Priscilla, Queen of the Desert the latest production of Toowoomba Choral Society coming to the Empire Theatre

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is getting ready to hit the Empire Theatre stage and the production has already earned the tick of approval from the film’s original costume designer.

When Nathan Chant auditioned for a role in Toowoomba Choral Society’s production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, he would have settled for a spot in the ensemble.

However, in just his first audition for the club, he landed a much bigger role.

“I moved to Toowoomba from Brisbane last year, and this is my first show with the choral society,” he said.

Nathan Chant will play Bernadette in the Toowoomba Choral Society's production of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

“I just turned up and auditioned for an ensemble role, and the next thing I knew I got a call and was asked to read for Bernadette.

“It was a surprise but it’s certainly a lot of fun and it’s an amazing team to work with.”

Director Mary Quade said taking on the much-loved theatre spectacle was an easy choice.

“It’s just so much fun,” she said.

“I was in high school in the 90s and it’s all the music I love.

“It’s Kylie and Cyndi Lauper, there’s classics and you can’t go wrong. It’s fun and it’s out there and I love doing things that people don’t necessarily expect so that’s why we’re doing Priscilla.”

Nathan Chant will play Bernadette in the Toowoomba Choral Society's production of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

Lending her years of production design experience is Madeleine Barlow, who has been mentored by the costume designer for both the original movie and Broadway production Tim Chappel.

“I agreed to do Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and then got set up with him through a mentorship program while doing a film in Byron Bay where he was a designer,” Ms Barlow said.

“The great challenge for us is having a personal connection to the show, and whenever you do a remounting of a show it’s about finding what’s true of it for you and retell it in your own voice.

“What we’ve come up with is a reinterpretation of one of Tim’s looks.

“You walk that line with what an audience expects and feels promised to see, but we’ve also got a lot of stuff that’s going to be completely different.

“I’ve shown it to Tim and he thinks it’s fabulous.”

Nathan Chant will play Bernadette in the Toowoomba Choral Society's production of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Ms Quade said the team were putting the final touches on the production before their run at the Empire Theatre on September 9 to 11.

“It’s going to look fantastic,” she said.

For more details on the show visit the Empire Theatre website.