TheAustralian.news.com.au
Frocked up and bad-mouthed, the stars of a new musical draw on the long tradition of drag shows, writes Matthew Westwood
FOR a man to tape his genitals between his legs, apply lipstick and get up on stage takes a certain resolve. Not that one needs a special occasion, of course. There is no shortage of men in this country who enjoy dressing in women’s clothing, or of those who enjoy watching them, as the popularity of The Footy Show attests.
But the nation may be girding its loins for a fresh outbreak of cross-dressing and a fascination with drag queens as the musical version of the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert opens in Sydney this weekend.
The metamorphosis that takes place when a man paints his nails, pulls on a wig and rouges his cheeks has preoccupied performers in the musical in the weeks leading to opening night. Actor Tony Sheldon, last seen wearing a sequined dress in The Producers, takes the role of Bernadette, the transsexual played in the film by British actor Terence Stamp. One afternoon this week during a technical rehearsal, he is found sitting in his dressing-room in a sleeveless blouse, his forearms waxed and his nails painted fuchsia.