Post by santtu on Oct 26, 2009 7:51:54 GMT -5
Having seen this great film many times I was very curious to see this stage version. I had heard so many great things about it.
First off, this is a juke-box musical. There isn't a single song that would have been written especially for this show. And most of the songs are huge hits ("I will survive", "Don't leave me this way", "Girls just wanna have fun", "Venus", "Go west", "I love the night life (Disco 'round)" etc.). But unlike some(!!) juke-box musicals, this one has a solid book and a well written story. Perhaps it's because it was a movie first.
The London cast includes the 80's pop star Jason Donovan as Tick(/Mitzi), Oliver Thornton as Adam(/Felicia) and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette.
The story is about Tick, an Aussie drag queen who teams up with a transsexual Bernadette and another drag queen Adam to form a performing trio for an engagement in Alice Springs, organized by Tick's wife(!) (and what Tick doesn't tell the other two, is that he also wants to meet his 6-year-old son for the first time!). Instead of flying to Alice Springs, the trio take a road trip on a bus which is called Priscilla. And on the way they encounter a lot of strange people and strange places.
The story is good but in the stage version something has gone missing!
There's a lot of unnecessary scenes which could be cut without the story or production being hurt: the Tina Turner imitation in Act I ("What's love got to do with it?"), the Act II opening sequence (if you go and see this and you get an aisle seat in stalls/orchestra - BEWARE!!!!;-D ), I didn't see the point of this. The "MacArthur park" scene had nothing to do with the story whatsoever. Also the scene with young Bernadette ("A fine romance") was too long and we didn't need to hear a song there, the scene would have been much better with Bernadette's monologue and her younger self on the background as an image.
Some of the numbers are way too long. The whole opening scene ("Downtown") seemed to go on forever! So did the bar scene in the middle of nowhere ("I love the nightlife") - a fabulous song, though a horrible version of it, way too long. Also the opera aria scene from the movie is there, but it could be shorter. It is stunning how they've pulled it off, but still, it's too long.
There are some absolutely great moments in the show. "Colour my world" (i.e. The painting of the bus -scene) is awesome! The bus really 'comes alive' there! "Both sides now" where the trio finds the writing on the side of the bus... Bernadette's solo to start the "MacArthur Park" sequence is great and funny. And also the Miss Understanding's MC-moment in the beginning of Act I was funny (they ushered some late-comers into their seats at that moment and Miss U. snapped at them "Oh, we have some late-comers! Welcome!! Can I get you anything? A watch, perhaps...?" ;D ) Also the trio's performance in Alice Springs was another funny moment.
Visually this show is breath-taking and very faithful to the movie!! The costumes are simply astonishing. You just can't tell what they will roll on stage next. And they've also found a way of pulling off the heavy drag queen eye make-up and still be able to make quick make-up changes (they wear plastic/silicone masks for those drag queen moments).
Priscilla the bus is a character itself. Really a mechanical marvel. It weighs almost 6 tonnes, has 3 lifts in it, its other side opens completely up to allow us to see the actors inside it, the exterior of the bus has thousands of LED-lights on it so they can change its colour and use it pretty much as a video screen. And it moves of course.
The actors are ok. Jason Donovan did very good job as Tick/Mitzi. Oliver Thornton was ok as Adam/Felicia, he was more in-your-face and annoying than the character in the movie, but Thornton played the role quite well. Tony Sheldon as Bernadette had his moments. At times he was absolutely brilliant and feminine, but then in the more comical moments he seemed to slip into this "camp" mode (you know, stiff walk etc.) which didn't do the character of Bernadette any favors.
I don't really understand the need of the three 'Divas' in the show! They have 3 ladies suspended on wires 'flying' on stage every once in a while (and a few times actually on stage!) to sing, but what the h*ll was the point of these ladies?!? Except to deliver some of the more demanding vocal parts... To add more female roles into the show? In one or two scenes (one of) the Divas sang the song while the drag queen below them was performing the number, like in "I've never been to me". But besides that, their function was...?!
The choreography of the show was a big let-down. Very repetitive and seemed like the choreographer was obsessed with dance moves that simulated or referred to gay sex. I'm not offended by that, but what did bother me was the amount of repetition of it. Unimaginative.
In the movie Adam/Felicia was pretty much obsessed with ABBA. Since we already have a show featuring ABBA's music, they had to find another artist for that. What they found was clever alright, but didn't really work as far as performing her music was concerned in the end of the Act II.
Visually stunning show but I left the theatre feeling a bit disappointed. Fun? Yes. Brilliant? No. The stage version just didn't live up to the movie. I'm not rushing back to this.
First off, this is a juke-box musical. There isn't a single song that would have been written especially for this show. And most of the songs are huge hits ("I will survive", "Don't leave me this way", "Girls just wanna have fun", "Venus", "Go west", "I love the night life (Disco 'round)" etc.). But unlike some(!!) juke-box musicals, this one has a solid book and a well written story. Perhaps it's because it was a movie first.
The London cast includes the 80's pop star Jason Donovan as Tick(/Mitzi), Oliver Thornton as Adam(/Felicia) and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette.
The story is about Tick, an Aussie drag queen who teams up with a transsexual Bernadette and another drag queen Adam to form a performing trio for an engagement in Alice Springs, organized by Tick's wife(!) (and what Tick doesn't tell the other two, is that he also wants to meet his 6-year-old son for the first time!). Instead of flying to Alice Springs, the trio take a road trip on a bus which is called Priscilla. And on the way they encounter a lot of strange people and strange places.
The story is good but in the stage version something has gone missing!
There's a lot of unnecessary scenes which could be cut without the story or production being hurt: the Tina Turner imitation in Act I ("What's love got to do with it?"), the Act II opening sequence (if you go and see this and you get an aisle seat in stalls/orchestra - BEWARE!!!!;-D ), I didn't see the point of this. The "MacArthur park" scene had nothing to do with the story whatsoever. Also the scene with young Bernadette ("A fine romance") was too long and we didn't need to hear a song there, the scene would have been much better with Bernadette's monologue and her younger self on the background as an image.
Some of the numbers are way too long. The whole opening scene ("Downtown") seemed to go on forever! So did the bar scene in the middle of nowhere ("I love the nightlife") - a fabulous song, though a horrible version of it, way too long. Also the opera aria scene from the movie is there, but it could be shorter. It is stunning how they've pulled it off, but still, it's too long.
There are some absolutely great moments in the show. "Colour my world" (i.e. The painting of the bus -scene) is awesome! The bus really 'comes alive' there! "Both sides now" where the trio finds the writing on the side of the bus... Bernadette's solo to start the "MacArthur Park" sequence is great and funny. And also the Miss Understanding's MC-moment in the beginning of Act I was funny (they ushered some late-comers into their seats at that moment and Miss U. snapped at them "Oh, we have some late-comers! Welcome!! Can I get you anything? A watch, perhaps...?" ;D ) Also the trio's performance in Alice Springs was another funny moment.
Visually this show is breath-taking and very faithful to the movie!! The costumes are simply astonishing. You just can't tell what they will roll on stage next. And they've also found a way of pulling off the heavy drag queen eye make-up and still be able to make quick make-up changes (they wear plastic/silicone masks for those drag queen moments).
Priscilla the bus is a character itself. Really a mechanical marvel. It weighs almost 6 tonnes, has 3 lifts in it, its other side opens completely up to allow us to see the actors inside it, the exterior of the bus has thousands of LED-lights on it so they can change its colour and use it pretty much as a video screen. And it moves of course.
The actors are ok. Jason Donovan did very good job as Tick/Mitzi. Oliver Thornton was ok as Adam/Felicia, he was more in-your-face and annoying than the character in the movie, but Thornton played the role quite well. Tony Sheldon as Bernadette had his moments. At times he was absolutely brilliant and feminine, but then in the more comical moments he seemed to slip into this "camp" mode (you know, stiff walk etc.) which didn't do the character of Bernadette any favors.
I don't really understand the need of the three 'Divas' in the show! They have 3 ladies suspended on wires 'flying' on stage every once in a while (and a few times actually on stage!) to sing, but what the h*ll was the point of these ladies?!? Except to deliver some of the more demanding vocal parts... To add more female roles into the show? In one or two scenes (one of) the Divas sang the song while the drag queen below them was performing the number, like in "I've never been to me". But besides that, their function was...?!
The choreography of the show was a big let-down. Very repetitive and seemed like the choreographer was obsessed with dance moves that simulated or referred to gay sex. I'm not offended by that, but what did bother me was the amount of repetition of it. Unimaginative.
In the movie Adam/Felicia was pretty much obsessed with ABBA. Since we already have a show featuring ABBA's music, they had to find another artist for that. What they found was clever alright, but didn't really work as far as performing her music was concerned in the end of the Act II.
Visually stunning show but I left the theatre feeling a bit disappointed. Fun? Yes. Brilliant? No. The stage version just didn't live up to the movie. I'm not rushing back to this.