Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical - Palace Theatre

SYNOPSIS

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

The most successful musical ever to come out of Australia lands in the West End this March 2009. Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, which premiered in Sydney in 2006, bursts onto the Palace Theatre stage at Cambridge Circus in London with a cast that includes Jason Donovan, Tony Sheldon and Oliver Thornton. An unashamedly lavish production that features close on 500 different costumes and over 100 wigs, the show is expected to be one of the biggest West End musical hits of 2009, and quite possibly beyond.

Three drag queens and a bus

Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical is an adaptation of the 1994 Oscar-winning Australian movie - Priscilla Queen of the Desert - starring Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving. The story is a camp and heart-felt exploration into the world of gay and aborigine communities, all set in the Australian outback as the intrepid trio take a desert trip from Sydney to Alice Springs in a bus nicknamed Priscilla. Together with their trusted mechanic, Bob, our three queens take us on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, love and disco-fever. The musical features songs such as I Will Survive and I Say a Little Prayer for You, as well as many other 70's disco tunes.

Jason Donovan is cast in the role of Tick (Mitzi).

Donovan is no stranger to the bright lights of the West End. He took the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and has appeared in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium and Night Must Fall at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. His stage credits also include roles in UK touring productions, most notably Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd.

Starring alongside Jason Donovan in Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical is Tony Sheldon, who reprises his role as Bernadette from the record-breaking Australian production. Sheldon is well known to theatre audiences in Australia having starred in numerous productions, from Shakespeare to roles in the Witches of Eastwick and Fame - the Musical.

South Wales actor Oliver Thornton takes on the role of Adam (Felicia). Thornton has several West End stage credits to his name, including roles in Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

Behind the scenes

Fresh from the highly successful Australian run of Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical, Simon Phillips from the Melbourne Theatre Company directs the London production at the Palace Theatre. The show is choreographed by Ross Coleman - original choreographer for Grease in Australia in 1972.

The London production is a joint venture between Back-Row and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group. The book of the musical is written by Stephen Elliot and Allan Scott.