Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has broken the box-office record for the most successful live musical staged in New Zealand during a six week period.

The show's Australian crew prepare to bid a fond farewell to Auckland's Civic Theatre with a final show this Sunday night, after selling a staggering 104,000 tickets and grossing $10 million dollars.

Garry Mc Quinn of Back Row Productions, said "We are ecstatic the Kiwis have embraced Priscilla so passionately, to say we are proud of our show would be an understatement."

Principal cast member Tony Sheldon played Bernadette. "I can't say that in my career trajectory I pictured playing a transsexual with second billing to a bus," he laughs, "but I can honestly say Priscilla has been a pure joy and the New Zealand audiences have been so wonderfully effusive, I am so proud to say I'm an Australian actor working in an Australian production, telling an Australian story."

When the curtain comes down this weekend with the disco classic Finally, the cast and crew will have delivered 49 dazzling performances, gone through three kilos of glitter, 65 lipsticks and 41,000 ping pong balls - mostly souvenired by the audience.

35,000 Strawberry Daiquiri's - an average of 714 per show - were consumed by Priscilla devotees.

Greg Innes, Chief Executive of Auckland entertainment centre The Edge, said "We're delighted to have been associated with such a world-class musical, Priscilla has certainly raised the bar for musical theatre presented in this country."

The Priscilla bus and company will travel to Sydney for a return season at the Star City's Lyric Theatre commencing in October, before making her London debut next March.