WE THREE QUEENS

Spotlight

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It began as a mid-1990s cult-classic film that won hearts from the Australian outback all the way to Hollywood, U.S.A. Since then it has gone on to wow 'em—as a big fat stage musical—in Sydney, London, and Toronto. Now Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is more than ready for its Broadway close-up.

A visually striking theatrical event, with 21 production numbers (heavy on feel-good disco hits and including four—count 'em, four—Madonna classics), the show seems likely to join the long-running Mamma Mia! in giving coronaries to fans of musical theater and unsuspecting tourists alike. Utahborn Will Swenson anchors the cast, playing a drag queen who leads his troupe to a cabaret gig in the middle of nowhere. As he made clear while playing Berger in the Broadway production of Hair, his special talent is for making a bond with the audience— and now he gets to do it in heels.

Joining Swenson as a fellow drag queen is singin', dancin' superhunk Nick Adams, a rising Broadway star, recently of La Cage aux Folles. The cast's secret weapon is Tony Sheldon, a veteran star of the Australian stage who has played the role of transsexual Bernadette in more than 1,200 performances since the show's2006debut.

JIM WINDOLF