Reviewed by Laura Kennelly
When three entertainers take a road trip from Sydney to Perth (think NYC to Death Valley) it’s not an ordinary voyage. In part it’s not your average trip because angel divas drop from the sky to lead them along the way, but mostly it’s unique because the entertainers are drag queens with an abundance of Aussie glamour. The “Priscilla” plot is slim, the music is loud, but the leads and an amazing ensemble cast all come together to create a real theatre event. Believe me, honey, if you go, you’ll understand “theatre” in its most glam and escapist sense. The dance numbers show off the very (and varied) talents in the ensemble cast (it’s likely any one of them could play the lead in a Broadway show right this minute without batting a fake eyelash).
Three angel divas dangle from the sky in “It’s Raining Men,” the opening number (one of my personal faves) so we get right away that this show is just for fun (though there are a few socially redeeming moments such as when we see that a son’s love for his father and vice-versa can last despite absence or when we see one character is beaten up just because he’s gay). Scott Willis as Bernadette, a trans-sexual, radiates a Lauren Bacall-style beauty and appeal. Wade McCollum’s Tick/Mitzi and Bryan West’s Adam/Felicia show contrasting styles: Tick seems traditional, mature, while Adam is still just a crazy, growing kid who keeps getting into trouble. The play between the three works well, even if it becomes predictable. (OK, after all, this isn’t “War and Peace,” so who cares?).
Getting this production on the Playhouse Square stage proved to be a bit of a problem for this traveling troupe. Gina Vernaci announced before the show that it had had to be moved from the scheduled location in the Palace Theatre to the much larger State Theatre because the costumed cast couldn’t get the Tony-Award-winning costumes down the backstage stairs (skirts were too full). It’s that kind of a show–everything is over the top.
The music might have sounded better in the smaller location because the sound seemed harsh (and sometimes too loud) some of the time. That effect could also be attributed to the disco soundtrack–not really the best era of music ever to hear in a show (but thanks to “Mama Mia”?) producers evidently think pop is a safe bet.
The set’s clever. We can see one side of the full-size bus they ride in and then it rotates and the other side is visible. There were some funny glitches opening night when the kangaroo got stuck on the conveyor belt–but the unflappable crew just took him off as if it were part of the show to whisk away road kill.
http://www.playhousesquare.org
[Photo: DIVAS singing “It’s Raining Men” – Emily Afton, Brit West, Bre Jackson. JOAN MARCUS]
Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.