Wade McCollum, Bryan West, Scott Willis Highlight Touring Cast of ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’

Wade McCollum, Bryan West and Scott Willis will star in the upcoming, first-ever U.S. National Tour for “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”

The previously announced tour will kick off January 8, 2013 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, and has productions scheduled through a Denver engagement September 3-15. Other cities the tour will visit include St. Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Miami, Tampa Bay, Orlando, Dallas and Los Angeles.

McCollum will portray Tick/Mitzi, Willis will portray Bernadette and West will play Adam/Felicia. They star as the “trio of friends, on the road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed,” according to press notes.

Additional cast members for the tour include Joe Hart, Emily Afton, John Capes, Nik Alexzander, Andrew Chappelle, Alex DeLeo, Shane Davis, Taurean Everett, Amy Hillner, Christy Faber and more.

The Broadway production of the musical closed earlier this year following 526 performances. The production won a Tony Award for Costume Design for Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardner. Tony Sheldon was nominated for the Tony for Leading Actor in a Musical.

The musical is based on the 1994 film, “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” and the musical is presented by Bette Midler. It features more than 20 dance classics, including “I Will Survive,” “Finally” and “It’s Raining Men.”

The musical was originally staged in Sydney, Australia, where it ran for over two years, and a production also ran for two years in London’s West End.

A UK tour has been announced for next year, and will kick off February 9, 2013 at the Manchester Opera House. That tour has engagements scheduled through early May of next year and stars Jason Donovan, Graham Weaver and Richard Grieve.