A week out from the opening night of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and the Musical Theatre Gisborne (MTG) clubrooms are chock-full of sparkly costumes and large sculptured pieces awaiting transportation to the War Memorial Theatre.
“We have been incredibly fortunate to have the use of amazing costumes from Joanne Neilson in our show, some that had never been worn before and were made for an exhibition she had at Tairāwhiti Museum,” says director and choreographer Dean McKerras.
“We have an extensive range of her professional drag queen costuming. Think RuPaul’s Drag Race and the costuming they do in the States . . . we’ve got that on stage in Gizzy, thanks to Joanne.”
McKerras has choreographed every routine to accommodate the sometimes restrictive costumes.
“Joanne has been heavily involved in the costuming and makeup and she has also given us a real insight into what it is like to be a drag artist,” he says.
Neilson, who plays Bernadette in the show, has decades of stage experience as a drag artist to call upon for her role. She is the first transgender woman in New Zealand to be in the musical and only the third in the world.
MTG’s production of Priscilla intends on satisfying every audience member - from those looking for pure entertainment, who want to sing along to the catchy songs, to people who want an insight into the life of a drag queen.
And then there’s the story about a father being reunited with his estranged son.
McKerras said casting a show like Priscilla wasn’t easy, given the shortage of men involved in musical theatre in New Zealand.
“In most productions of Priscilla there are three men who turn up and pretend to be women, but in this production our actual lead doesn’t have to pretend anything; she just has to walk on stage and be her because she’s actually living it.”
“We’re not just producing another musical theatre show of Priscilla. We’ve moved into telling somebody’s story and that somebody (Joanne) just happens to live in Gisborne.
“There’s an authenticity to the show, which is just fabulous .”
McKerras wanted to honour Neilson and her craft, which meant asking a lot of questions and getting an understanding of the “art of drag”.
This can be defined as a gender-bending art where a person dresses in clothing and puts on makeup to exaggerate a gender identity. People of any gender can be drag queens.
The music is sung live in the show but not necessarily by the drag queens. They have back-up singers who may take the lead and there are also a couple of pre-recorded numbers, including an opera track and a dream sequence.
McKerras asked Neilson to share with the cast and crew some stories about her life as a transgender person.
“We were informed that all of the scenes that happen in the show had happened to her and some, and worse, and over and over again.”
Audiences can expect colourful language and themes that might make them uncomfortable, but these will be presented in a way that can be either be “acknowledged or ignored”.
“At the end of the day we’ve got these incredible leads who are telling the story beautifully and we’ve now got the right amount of energy coming out of a very small but talented cast,” McKerras said.
“They are giving it their all with an extra appreciation and respect because we’ve got Joanne there.”
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
War Memorial Theatre
November 15 - 23
Tickets available through Ticketek or from Gisborne i-Site.
