ready to catch the next strong wind.
In New York Magazine, Scott Brown says ‘In Priscilla, The Glitter's The Thing.’
… We’re treated, in other words, to a high-speed Automat of toweringly tasteless costumes, camp levels so dangerously high you’ll be finding stray sequins in the dryer for years to come, and a set list--sorry, a score--stuffed to its glittery gills with karaoke yester-hits …
… Priscilla is a well-above-average drag show with the pink afterimage of a plot, and three superbly sincere leads who fleetingly convince us we’re seeing an actual musical with a real emotional arc. This being drag, the illusion is enough.
… Priscilla is really something of a relic, closer kin to the culture wars of the eighties and nineties: It's a prefiguring of the gay diaspora, the marriage debate, and the question of child-rearing, not a treatment of it in the here and now. But then, if you're at Priscilla, you're not there for the here and now. You're here to move your lips, and perhaps your hips, to the sounds of yesterday. And with singalongs tacitly encouraged from the get-go and confetti falling from the ceiling inside the first twenty minutes, chances are you will.
Elisabeth Vincentelli’s positive (three out of four) New York Post review is headed ‘Priscilla’ a thrilla that makes it fun to be a drag by
… It may look a bit ramshackle at times, but "Priscilla" has a big, joyous heart.
… Zippily directed by Simon Phillips, the show bursts with a festive spirit that helps overlook the ensemble's small size and the primitiveness of Ross Coleman's choreography.
But what really sustains "Priscilla" is the chemistry between the three leads. And here the triangle's lopsided.
At the peak is the remarkable Sheldon. The Australian actor, who created the role in Sydney, nails the balance of vulnerability and toughness, pathos and pride that keeps Bernadette going.
… Oh well . . . there are still those outfits and those songs. When dancers dressed as giant cupcakes appear during "MacArthur Park," we enter some kind of psychedelic parallel dimension. And, for a musical, that's a very good thing.
Steven Suskin for Variety predicts a successful run at the Palace for Priscilla:
Priscilla, a tricked-up tour bus with a shoe on the roof, rolls onto the stage of the Palace Theater to roars from the audience, and proceeds to turn, twist and light up pink and purple. And then does it again (and again and again). So goes the brashly good-natured Aussie musical to which the bus lends its name, "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" …
Standout perf comes from Sheldon, an Australian who has played the role on three continents thus far. His Bernadette is simultaneously outrageous and human, caustic yet warmhearted.
Finest work of the evening, along with that of Sheldon, comes from costume designers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner. The pair shared an Oscar for the film, and their wares here -- including those hats! -- positively sparkle.
… For all the glitz, though -- and there is a lot of glitz -- there's a heart ticking true beneath it all, and that should earn "Priscilla" a long and profitable run at the Palace, with the merchandise stand doing big business in purple boas.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ musical dishes out relentless entertainment is the lead on the review from Michael Sommers of New Jersey News Room.
A wildly flashy musical version of a 1994 cult film, “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” sashayed into the Palace on Sunday, all fun, fantastic frocks and fabulousness – but not really all that much heart.
… It’s not a traditional Broadway sound, but then, the loud and lush “Priscilla” is crafted in the style of “Mamma Mia” and “Rock of Ages,” which are more like mega-cartoons with songs rather than musicals.
“Priscilla” skimps on sincerity in its musical storytelling to provide instead a somewhat overwhelming cavalcade of madly ga-ga couture and feverish choreography deployed in wacko production numbers. While costume designers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner dream up some indescribably amazing outfits, one wonders how the drag divas were able to stitch together such elaborate get-ups in the back of their bus.
The show’s leads are very likeable. An Aussie theater veteran, Sheldon wittily portrays the genteel yet gutsy Bernadette with steely poise and a razor edge beneath her ladylike demeanor while resembling, at certain angles, Uta Lemper on steroids.
… Paring some of the crazy excess from director Simon Phillips’ over-the-top production likely could make “Priscilla” a more exhilarating affair – frankly, watching the show can be an exhausting experience — but this mountain of madcap frivolousness surely remains a sight to behold.
Howard Shapiro from the Philadelphia Inquirer gives Priscilla a rave review
That's only the beginning of the wondrous curiosities that run through the start-to-finish sparkling Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the new Broadway musical that opened Sunday at the Palace. Its two-plus hours of seamless delight are likely to make the queen of the desert the season's king of Broadway.
Priscilla, directed by Simon Phillips, is essentially a juke-box musical with songs and snippets pulled straight from a gay disco a few decades back. A cast that pops out of nowhere in the desert sings and dances with abandon - buff guys and women who are ... really buff guys, and women who are striking real women. They accentuate the plot's feel-good part with a warmth so uncontrolled and stagecraft so extreme, it defies description: There is over the top, and there is Priscilla Queen of the Desert, lots of levels higher.
I've not seen this much exaggerated pelvic thrusting since the Troc on Arch Street operated as a strip joint, and no aviary I know can begin to match the feather count.
David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter gives a positive review:
It takes the chutzpah and shameless theatricality of an army of drag queens to shove a cake onstage simply as a set-up for "MacArthur Park." At that point, resistance to the brash charms of Priscilla Queen of the Desert becomes futile.
Jukebox musicals are all about shoehorning hits into a jerry-built plot by whatever means necessary. But in "MacArthur Park," Priscilla sets a new benchmark, appropriating some of the loopiest lyrics in 20th century pop. Beginning in the original Richard Harris vein as a poignant reflection on love and glory, won and lost, the song then switches to Donna Summer mode, yielding a delirious production number with cupcakes twirling in the rain.
There's A LOT going on. While much of it is gaudy, fabulous and funny, it's not until act two that the aggressively high-energy musical calms down enough to allow emotional investment in its characters.
This comes largely via the anchoring presence of Sheldon's divine Bernadette. She's soft and vulnerable one minute, maternal the next, yet always ready to dispense an acerbic put-down. Elegant and dignified, the Australian actor could pass for Cate Blanchett's mother.
Chris Jones from the Chicago Tribune also gave the show the thumbs up:
The far from revelatory but irresistibly enjoyable and big-hearted confection "Priscilla" has finally spun its disco jukebox stateside, some 17 years after the international release of its cult source film …
Those who relish the harder edges of the world of drag and transgendered performance — the sexual complexity, the oppression, the ambivalence of self-obfuscation — will likely find the huge Broadway "Priscilla" too mainstreamed and overly worried about wowing and comforting the matinee crowd with one flashy costume after another (although these multifarious creations from Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner are truly eye-popping). Sheldon, whose rich performance is crucial to this show staying grounded and authentic amid the flirtatious Adams' dazzling tricks and the more familiar (but earnestly acted) quest of Swenson's ambivalent character, does get to remind us all that we are here enjoying choices that come at considerable personal cost to those who make them. The show could hit that note a little harder; it certainly has the entertain-'em-at-all-costs imperative licked.
… But "Priscilla" has a pulsing theatrical heart and soul, not least because its characters are inveterate creatures of the stage. As directed by Simon Phillips, who has been on this bus for years, the tone is warm and inclusive. "Priscilla" has a rich dynasty of queens, unfazed by any desert and very much at home on Broadway.
In Entertainment Weekly, Thom Geler also gives the show a positive review:
… this production boasts a score of super-familiar disco and pop hits and some seriously show-stopping costumes designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, who won the Oscar for their work on the film and are safe bet to pick up a Tony this June.
The nylon-thin plot is mostly an excuse to set up the classic tunes on the soundtrack. As fans of Glee know by now, there's a certain pleasure in the truly unlikely segue. It's natural for Tick to begin ''Say a Little Prayer'' seated at the mirror: ''The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup...'' But you can imagine the narrative lengths to which the creators must go to introduce Jimmy Webb's ''MacArthur Park,'' which memorably begins: ''Someone left the cake out in the rain.''
Needless to say, the show is campier than a tentful of Boy Scouts (working on their choreography merit badge). … Sheldon is not the strongest singer, but brings some touching pathos to his role as the aging diva.
For Bloomberg News, while Jeremy Gerard doesn’t rave, his two and a half stars rates Priscilla above average.
There’s a bus onstage at the Palace Theatre, where Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli once ruled.
And while no one’s singing a remix of “Over the Rainbow,” there’s more than a Technicolor dose of Oz on display in the raucously winning disco musical “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.”
… A cut above, for bringing tremendous heart to a predictable role, is Tony Sheldon as the touching Bernadette.
Charles Isherwood from The New York Times gave Priscilla a tepid review.
… this hyperactively splashy show wants so desperately to give audiences a gaudy good time that the results are oddly enervating. Instead of ecstatic high-midnight, when the dance floor is packed and the energy in the room hits a peak, Broadway’s newest karaoke-inspired musical more regularly evokes the later, more dispiriting hours at a nightclub, when the D.J. is on autopilot and only the really hardened club crawlers are still churning away
But while it is performed with gleaming verve and infusions of bawdy humor — Tony Sheldon, who has been with the show from its Australian debut, is particularly winning as the gracious-lady transsexual Bernadette — “Priscilla” feels monotonous and mechanical. It lacks the narrative complexity of “La Cage” (egad, did I just write those words?) and isn’t as impishly clever as guilty-pleasure indulgences like “Mamma Mia!” and “Xanadu,” similarly ditzy musicals inviting audiences to take a mindless boogie down memory lane.
Like Priscilla the bus, “Priscilla” the musical moves in fits and starts under Simon Phillips’s direction, trundling along as a series of interchangeable, aggressively rambunctious dance routines interspersed with catfights and scenes of moist sentiment in which bonds are forged and secrets revealed. (The choreography by Ross Coleman is mostly uninspired music video-style calisthenics.)
Matt Windman – AM NewYork - only rated Priscilla 2 stars, but spoke positively about Tony Sheldon’s performance:
“Priscilla Queen of the Desert” is not so much a normal musical but rather a loud, oversized karaoke party and midnight drag show. You really want to have fun, but it is so aggressively campy that it soon becomes irritating and too much to stomach.
The constant lip-synching, in which females either offstage or hanging from above sing while the men mime the lyrics with exaggerated gestures, is extremely distracting.
Sheldon, who has played Bernadette in prior productions of the musical, gives the most deeply felt performance, while Swenson and Adams are to be commended for their relentless physical stamina.
Image: (l to r) Will Swenson, Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams. Photographer: Joan Marcus.
The WMG/Rhino Original Cast Recording was released date of April 5, 2011.
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