Priscilla Queen of the Desert 

Reviewed by Vanessa Cate 
Celebration Theatre 
Extended through May 6 

RECOMMENDED 

There is something comforting, if not terribly deep, about Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The stage adaptation of the 1994 movie is comprised of densely packed queer pop anthems, glittery frocks and sassy one-liners. But at its core, Priscilla embodies Pride, and employs fantastic theatrical design magic.

Tick (Mario Burrell), a chronically tardy and fairly innocuous drag queen, gets a call from his estranged wife Marion (Gina Torrecilla). Her night club is in need of a glitzy act, and Tick agrees to help, though he harbors a secret ulterior motive: He’ll finally get a chance to meet his 10-year old son Benji (played in alternating performances by Jack and Nick Brody).

But Tick can’t pull off a show alone. He enlists the help of mature trans performer Bernadette (Tad Coughenour) and a young twink diva Adam (Lyle Coby Mackston) to join his ensemble. Bernadette looks forward to the distraction of the road-trip as she mourns the death of her young husband, and Adam can’t wait to climb the tallest mountain in glorious attire and blast Kylie Minogue to the heavens.

One might wonder how it might be possible to transpose the drag epic and its titular tour bus into an intimate black box theatre. This ambitious paring down is the truest magic of Celebration Theatre’s effort, and the biggest slam-dunk of Jessica Hanna’s direction. Pete Hickok recreates night clubs, bars, dressing rooms, the desert expanse, and a tour van from several ingenious moveable set pieces. In such a small space, this easy transformation is a wonder, but it’s not the only one: Roman Pantoja’s choreography cheekily defies the limitations of the tight quarters – high heels and all!

Given that drag permeates our society far more now than when the film premiered in the 90s, some of the stage version’s pristine sentimentality might not have the same resonance it once had. Still, celebrating pride, individuality, and LGBT+ identity remains ever vital. Stripping the play of the film’s grittiness to make it more easily consumable does make this a different entity from the film, but it doesn’t entirely neuter the material. Rather, it feels much like a classic movie musical, lovely in its simplicity. Even taking the classic musical trope of the unlikely romance and applying it to Bernadette and Australian mechanic Bob (George Chavez) freshens the formula and gives the show a sense of triumph.

Although a pitstop on the road of the plot, Andrea Somera’s performance as Cynthia is a highlight, and handles the explicit ping pong performance of the film with and inventive and joyful playfulness. However, the entire cast sparkles throughout — figuratively and literally — and the live band perched above the stage is fabulous. Allison Dillard’s costumes and Byron J. Batista’s hair and makeup design are the essential cherry on top of this feel-good drag show.  

Celebration Theatre at the Lex Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave. Los Angeles; Thurs.-Sat. 8 p.m. & Sun. 2 p.m.; Extended through May 6; www.celebrationtheatre.com or (323) 957-1884(323) 957-1884; Running time: Two hours with one intermission