Hop on the bus: No Square’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert brightens Laguna stage with singing, dancing and costumes galore
By THERESA KEEGAN
No Square may be a small theater, but it is performing a huge, fun play this summer and director Joe Lauderdale could not be more thrilled.
“You have to be creative and use up every space possible,” he said of No Square’s production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. “It’s been quite a ride, and I don’t mean just for the bus.”
The musical about two drag queens and a trans woman traveling through Australia on a bus (Priscilla) to do a show in a remote area is filled with plot twists, revelations, music, dancing and costumes. So many costumes.
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Photo by Elana Harnack
The elaborate costumes in “Priscilla” enhance the role of lead actors (L-R) Sawyer Reece Maier, Jason Pascual and Christopher Vournas, wearing the infamous flip-flop dress
The original production won a Tony as well as Drama Desk, Outer Critics and the Laurence Olivier awards for best costume design. With colorful and outlandish outfits that complement the toe-tapping, far-reaching disco songs, the show is a major undertaking. The show’s large cast is involved in almost 20 different dance scenes, most with costume changes.
Brigitte Harper, who has been the costume designer with No Square since 2015, is both challenged and energized with this production.
“There is a lot of fantasy and creativity and over the top costumes,” she said. Harper, somehow casually, ticks off a list of items she’s working on including platform shoes, a flip-flop dress, hats that swoosh, skirts that sway and sleeves that, when lifted, reveal puppets. And not some tiny sock puppets. These are full-bodied almost dolls, complete with fist-sized breasts that Harper created.
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Photo by Theresa Keegan
Brigitte Harper has three different sewing machines that are being actively used while creating the many costumes needed for No Square’s production of “Priscilla”
“Those are the fun challenges,” she said of the sewing she’s undertaken for the show. “I wake up in the morning and think what else can I do? My head is constantly spinning.”
Adding to her trials are the fact that she is 5’1” and most of the characters are over six feet tall, so making sure the outfits work as planned is hard to anticipate.
“You have to rethink yourself into a costume, then rethink yourself into the performance,” she said. Harper has even created a full costume book for the show, sampling outfits from past shows and sometimes even sketching out her own ideas.
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Photo by Theresa Keegan
Costumer Brigitte Harper created her own book to keep track of the many costumes needed throughout the show
Lately, she has been buried in the theater’s costume room from morning until well into night, with a microwave, coffee maker and her little Maltipoo Bentley at her side. Two different volunteers are at the ready, quietly stitching along and accepting whatever fabric needs attention at the time.
“It’s so nice to have helpers who really know how to sew,” said Harper.
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Photo by Theresa Keegan
In addition to creating the costumes, Brigitte Harper is also very mindful of supplies. Here, she shows how fabric from a skirt that was too long was cut off as one piece and is now being repurposed for another use
The supportive community feel permeates this show, said actor Christopher Vournas who is thrilled to be back acting after a recent stint as a flight attendant.
“This is my first show being home and it feels great,” he said. “It feels like family and that’s what I missed when not acting.”
The Laguna Hills resident portrays Tick, the drag queen who initiates the tumultuous trip with the dual mission of also meeting his son from an earlier marriage.
“A lot of the performers can relate to the struggles because they’ve lived it themselves,” said Vournas. His favorite scene is when the three leads have a wonderful time in a bar with the locals, only to leave and discover Priscilla, their bus, has been vandalized. They sing a mournful version of Cindy Lauper’s “True Colors.”
“It’s my favorite sequence in the show,” said Vournas. “It’s very touching.”
Throughout this dancing, singing, joyful journey the characters learn about each other – and themselves. The 2006 musical is an adaptation of a 1994 film. It has earned an international, almost cult-like following with its fun music, outlandish costumes and touching plot.
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Photo by Theresa Keegan
A dress made from flip-flops is one of many costume challenges in the show. Brigitte Harper painted each shoe top black, then punched holes in the shoes, put rings through them to connect to each other and the dress chains. The finished product is so heavy it’s hard to hold but fits easily on the tall actor.
“I just wanted fun entertainment,” said Lauderdale. “The decision was made in March or April of last year that we’d do this show.” However, recent events targeting drag performers have made it more poignant for him.
“Drag is being demonized and made into something it’s not,” said Lauderdale. “We’ve been laughing at drag since Milton Berle (in the last 1940s television)…This show is very heartwarming, plus the music is joyous. I’m so glad we’re getting to share it.”
He proudly explains this is the first community theater in Orange County to even tackle this far-ranging show.
“It’s a bit of a No Square branding, we’re doing something different, that other people don’t do,” said Lauderdale. “And in the end, every time you do a show, you’re creating a new community…and I think that’s the appeal for this show – for the actors and the audience.”
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, runs from July 17-August 2. For tickets and more information click here.
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