‘Priscilla’ Ends Broadway Run, Tour Coming in 2013

“Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” will end its Broadway run, but will then continue on in the form of a national tour.

Producers announced yesterday that the show will close on June 24. At that time, it will have had a total of 526 performances along with 23 previews. The show opened on Broadway in March of last year and went on to win a Tony Award for Costume design for Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardner. Tony Sheldon also was nominated for a Tony for Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance.

Ticket sales for the musical had been struggling for many weeks, and recent shows were playing to a Palace Theatre that was half full. A spokesman said it would not recoup its initial investment, which was around $15 million.

Fortunately, however, the show will embark on a national tour beginning next year. A press release said the tour is expected to kick off in Minneapolis at the Orpheum Theatre on January 8, 2013. No additional details about the tour have yet been announced.

The musical is based on the 1994 film “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” by Stephan Elliot. The musical was presented by Bette Midler and was adapted for the stage by Elliot and Allan Scott.

Press notes describe the story as a “trio of friends on a heart-warming, uplifting 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 ever could have dreamed.” The trio of friends consists of two drag queens and one transsexual, and the trip is set to pop songs such as “I Will Survive” and “It’s Raining Men.”

The musical had successful runs in Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand, London and Toronto before coming to Broadway.