Priscilla: The News

Broadway World
PRISCILLA Cast Album Debuts at #1 on Billboard Charts
by BWW News Desk

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of the smash hit stage production of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL has debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Broadway Album Chart.

Released on Rhino and produced by Priscilla orchestrator, arranger and musical supervisor Stephen “Spud” Murphy and Frank Filipetti, the album is available in retail outlets nationwide now and also available on www.rhino.com, www.bn.com and on iTunes.

Following hit productions in Australia, London and Toronto, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL opened to critical acclaim on March 20 at the Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway).

On Broadway, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL stars Tony AwardÂ® nominee Will Swenson, Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams leading a company of 27.

Like the stage production, the Original Broadway Cast Recording is a sensational journey to the heart of fabulous!

Featuring a classic collection of over 20 dance-floor hits spanning the past three decades, from anthems including “It’s Raining Men” and “I Will Survive” to beloved songs made famous by Elvis Presley, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and Pat Benatar, the Priscilla score is a veritable history of dance music that tells the story of a trio of friends on a heart-warming, uplifting adventure who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed.

Adapted from the Academy AwardÂ® winning film “The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL is written by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott. Direction is by Simon Phillips, choreography by Ross Coleman, musical supervision and arrangements by Stephen ”˜Spud’ Murphy and set design by Brian Thomson. Production supervised by Jerry Mitchell. Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner have re-created their Academy AwardÂ® winning costume designs originally designed for the film. Lighting is designed by Nick Schlieper, sound design is by Jonathan Deans and Peter Fitzgerald and make up design is by Cassie Hanlon. Crystals for costumes and set design provided by Swarovski.

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL had its world premiere in Sydney in 2006 and has subsequently wowed audiences and critics alike in Melbourne and New Zealand, becoming the most successful Australian musical of all time. The London production is now in its third smash hit year in the West End at the Palace Theatre.

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL is produced by Bette Midler; James L. Nederlander; Garry McQuinn, Liz Koops; Michael Hamlyn; Allan Scott; Roy Furman/ Richard Willis; Terry Allen Kramer; Terri and Timothy Childs, Ken Greiner, Ruth Hendel; Chugg Entertainment; Michael Buckley; Stewart Lane/ Bonnie Comley; Bruce Davey; Thierry Suc/TS3; Bartner/ Jenkins; Broadway Across America/H. Koenigsberg; M. Lerner/ D. Bisno/ K. Seidel/ R. Gold; Paul Boskind and Martian Entertainment / Spirtas-Mauro Productions / MAS Music Arts & Show; and David Mirvish.

TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices range from $50.00 – $125.00 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at 877-250-2929, online at www.ticketmaster.com and in person at The Palace Theatre at 1564 Broadway (between 46th & 47th Streets).

Broadway World
PRISCILLA Celebrates Cast Album Release at Barnes & Noble
by Kevin Thomas Garcia

The stars of Broadway’s new hit PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL appeared at a special live performance at Barnes & Noble’s upper east side flagship location (150 East 86th Street at Lexington Avenue) yesterday, April 7 to celebrate the release of the musical’s Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Tony AwardÂ® nominee Will Swenson, Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon, Nick Adams, C. David Johnson and Priscilla’s “Divas” Jacqueline B. Arnold, Anastacia McCleskey and Ashley Spencer performed songs from the hit musical and signed copies of the new cast album. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the event and brings you photo coverage below.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of the global hit stage production of PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL, produced by Priscilla’s orchestrator, arranger and musical supervisor Stephen “Spud” Murphy and Frank Filipetti, will be available in retail outlets nationwide on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

The album retails for a list price of $18.98 (CD) and $11.99 (digital), also available on www.rhino.com and www.bn.com.

Following its critically acclaimed North American debut engagement in Toronto, the spectacular new stage musical began previews February 28 and opened on Broadway at The Palace Theatre (1564 Broadway) to smash reviews on Sunday, March 20.

Like the stage production, the Original Broadway Cast Recording is a sensational journey to the heart of fabulous!

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT Featured on LX NY & NY NONSTOP Today
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by BWW News Desk

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL‘s star trio takes to the airwaves today, Friday, March 25 following opening to critical acclaim on Broadway this week.

Watch “LX New York” host Maria Sansone visit Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams separately for a peek at backstage life at the Palace Theatre. Adams shows off his dressing room and favorite costumes, while Sheldon shares his process of “becoming Bernadette” and reveals his makeup secrets with Sansone. Tune in to WNBC, Channel 4 during the 5:00pm half hour.

On NBC’s “New York Nonstop” at 9:30pm tonight, Tony Award nominee Will Swenson leads a tour of his dressing room and shares five of his favorite things with an “In the Wings” segment.

“LX New York” airs 5:00 – 6:00pm weekdays on NBC 4 New York‘s daytime line-up, serving up a fast-paced, witty and irreverent take on what’s going on in the city that never sleeps and beyond.

NBC’s “New York Nonstop” airs in New York on Time Warner Cable (Channel 61) &RCN (Channel 28), in New Jersey on Cablevision (Channel 109), in Connecticut on Cablevision (Channel 118) and on DTV (Channel 4.2).

Following smash hit productions in Australia, London and Toronto, PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL opened on March 20 at the Palace Theatre, following previews beginning February 28.

PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT THE MUSICAL stars Tony AwardÂ® nominee Will Swenson, Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams as the trio of friends on a heart-warming, uplifting road trip of a lifetime who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed.

Featuring a score of over 20 dance-floor classics, a company of 27, and with a dazzling array of more than 500 outrageous costumes, the spectacular new stage musical is a sensational journey to the heart of fabulous!

Ticket prices range from $50.00 – $125.00 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at 877-250-2929, online at www.ticketmaster.com and in person at The Palace Theatre at 1564 Broadway (between 46th & 47th Streets).

New York Daily News
MARCH 17, 2011 11:06
The Producer: Bette Midler is the windfall beneath “Priscilla”‘s wings
By Joe Dziemianowicz

It’s the morning after seeing “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” last night on Broadway and I’ve still got “Don’t Leave Me This Way” in my brain and a pink ping pong ball in my messenger bag. If you’ve seen the movie the show is based on you have an idea of how that little ball figures into things — but that’s all I’m saying.

Last Sunday, in my feature story about the show, I mentioned that there are hundreds of costumes in “Priscilla.” Reading the Playbill, there are about as many producers and investors. The marquee name in that long roster is, of course, Bette Midler, who’s no stranger to Broadway. She acted in “Fiddler on the Roof” in the mid-60s, and performed three solo shows in the 70s. “Priscilla” is her first producing credit on the Great White Way.

The last time I wrote about the Divine one, she was the queen of the desert — starring in “The Showgirl Must Go On” (pictured) at Caesars Palace, which I reviewed on opening night in 2008. What came through in that show, and throughout her career, is that Midler’s soul shines through even when there’s tons of camp, a sea of sequins and maniac mermaid tails.

*****

The Great White Way is a nickname for a section of Broadway in the Midtown section of the New York City, specifically the portion that encompasses the Theatre District, between 42nd and 53rd Streets.

Nearly a mile of Broadway was illuminated in 1880 by Brush arc lamps, making it among the first electrically lighted streets in the United States.

The headline “Found on the Great White Way” appeared in the February 3, 1902, edition of the New York Evening Telegram.

The journalistic sobriquet was inspired by the millions of lights on theater marquees and billboard advertisements that illuminate the area, especially around Times Square.

For more information: Click Here

Playbill
Priscilla Queen of The Desert Cast Will Perform on “The Today Show“; Bette Midler to Introduce
By Thomas Peter
March 17, 2011

Stage and screen star Bette Midler will introduce the cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical when they perform on “The Today Show” March 18.

The performance will air during the 8:30 half hour.

Midler is one of the producers of the drag-themed musical, which stars Tony Award nominee Will Swenson, Olivier nominee Tony Sheldon and Nick Adams “as the trio of friends on a heart-warming, uplifting road trip of a lifetime who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed,” according to press notes.

The show features a score of disco-era classics and a libretto by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, based on the Academy Award-winning film “The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” The show is directed by Simon Phillips and choreographed by Ross Coleman. Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell serves as production supervisor.

Priscilla is currently in previews at the Palace Theatre. Opening night is set for March 20. Visit priscillaonbroadway.com for more information and ticketmaster.com for tickets.

“The Today Show” airs in the New York area on WNBC-4 from 7-10 AM ET. Check local listings.

Theatermania
Nick Adams, Bette Midler, Tony Sheldon, Will Swenson, et al. Set for March 18 The Today Show Appearance
By: Andy Propst Â· Mar 14, 2011 Â· New York

Stars Nick Adams, Tony Sheldon, and Will Swenson, along with fellow members of the Broadway cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, will appear on NBC’s The Today Show on Friday, March 18 during the 8:30am (ET) segment of the show. Bette Midler, one of the producers of the musical, will introduce the performance.

Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott have adapted the show from the Academy Award-winning film about three friends searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback. The score is made up of well-known dance-floor songs. Simon Phillips has direction the production, playing Broadway’s Palace Theatre, that will officially open on March 20.

BroadwayWorld
PRISCILLA’s Nick Adams at RockIt
March 13, 2011

Enthusiastic fans of Tony and Brandon’s signature soirees got to tuck a bit of Broadway into their Friday night – Rockit‘s March 11th show found them “Oo-ing and Ah-ing” at the splendors of critically acclaimed Broadway production, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” The bill featured performances by lead Nick Adams, featuring dance floor classics from the story’s on-stage program, presented in conjunction with Quo’s top tier sound and light system.

Based on the 1994 Academy AwardÂ® winning Australian film “The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” the musical adaptation follows three queens across Australia in their chariot, a tour bus named Priscilla, as they venture on a road trip to meet a job awaiting them in the town of Alice Springs. The show’s Broadway debut stars Olivier Award nominee Tony Sheldon (“Bernadette”), Tony AwardÂ® nominee Will Swenson (“Tick”/ “Mitzi”) and Nick Adams (“Adam”/”Felicia”), all of whom are putting the final touches on the special performance, gearing up to strut their stuff on the stage at Rockit.

With noteworthy engagements scheduled weekly at Rockit and its Saturday night counterpart, Club 57, FV Events remains at the forefront of gay nights out in Manhattan. Despite the season’s harsh cold, week after week loyal patrons are planted firmly in line, awaiting great music and the guarantee of a night they will not soon forget.

For more information, and to stay up to date on future events, please visit: www.fveventsny.com.

Read more: http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_Priscilla_RockIt_Fridays_20000101#ixzz1GWCfIyot

Priscilla Queen of the Desert ”“ the Musical — Image via Wikipedia

BroadwayWorld.com
Rockit at QUO – Special PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT Event, 3/11
by BWW News Desk

Enthusiastic fans of Tony and Brandon’s signature soirees are advised to tuck a bit of Broadway into their Friday night – Rockit’s March 11th show will find them “Oo-ing and Ah-ing” at the splendors of critically acclaimed Broadway production, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” Sure to be an electrifying night, the bill promises performances by lead Nick Adams, featuring dance floor classics from the story’s on-stage program, presented in conjunction with Quo’s top tier sound and light system.

The event takes place on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 10 PM at ROCKIT at QUO, 511 W 28th Street
(Btwn. 10th & 11th Aves.)

For more information, and to stay up to date on future events, please visit: www.fveventsny.com

New York Times
A Broadway Makeover for ”˜Priscilla’ Queens
By PATRICK HEALY
March 10, 2011

IN the London production of the musical “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” the first character who commands the stage is a minor one, a drag queen named Miss Understanding who trades in risquÃ© repartee.

“I’m so excited, I’ve had to use gaffer tape to contain myself,” she says, then mimes ripping tape off her groin. “Ow! I love a good Brazilian. Any out there?”

Those jokes are gone from the new Broadway version of “Priscilla,” which is in previews at the Palace Theater. Miss Understanding’s plot function has also been pared. And now the first character who grabs your focus is the leading man, Tick (played by Will Swenson), as he wheels a suitcase across the stage.

These changes are among many that “Priscilla” has undergone in a long and rare sort of journey to Broadway, from the 1994 Australian movie to the musical’s first workshop in Sydney in 2005 – and then full productions there and in Melbourne; Auckland, New Zealand; the West End in London; Toronto; and New York, where the show opens March 20.

Simon Phillips, the musical’s director from the start, said that his North American producers – led by the entertainer Bette Midler – have offered extensive notes on polishing “Priscilla” for the highly competitive market of commercial Broadway. “Audiences here like to know, quickly and clearly, who their leading man is,” Mr. Phillips said he had learned, so opening with Miss Understanding might confuse some people.

Ms. Midler said she was among those advising that a musical about two drag queens and a transsexual on a road trip didn’t need extra raciness or profanity. One common obscenity, for instance, is used about a dozen times in the Broadway version, down from 18 elsewhere.

“You still get the flavor that has always been part of ”˜Priscilla,’ but it’s not quite as down and dirty, not as in your face so much so that you might pull back,” Ms. Midler said in an interview. “It manages to have all the fun of camp without too much of the dark side of camp and drag. Which for Broadway, I think, is a good thing.”

If “Priscilla” has been pruned to appeal to tourists from Middle America – a lucrative bloc that has helped make some producers here more conservative than those in the West End and Australia – the musical is still more tart, catty and flamboyantly gay than any other major show running in New York.

To be sure, the production isn’t shy with its base about its true colors. Cast members of the show gave one of their first long interviews to The Advocate, a magazine popular with gay readers, and a direct-mail promotion included a message from Ms. Midler – a favorite performer among gay men – (complete with a pink backdrop) that began, “Hello my darlings!” Several songs by Madonna, another gay idol, have been added, and she has also replaced the less-famous (and Australian) Kylie Minogue as the heroine of one of the drag queens, Felicia (Nick Adams).

But this is also an era when Broadway productions with gay themes are packaged as family shows, so much so that the casual observer might not have realized that the main characters in the recent play “Next Fall” or the current revival of “La Cage aux Folles” were gay lovers.

The creators and producers of “Priscilla” spoke at length about how their show is about families: a man reuniting with his son (the father happens to be gay); another man falling in love with a lonely woman (who happens to be transsexual); and the three central friends acting as the all-but-the-bloodlines family that gay men and lesbians have formed in private for ages.

The producers say that tourists at the TKTS discount ticket booth, across Seventh Avenue from the theater, will know that the show is about drag queens, and (American edits aside) that it has a sensibility that leans toward gender-reassignment-surgery humor. At the same time much of the main advertising has been as comely as possible, featuring the beautiful women – actual women – who play the divas, supporting characters who deliver some of the songs. Mr. Phillips said he opted against extensive marketing with images of the three male leads in drag because “drag is incredibly difficult to photograph.”

Tony Sheldon, a veteran Australian actor who has played the transsexual Bernadette from the start, said that even though elements of the show and its marketing had been “toned down,” “the one thing we’ve insisted on hanging onto is the roughness and abrasiveness to the musical.”

“This can’t be a streamlined Las Vegas drag show,” said Mr. Sheldon, who received a nomination for an Olivier Award (the London version of the Tony) for his performance. “It’s about three outsiders in a very hostile environment.” If you lose the coarseness of the worlds they travel in, you lose part of what’s special about the show.”

Not everyone is content with the changes. Tim Chappel won the 1994 Academy Award for best costume design for “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” along with Lizzy Gardiner, and they have repeated their efforts for the musical. But he said his vision for an “over-the-top campy entrance” for Felicia’s first drag number was scaled back to a wig-and-dress get-up that was less flashy.

“Too many changes have been made to make the show feel, I don’t know, safer for Broadway,” said Mr. Chappel. “The most ridiculous was the insistence that Tick look like an American-style leading man, a romantic lead, masculine, less gay, in order to get more bums in the seats.”

Garry McQuinn, a lead producer from the get-go, said the accommodations did not stem from prudishness.

“We’re responding to a certain sensibility in New York that if you do X, you’ll sell more tickets,” he said. “At the same time we haven’t done anything that changes the essential story of these three queens and their wild adventure.”

From the very start, Mr. McQuinn said, the creators of the musical experimented with changes with an eye toward improving upon the film, which had obscured key plot points like Tick’s undertaking the road trip to reunite with his son Benji. At the first workshop the musical was initially going to be a show within a show about characters trying to re-enact scenes from the “Priscilla” film. That idea was abandoned, and early productions in Australia were dominated by Mr. Sheldon’s Bernadette. With every new mounting the show has turned more into Tick’s story, given that his love for Benji was the fulcrum of the plot for the creators.

While in past productions Benji did not appear until late in Act II, the boy is now seen throughout Act I to underscore the family theme. He implores Tick to visit him, for instance, a request that in previous incarnations came from Benji’s mother and Tick’s beard of a wife, Marion.

“The thinking was that in America having a child say he needs his father would convey the stakes of the road trip immediately to an audience,” said Mr. Phillips, the director.

Allan Scott, who wrote the script with the movie’s director and screenwriter, Stephan Elliott, said that a major payoff of the current version is its impact on heterosexual men in the audience, who have been known to shed some tears as Tick and Benji sing “You Were Always on My Mind” to each other near the finale.

“All along we’ve wanted the audience to go away with a greater appreciation for tolerance and a greater appreciation for family,” Mr. Scott said. “But first you have to get the audience to come to your show, and I think we’ve found ways to do that.”