The introduction through the fourth wall, by Miss Understanding played by Peta Davis, was delivered with a few well-placed four-letter words that left the audience in no doubt as to what was to come. She gave any audience member the chance to leave. Nobody did. The cast at times also made use of performing outside the fourth wall to the enjoyment of the audience.
Kurt Miegel as Tick / Mitzi was an inbetweener straight and gay guy and his solos were delivered with feeling. He was instrumental in tying together the relationship between the other two leads in convincing them to go to Alice Springs to meet his son.
Trent Baker as Adam / Felicia portrayed his role of a performing artist that enjoyed life no matter what anybody thought of him and was up for anything. He gave his all, his singing however was a little on the down side. He sacrificed his beard for this show which epitomized his conviction to the role.
Mark Rayner as Bernadette was the epitome of an old Les Girls performer who has passed her prime but still has ideas of performing. His miming was better than his real voice but actions speak louder than words. He was also clean shaven for the role.
Don Watts as Bob played the part of the ultimate outback ageing Aussie showed it is never too late to come from a backstage stalwart to an onstage hero.
Although some of the lead characters had some short-comings with their singing, they were more than compensated by the outstanding ensemble singers and dancers. With nearly thirty numbers to sing and perform the energy created by the cast was at times spine tingling. One standout was Prue Cartledge as Sparklin Wine with her rendition of Verdi’s Sempre Libera. It was a show stopper. With a cast of over thirty it is impossible to mention everyone but suffice to say they were all performing at their best.
With a show that is well known such as Priscilla we come to expect lavish costumes and we were not disappointed with what the costuming team produced. We lost count of the number of costume changes and the rapidity of the changes. Samantha Pope did an amazing job with all the original designs and creations. Backstage dressers and helpers worked overtime.
Benjamin Gallasch led the twelve piece orchestra who did an excellent job with so many musical items,
All the backstage crew including lighting and sound techs added to the overall effect of the play. The set was relatively minimal but the props were outstanding. Priscilla the bus constructed by Lee Spurling of Bridge Aluminium, despite its size, was able to be moved around the stage and taken from sight when necessary.
The Director produced a show that had a lot going for it both on and off stage. I would love to mention her name but unfortunately it does not appear in the program. For musical theatre fans: do not miss this one. It is worth more than the price of a ticket.
