The first national tour of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical, which is part of the Broadway in Miami 2012-2013 subscription season presented by Bank of America, is premiering in Miami in the Ziff Ballet Opera House of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Performances begin Tuesday, April 2 for a limited engagement of on…
The first national tour of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical, which is part of the Broadway in Miami 2012-2013 subscription season presented by Bank of America, is premiering in Miami in the Ziff Ballet Opera House of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Performances begin Tuesday, April 2 for a limited engagement of one week through Sunday, April 7. The company will then travel to Orlando and be seen at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, from Tuesday, April 16 through Sunday April 21st.
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical, the most successful Australian musical of all time, which had its world premiere in Sydney in 2006, will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. in both Miami and Orlando with the Sunday performances in Miami at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m (April 7) and in Orlando at 1pm and 6:30 pm (April 21).
Priscilla Queen of the Desert calls upon every queen (and those who think they are) to join them at the Palace’s Drag Race Mondays on April 1, starting at 7 pm as contestants lip sync for their lives to songs from this legendary musical! A fabulous event needs a fabulous host and Palace cast member Missy Meyakie LePaige will be making sure every queen brings their A-game!
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical stars Wade McCollum (“Tick/Mitzi”), Scott Willis (“Bernadette”) and Bryan West (“Adam/Felicia”) as the trio of friends, on a road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed. Joe Hart stars as “Bob.”
With over 500 dazzling 2011 Tony® Award-winning costumes, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical features a hit parade of more than 20 dance-floor favorites including “It’s Raining Men,” “Finally” and “I Will Survive.”
The new musical opened on Broadway to critical acclaim on March 20, 2011 at the Palace Theatre. The Hollywood Reporter called Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical “funny and fabulous! Joyous entertainment with eye-popping visuals and unexpected heart!” NY-1 News raved, “Beneath all that glitz beats a great big sequined heart!” WOR Radio said, “All the songs you’ve loved for years will blow you out of your seat!”
I was thankful to be able to ask Wade McCollum (“Tick/Mitzi”), some questions. Wade’s previous credits include Jersey Boys, Triassic Parq the Musical, Emcee in Cabaret, Dracula in Steven Dietz’s Dracula (GEVA/IRT), Prior in Angels in America, Woody in Toy Story the Musical, The Narrator in Fly By Night, Crumpet in The Santaland Diaries, Charlotte in I Am My Own Wife, Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Los Angeles Celebration Theatre, Garland Award and LA Critic’s Circle Award: Best Actor). And on TV: Nolan Grigsby in season 2 of Broadway’s favorite sitcom: “Submissions Only”.
1) How does the Musical differ from the Movie?
The musical follows the movie very closely, a lot more than some movie to musical adaptations. They kept much of the plot and dialogue from the film, many of the iconic lines, and even a lot of the costumes are the same, but the volume has been turned up because of the shift from the screen to the stage. People who love the film love the musical, because it stays so true to the source, and there is plenty of awesome new material and tunes to discover as well.
2) How hard was it to get used to walking and dancing in heels?
Oh honey, I got used to that a looong time ago when I used to raid my mother’s closet when I was 10. But these shoes are outrageous, dancing in the huge flip flop platforms took some getting used to because they are so heavy, and the Gumby shoes are HUUUGE so that took some rehearsing…. it’s SO MUCH FUN!!!!
3) What’s your favorite part about being in Priscilla?
The cast; I love this amazing, talented, heart centered group of people. I appreciate going to work every day and telling this rich, uplifting inspiring story of belonging with such an amazingly beautiful family.
To purchase tickets for the Miami show go to ArshtCenter.org and for the Orlando show go to Ticketmaster.com.
For more information, visit: PriscillaOnTour.com.
