Drunken sideshow at hit stage musical Priscilla in Auckland

Ray Meagher struts his stuff in Priscilla. Photo / David Rowland/Getty Images /

A group of tipsy women disrupted a performance of hit Aussie musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert this week.

And when they were told to quieten down, they ended up leaving without their shoes in a not-quite-Cinderella moment.

The ruckus started when the women arrived late for the show at Auckland's Civic Theatre on Tuesday night.

Instead of taking their front-of-house seats, they were shunted to the side of the hall but went on to create a scene by waving their arms around and shouting loudly during the performance.

"They were asked to pipe down by an usher but they started it all up again after the interval," a Civic production source said. "They were intoxicated and were told if they did not quieten down they would be asked to leave.

"The women took exception to that and told the ushers they were leaving anyway, and went."

But the fun didn't stop there - some of the women returned to the hall after getting as far as the foyer before realising they had left their shoes behind, the source added.

"They apparently came back in to the theatre shouting things like "we are millionaires, and we are looking for our $800 shoes".

Priscilla is adapted from the 1991 film and follows drag queens Tick and Adam, and their transgender friend Bernadette, as they traverse Australia in a bus - named Priscilla - on their way to Alice Springs.

The fun show stars Ray Meagher, best-known for his long running role in TV soap Home and Away and it features glitter, feathers, colours, singing and men in dresses.