A joyous dancing ovation

PLAYING it straight at curtain call (from left): Red Concepcion, Leo Tavarro Valdez and Jon Santos. PHOTO BY Anna Leah Sarabia

It’s raining men! What were two feminist senior citizens doing, applauding and cheering for the stage adaptation of an iconic Australian film about three cross dressers, that some critics saw as  marred by stereotypes—not the least of which is the Filipino immigrant wife?

Onstage at the Resorts World Manila’s Newport Theater until July 4, “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” is the story of those drag queens and their quest for acceptance. They travel across the Australian outback in a pink bus they christened “Priscilla.”

The musical shows how gay men, defying gender-based appearances, can themselves be as vicious to each other as the straight society that imposes rules for both males and females. It argues that relationships and families should really be about caring for each other, rather than categorizing people in order to give or withdraw respect, and love.

Campy exaggeration

The very nature of drag performance is by itself subversive. But because drag is often accompanied by campy exaggeration, pretend self-deprecation and stinging humor, audiences are usually entertained by critiques of the norms that drag queens serve to sabotage.

In drag theater, people find many things hilarious, especially overstated portrayals of ultra-femmes such as Gloria Gaynor and Tina Turner, or über-machos such as the Village People and Elvis Presley.

It helps that this Manila production is consistently awesome—the chorus, sets, costumes, headdresses, wigs, makeup, masks, blown-up backdrops and lights come alive.

That Resorts World has ventured into musical theater about drag queens should give notice to the public that it is willing to go beyond safe and sweet.

Colin Kerr, its vice president for entertainment, wanted to make sure it is not “stuck in a box” and that it is eager to attract a wide range of audiences with productions of different genres. (Heads up: In September, they promise a true full-length Tagalog opera. You can hold your breath, as it will be big.)

QUEENS of the night (from left): Red, Leo and Jon in drag. PHOTO BY Anna Leah Sarabia

However, staging “Priscilla” didn’t simply mean getting all these fantastically talented Filipino artists into another grand project. Casting had its own challenges. Coproducer Mark Manalang, for example, had to ask lead star Leo Tavarro Valdez: “Are you sure you want to accept this role, after playing the King (in “The King and I”) and The Engineer (in “Miss Saigon”)?”

Unsure father

Leo, in his role as main Queen Mitzi, who hides his past as a married man and runaway father to a young boy, is in fact just right for the part. His quick moves and athletic build inside tight dresses made for teenaged girls, represent the so-called “woman caught in a man’s body,” unsure of how to introduce himself to his son.

The nearly emaciated Jon Santos, perfectly playing an aging transsexual Bernadette, would easily pass for a sophisticated diva in her twilight years—until the audience gets squeamish when she acts on her longing for the mechanic Bob. The deconstruction and contrasting reprise of the 1970s hit “MacArthur Park” by Leo and Jon is the dramatic highlight of the musical.

It wouldn’t be theater if there was no conflict, and “Priscilla” has all the issues that LGBT people face daily—sexual passion, discrimination, alienation, frustration and violence. The young drag queen Felicia, played by the energetic Red Concepcion, mocks his much older fellow troupers, until they save him from gang rape and near murder.

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo’s bright depiction of Mitzy’s cool and encouraging wife cannot be hard to admire, given how most couples here would address such a problematic marriage. But, despite our reservations about the negative image of Filipino immigrant wives, my friend and I see that the scene-stealer on most nights will be Japs Treopaldo, playing the rebellious ping-pong girl, Cynthia.

The entire production is witty, fun, even educational, as parts of the video keep reminding the viewers that the struggle for pride and equality continues, despite Anderson Cooper, Ricky Martin and Sir Ian McKellen coming out. (I must have missed Ellen DeGeneres, Jodie Foster and other out lesbians in the parade of photos!)

In the end, we all must come home to ourselves, as drag queens must come back to their music and dance. The result? Not just a standing, but a happy, dancing ovation.