Sunday Star - Times; Wellington
Posted
on: Monday, 9 June 2008, 15:00 CDT
By TAY, Karen
Tony Sheldon, one of the stars of hit musical Priscilla, tells
Karen Tay that over-the-top performance is in his blood. ----------- ---------
HIS AUNTY is singer Helen Reddy, who wrote the 1970s' feminist anthem I Am
Woman. His grandparents were comedian Max Reddy and singer Stella Lamond and
his mother is Australian entertainer Toni "Lolly Legs" Lamond. So
actor and director Tony Sheldon didn't have to look far to find strong female
role models for his character, the transsexual Bernadette in the musical
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
"My grandparents were vaudeville stars and had their own
company during the 1950s. After the war, they toured all around New Zealand in
a show called The Pajama Game.
"As for my mum, she's busy touring in a show I directed and
wrote for her, called The Times of My Life. She's 76 now but they'll have to
knock her down with a big stick."
Priscilla the musical is a faithful adaptation of the 1994 film
about the adventures of two drag queens and a transsexual travelling on a pink
bus called Priscilla from Sydney to Alice Springs. It's brash, bold, colourful
and over-the-top, perfect for someone who admits performing is in his blood.
"Other people become lawyers or doctors, we keep the
tradition going this way."
Priscilla's success - two years on the road, sold-out opening
night shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, speaks for itself. And part of
that, says the show's Kiwi director, Simon Phillips, is making fans feel like
they are watching "all their favourite bits in the movie on stage".
"The show is very culturally specific in terms of Australia,
but people have come from all over the world, seen it and loved it. I think it
would be churlish not to have a good time at Priscilla. I actually met a woman
who cancelled going to her therapist and bought a ticket to see the show every
week - because it made her feel better!"
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical runs until July 6 at
The Civic Theatre in Auckland. For tickets Ph 0800 289-842 or
www.the-edge.co.nz.
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(c) 2008 Sunday Star - Times; Wellington, New Zealand. Provided by
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Source: Sunday Star - Times; Wellington, New Zealand