The cast of Broadway's Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert is reaching out to troubled gay teens in the
It Gets Better Project's first public service announcement.
The New York Times reports that
the ad will begin airing on Tuesday on the CBS affiliate in the New
York region.
“When bullying happens, it's because
of ignorance and fear,” actor Nick Adams, who plays Adam/Felicia in
the play, says in the 30-second spot.
“Be proud of who you are,” Will
Swenson (Tick/Mitzi) says.
Tony Sheldon, who plays Bernadette,
adds, “All the greats were ahead of their time,” as the camera
slowly pans around him. (The video is embedded in the right panel of
this page.)
Preview performances for the
movie-turned-tuner began on Monday at Broadway's Palace Theater.
Priscilla, which arrives in New
York by way of Sydney, London and Toronto, follows three drag queens
on a road trip through the Australian Outback.
The
It Gets Better Project is the brainchild of sex advice columnist
and activist Dan Savage, who launched the project by uploading a
video on YouTube. The project urges gay teens considering suicide to
get help.
“We've been honored and humbled by
the theater community's commitment to standing up for tolerance and
lending their voices to this vital cause,” Savage said in a
statement. “The show Priscilla could not be a better fit,
thematically, with the message of the It Gets Better Project.”
In an earlier It Get Better video, the
entire cast of Priscilla
encouraged troubled gay teens to hang in there, because life gets
better.