Farewell to Priscilla the Musical



Richard Grieve, Don Gallagher, Oliver Thornton, in Priscilla. Photo Credit: The Guardian



I’ll admit immediately: it’s the end of its run, and I hadn’t seen Priscilla before due to my snobbery towards the ‘jukebox’ musical. However, Priscilla reminded me why London - poor, troubled London, is embracing the jukebox musical this year: the pure joy of it all! I felt practically old, it having been so long since I’d heard an audience stand up and dance and sing along. The smiles in this show are infectious, but (for me at least) the ballads therefore felt forced, necessary to the plot forumla; illustrating those moments in life where one might ‘feel a song coming on’. Yet I do wish that I had a personal orchestra and could spontaneously burst into song, so don’t blame the characters for it.

The ensemble were terrific (as I should expect by now), bursting with energy. Like in Crazy For You, this is a dance heavy musical, and it therefore is worth mentioning Kanako Nakano who’s sharpness and smiles always stood out. The production and costumes too were even more impressive than expected, by the end I felt blinded by all the glitter balls and sequins (not that this was a bad thing). It is a tremendous example of the spectacle we’ve come to expect as an audience. Dancing paintbrushes, levitating divas, gigantic heels and so much more: Priscilla literally sparkles.

Camp-ness runs through the veins of this musical. It not only dazzles, it waves its perfectly formed arse in the face of homophobia. This is a life-affirming story of three men who have already embraced the song ‘I am what I am’, and instead are pursuing much more personal goals; and yet the bluntness of the sexual humour occasionally just felt too crude, surrendering to stereotyping. Still, the three leads (Don Gallagher, Oliver Thornton, Richard Grieve) work seamlessly together; that powerful embodiment of triple threat. This all singing, all dancing show pulls it off because at the centre of it all, the lead stories act with heart; something such a vibrant musical could easily have fallen into the trap of foregoing for pure spectacle. But Priscilla has everything. The perfect show for the Christmas season.

P.S. When is the Palace Theatre going to undergo a renovation so that at the very least, fifty percent of the audience can see from their overpriced seats?