Encore! Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical
By Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott
Directed by John Fisher
Produced by Theatre Rhinoceros therhino.org

May 26 –  July 7, 2018
Gateway Theatre
215 Jackson San Francisco
Run time: @ 2-1/2 hours

Depressed by the news? Bored by the same old-same old? Then what you need is some glitz and glam and disco to shake it up, and Theater Rhinoceros does that with its encore of their 2017 award-winning production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical, just in time for Pride month. Based on the 1994 movie about a group of drag queen friends on an Australian outback driveabout, this production is at the Gateway Theater until June 30, 2018.

Everyone in the cast simply revels in the joyful chaos of this show, with disco favorites such as “It’s Raining Men,” “Don’t Leave Me this Way,” “I Love the Nightlife,” “I Will Survive,” “Go West” and more keeping the audience chair-dancing. The over 100 costumes were fun and fab and feathery and sparkly as if dozens of closets were raided at once.

Felicia (Charles Peoples III), Mitzi (Rudy Guerrero) and Bernadette (Kim Larsen)

Counterpoint to the drag queens are the various outback characters, country folk with a rough edge who ain’t seen nothin’ like the show the queens put on. We feel the bravery of the queens as they venture into unknown territory onboard their pink bus christened “Priscilla”: they are vulnerable outsiders who manage to win over the toughest crowds. There are some absolutely wacky and fun scenes in the play, and some sad and shocking ones as well.

Priscilla - the fabulous ship of the desert

Rudy Guerrero brings a superb professionalism and skill to Tick (aka Mitzi), the man on a mission to see his son Benji (gamely played by the young Cameron Zener). Guerrero is a pro at singing and dancing and seems the most comfortable on the stage; he was the only one who managed to sustain a convincing Aussie accent. A few of the other actors had to work to keep up with Guerrero, and some of them were slightly off key. (Is it possible to set this play in America, which has its own deserts, small towns and country boys? It’s hard to learn an accent.)

Rudy Guerrero (Mitzi/Tick)

If you’re looking for a night of campy energy and fun, go see this production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - The Musical -- and don’t forget your dancing shoes.

Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMBp-mwKH2A&feature=youtu.be

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Musical

PRODUCTION
Director - John Fisher
Choreography - AeJay Mitchell
Rudy Guerrero - Dance Captain
Scenic Designer - Gilbert Johnson
Lighting - Sean Keehan
Costumes Robert Horek
Headdress Designer Glenn Krumbholz
Sound - James Goode

CAST
Rudy Guerrero - Tick/Mitzi
John-Thomas Hanson - Pastor, ensemble
Kim Larsen - Bernadette
Charles Peoples III - Adam/Felicia
Morgan Lange - Lars 1, Errol, Jules, Ensemble
Grace Liu - Cynthia, ensemble
Lisa McHenry - Shirley, Diva
Phaedra Tillery - Marion, Diva
David Tuttle - Miss Understanding, Lars 2, Band Boy, Young Bernadette, Ensemble
Dee Wagner - Marion’s Wife, ensemble
Cameron Weston - Bob, Ensemble
Cameron Zener - Benji