Following the announcement of Tony Sheldon as “Bernadette”, David Harris as “Tick” and Euan Doidge as “Felicia”, the full cast of Australia’s most successful homegrown musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert has been confirmed.

A cast of Australian performers will steer the iconic musical back home for its 10^th anniversary celebration tour beginning on Sunday 21 January 2018 at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre, before hitting the road for Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.

Joining the desert adventure are Robert Grubb as outback mechanic “Bob”; Kinky Boots alumni Emma Powell as burly bartender “Shirl” and Blake Appelqvist as “Miss Understanding”; Adele Parkinson as hotel entertainment manager “Marion”; Angelique Cassimatis, Samm Hagen and Cle Morgan as sassy disco singers “The Divas”; and reprising her role from the original Australian production, Lena Cruz as Bob’s wife “Cynthia”.

The cast also includes Jakob Ambrose, Michelle Barr, Xander Ellis, Mitchell Fistrovic, Tom Handley, Haydan Hawkins, Luke Jarvis, Joe Kosky, Leonard Mickelo, Adam Noviello, Shannen Quan, Glaston Toft and Patrick Whitbread.

Director Simon Phillips said, “We’ve assembled a cracking cast for Priscilla’s homecoming, led by a doyen of the musical stage, Tony Sheldon. We’re blessed to have some of our original cast back on the bus for the 10th anniversary tour, along with many fabulous new faces. I can’t wait to put the stiletto to the metal and get rehearsals started.”

Owing to popular demand, new seats for the Melbourne season will be released on Thursday 23 November. Sydneysiders can also book a seat on the bus from Monday 27 November, when tickets for the musical’s Capitol Theatre season go on sale.  Sydney performances begin on May 13.

Based on the Oscar-winning Australian film, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is the hilarious story of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus bound for Alice Springs to put on the show of a lifetime. The 1994 film starring Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce remains one of Australia’s most successful films and soundtracks of all-time with a swag of awards in the trophy cabinet, including an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Featuring more than 500 costumes, 200 headdresses and a non-stop hit parade of dance-floor classics including ‘It’s Raining Men’, ‘I Will Survive’,’ I Love The Nightlife’ and ‘Finally’, the fabulously camp production has more glitter than ever.

The musical returns to Melbourne’s Regent Theatre after a ten-year around-the-world extravaganza including award-winning stints on Broadway and in the West End as well as  The Netherlands, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Sweden, Israel, Argentina, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, France, Japan, Spain, Greece, North America, the United Kingdom and on the high seas with Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Future international productions will include seasons in Copenhagen, Munich, Mexico City, and return tours to Japan, Korea, Italy, France and the United Kingdom for the third time.  

The Aussie story about mateship, self-discovery and acceptance was translated from screen to stage by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, with the film’s acclaimed costume designers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner onboard, alongside stage designer Brian Thomson and co-choreographers Ross Coleman and Andrew Hallsworth.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert is presented by Michael Cassel Group and Nullarbor Productions in association with MGM on Stage.