McFadden for Playhouse Priscilla

Jan 21 2019 | By More

Joe McFadden to star in UK tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert

An “over the moon” Joe McFadden is to play the lead in the all-new production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, opening this Autumn and touring to the Edinburgh Playhouse in November 2019.

The 2017 Strictly Come Dancing winner and star of Holby City will take on the central role played in the West End and on recent tours by Jason Donovan, while Donovan himself steps out of the limelight and into the producer’s chair.

Joe McFadden

The tour will open for previews in Dartford in September and play a dozen more dates in 2019 including Liverpool, Manchester and Wimbledon before spending Christmas in Brighton. It plays the Edinburgh Playhouse from Tuesday 5 to Saturday 9 November.

McFadden will play Tick, the Sydney drag queen Mitzi with a secret wife and child back home in Alice Springs.

When his wife calls in a favour he enlists the help of a couple of drag queens and they set off in a big pink bus, Priscilla, across the desert to perform in the Alice Springs casino.

McFadden has considerable musical theatre experience in the likes of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, as well as strong straight theatre roles, besides his winning stint on Strictly and heart-throb status on Holby City.

“I’m over the moon to be taking on this new and exciting challenge in a musical that I have been a massive fan of for such a long time,” he said.

guidance

“I’m looking forward to working with this wonderful production team, including Jason whose guidance I feel especially lucky to have given his previous experience with the production.

“I can’t wait to take the Priscilla bus on the road and have a bonzer time making the role my own!”

Mark Goucher and Jason Donovan with a big-haired drag queen. Pic: Darren Bell.

Mark Goucher and Jason Donovan. Pic: Darren Bell.

Donovan’s co-producer Mark Goucher described McFadden as “great casting for Priscilla”, saying: “He is a very strong musical theatre performer and will bring great charm and integrity to this new production of a great musical.”

The producers of the show, which is based on the Oscar-winning film Priscilla, promise: “more glitter than ever before, a dazzling array of stunning costumes, fabulous feathers and a non-stop parade of dance-floor classics including It’s Raining Men, I Will Survive, I Love The Nightlife, Finally and many more.”

The creative team was also behind the recent UK tours of Hairspray; with direction by Paul Kerryson, choreography by Tom Jackson-Greaves, designs by Phil R Daniels and Charles Cusick Smith, lighting design by Ben Cracknell and sound design by Ben Harrison.

Jason Donovan said: “So pleased to announce Joe be starring in our production. He’s a down to earth, talented guy who will bring enormous warmth to the role of Mitzi. I can’t wait to see him in heels doing those dance routines…. Awesome.”

The producers have also announced that the tour is to extend into 2020 with dates in Southampton, Plymouth, Nottingham, Dublin, Cambridge, Newcastle, Southend, Sheffield, Carlisle, Ipswich, Leeds, Oxford, Birmingham, Glasgow, Cardiff and Bristol.

Full listings for the 2020 dates and further casting details for the full tour are still to be announced.

Listings

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3AA
Tuesday 5 November  – Saturday 9 December  2019
Tickets on sale now from www.atgtickets.com. Click here to buy now.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on tour 2019/20:
Thurs 5 – Sat 14 September 2019 Dartford
Orchard Theatre
01322 220000 Book online
Tue 17 – Sat 21 September Bradford
Alhambra
01274 432 000 Book online
Mon 23 – Sat 28 September Rhyl
New Pavilion Theatre
01745 33 00 00 Book online
Mon 30 September – Sat 5 October Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes Theatre
08448 717652 Book online
Mon 7 – Sat 12 October Wimbledon
New Wimbledon Theatre
0844 871 7646 Book online
Mon 14 – Sat 19 October Malvern
Festival Theatre
01684 892277 Book online
Mon 21 – Sat 26 October Blackpool
Winter Gardens
0844 856 1111 Book online
Mon 28 October – Sat 2 November Leicester
Curve Theatre
01162 423 595 Book online
Tue 5 – Sat 9 November 2019 Edinburgh
Playhouse
0844 871 3014 Book online
Mon 11 – Sat 16 November Liverpool
Empire
08448 713 017 Book online
Mon 18 – Sat 23 November Inverness
Eden Court
01463 234234 Book online
Mon 25 – Sat 30 November Manchester
Palace Theatre
0844 871 3019 Book online
Tue 17 Dec 2019 – Sat 4 Jan 2020 Brighton
Theatre Royal
0844 871 7650 Book online
Mon 13 – Sat 18 Jan 2020 Southampton
The Mayflower Theatre
02380 711811 Book online
Mon 20 – Sat 25 Jan 2020 Plymouth
Theatre Royal
01752 230440 Book online
Mon 27 Jan – Sat 1 Feb 2020 Nottingham
Theatre Royal
0115 989 5555 Book online
Mon 3 – Sat 8 Feb 2020 Dublin
Bord Gais Energy Theatre
0818 719 377 Book online
Mon 10 – Sat 15 Feb 2020 Cambridge
Corn Exchange
01223 357851 Book online
Mon 17 – Sat 22 Feb 2020 Newcastle
Theatre Royal
08448 11 21 21 Book online
Mon 24 – Sat 29 Feb 2020 Southend on Sea
Cliffs Pavilion
01702 351135 Book online
Mon 2 – Sat 7 Mar 2020 Sheffield
Lyceum Theatre
0114 249 6000 On Sale Soon
Mon 9 – Sat 14 Mar 2020 Carlisle
Sands Centre
01228 633 766 Book online
Mon 16 – Sat 21 Mar 2020 Woking
New Victoria
0844 871 7645 Book online
Mon 23 – Sat 28 Mar 2020 Ipswich
Regent Theatre
01473 433100 On Sale 23 Jul
Mon 30 Mar – Sat 4 Apr 2020 Hull
New Theatre
01482 300 300 Book online
Mon 6 – Sat 11 Apr 2020 Oxford
New Theatre
0844 871 3020 On Sale 27 Jun
Mon 13 – Sat 18 Apr 2020 Birmingham
Hippodrome
0844 338 5000 On Sale 27 Jun
Mon 20 – Sat 25 Apr 2020 Northampton
Royal & Derngate
01604 624 811 Book online
Mon 27 – Sat 2 May 2020 Glasgow
King’s Theatre
0844 871 7648 Book online
Tue 5 – Sat 9 May 2020 Cardiff
Wales Millennium Centre
029 2063 6464 Book online
Tue 12 – Sat 16 May 2020 Bristol
Hippodrome
0844 871 3012 Book online
Mon 18 – Sat 23 May 2020 Cheltenham
Everyman Theatre
01242 572573 Book online

ENDS

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