Former Pop Idol finalist Zoe Birkett and Hairspray’s Kate Gillespie have been cast in forthcoming show Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical, which opens at the Palace theatre on 23 March (previews from 10 March).
Birkett was just 16 when she came fourth in the original 2001 series of Pop Idol, the reality television singing contest which made stars of Will Young, Gareth Gates and Darius Danesh. Since then Birkett has appeared in touring productions of What A Feeling! and Thriller Live.
Gillespie played Pearl, one of singing trio the Dynamites in the original cast of musical Hairspray at the Shaftesbury, and can be seen in Wig Out! at the Royal Court from 20 November.
Birkett, Gillespie and Emma Lindars, who has previously appeared in The Sound Of Music, will play the three Divas in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical. The trio perform the songs which main characters Tick, Bernadette and Adam mime to during their glamorous drag show.
They join the already announced principal cast of Jason Donovan (Tick), Tony Sheldon (Bernadette), Oliver Thornton (Adam) and Clive Carter (Bob).
Based on the hit 1994 film, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical tells the heartwarming story of three Sydney-based friends – two drag queens and a transsexual – who hop aboard a battered bus, nicknamed Priscilla, to take their cabaret act into the Australian outback. Searching for love and friendship, they end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed.
Also joining the company are Wezley Sebastian as Miss Understanding, Amy Field as Marion, Danielle Coombe as Shirley, Tristan Temple as Jimmy, Kanaka Nakano as Cynthia, Steven Cleverley as Young Bernadette and John Brannoch as Frank. The cast is completed by Phillip Arran, Matthew Cole, Amy Edwards, Mark Inscoe, Zabrina Norry, Will Peaco, John Phoenix, James Rees, Craig Ryder, Jeremy Secomb and Jon Tsouras.
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical opens at the Palace following Monty Python’s Spamalot, which ends it two-year run in January.
CB