Ask the Flying Monkey (February 03, 2009)

Have a question about gay male entertainment? Ask the Monkey!

Q: Where the hell is that supposed stage version of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? – Bryan, Houston, TX

The 2006 Sydney premiere of the Priscilla stage musical

Photo credit: Patrick Riviere/Getty Images

A: Slowly working its way around the world. The show, which opened in Sydney in 2006 (co-starring Bill Hunter, the only principle from the film), is set to open on London’s West End in March. Another production will open in Toronto later this year. There’s been speculation about a New York production, but nothing has been announced yet.

No new music was written for the musical; it includes all the pop songs from the original film, plus it throws in a few more.

Q: So what was the deal with Probie on Rescue Me? Is he bi? Straight? – Emma, Schenectady, NY

A: “Obviously he was bisexual, [but it was more] the need for love, the need for companionship,” says Mike Lombardi, the actor who plays Mike Silletti (he’s no longer on probation, so he’s not “Probie” anymore). “He experimented, as opposed to defining himself as bisexual. I think it was more of an experimental phase.”

Mike Silletti (shirtless) in a scene from Rescue Me episode 210, "Happy"

What’s up for both Mikes in the new, fifth season of FX’s Rescue Me, which starts in April — 16 months after we last saw new episodes? “He is more evolved, he’s one of the guys,” Lombardi says of his character. “He has a little more of edge to him, instead of one of his main tools being a pacifier. Although [his bisexual past is] touched upon by other guys, he’s actually more grounded on who he is.” There’s no new love interest for him, however.

This season, which runs 22 episodes, we also find out that Mike is a member of a band. “I have a real rock band, and Denis [Leary] and Peter [Tolan] wrote it into the show,” Lombardi says. “The others rag on the band, but they end up being very good, and they used my original songs.”

Do people confuse the actor with his shy, naïve, easily manipulated character? “Definitely,” Lombardi says. “Fans of the show — they do think you you’re character.” But the actor says he has real affection for his TV alter ego. “I take him as a genuine person, not looking at him as being dumb, but just naïve, although he does some very dumb things. I think the humor in [the character] is playing it really straight and really real and having passion and believing in [his latest] thing, although it’s obviously funny from the outside.”

Actor Lombardi (left) and in character as Mike Silleti
Left photo credit: Steve Mack/FilmMagic

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