Everybody's Talking About Michelle Visage

Photo: @tuckerbeanpilky

Drag Race judge and Celebrity Big Brother royalty Michelle Visage took to the stage for the first time last night, joining the cast of hit West End Musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

Visage, platinum-selling recording artist and TV personality, left her infamous New Jersey accent at the stage door and wowed crowds with her impressive performance as Miss Hedge, a conservative and narrow-minded careers teacher from Sheffield.

The opening night completely sold out following the announcement last month that Visage would replace Tamsin Carroll in the role for a limited time from 18th October 2018 to January 26th 2019. Tickets for the remaining dates are in high-demand and selling out fast, with limited availability for all matinee and evening shows taking place in the next few weeks.

Theatre-goers and fans took to Twitter last night to praise Visage on her debut performance, on what some fans are now calling ‘Michelle Visage day’:

Based on a true story, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie follows Jamie New, a flamboyant and sassy sixteen-year-old schoolboy who, with the love and support of his mum, fiercely overcomes prejudice and self-doubt to fulfil his Drag Queen dreams.

Visage is a well-known ally for the LGBTQ+ community and earned her title as an international gay icon through years of active support as a staunch advocate in the fight for equality. She has been a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race since 2011 and has become a renowned figure within the Drag Queen community.

In an interview to promote the casting announcement last month, Visage spoke of her personal reasons for accepting the role in this production.

She said: “The reason I chose this show, in particular, is because of the very important message it tells.

“It is a great show with great music and talent but more importantly, it’s about love, truth and the tenacity of the human spirit.”

Jamie Campbell, the inspiration for the musical, said that Visage ‘smashed it’ last night and extended his ‘Condragulations’ – a term made popular by drag icon and best friend of Visage, RuPaul.

Visage thanked her ‘incredible’ opening-night audience, cast and crew via Twitter last night, and said she was ‘ABSOLUTELY buzzing’ following her debut performance.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is currently playing at the Apollo Theatre, London.