Priscilla Queen of the Desert Will Strut to Broadway in Early 2011

By Kenneth Jones
02 Oct 2009

The Divas in the Australian production: Sophie Carter, Christina O’Neill and Amelia Cormack
The Divas in the Australian production: Sophie Carter, Christina O’Neill and Amelia Cormack

The North American premiere of the musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert in Toronto in fall 2010 will be followed by a spring 2011 opening on Broadway, according to an industry casting notice.

Produced by Back Row Productions, Specific Films, Rafford Films, Nederlander Productions, Inc., Terri and Timothy Childs in association with MGM On Stage—Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber, the musical based on the Academy Award-winning film of the same name will play 12 weeks at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto starting in October 2010 before moving to a Broadway house to be determined.

A Broadway opening of March 6, 2011, is listed on the casting notice. The producers have not officially publicly announced this plan. Changes in exact dates routinely occur between early casting notices and the actual production.

The musical is popular in Australia and London. It has a book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, with direction by Simon Phillips. It was originally choreographed in Australia by Ross Coleman. Music supervisor is Stephen "Spud" Murphy. Casting is by Telsey + Company.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert tells "the story of a glamorous Sydney-based performing trio: Tick, Bernadette and Felicia. Traveling across Australia in a battered old bus (nicknamed Priscilla), the three agree to take their show to the middle of the outback. In a heart-warming, uplifting adventure, these three fish out of water, searching for love and friendship, end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed. Priscilla features a dazzling array of spectacular and colorful costumes and a score of dance-floor classics, including: 'I Will Survive,' 'Don't Leave Me This Way,' 'Finally,' 'I Love The Nightlife,' 'Color My World' and 'Shake Your Groove Thing,' all brought to life by the big sound of the live Priscilla band."

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Toronto producer David Mirvish first wanted the show to play Toronto in fall 2009, but the production was bumped several times.