RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage to join cast of Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Posted on (Updated on 20 Feb 2019)
**Shante, Visage stays**. Fans of *RuPaul's Drag Race* were met with some fabulous news today when it was announced that famed *Drag Race* panel judge **Michelle Visage** would be joining the cast of ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)***. The smash-hit musical, which is based on the 2011 documentary ***Jamie: Drag Queen at 16*** and started out in Sheffield before transferring to the West End, is currently playing at the [**Apollo Theatre**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/venue/1/apollo-theatre.aspx).


**Pictured: **RuPaul's right-hand woman **Michelle Visage** joins ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)****.* The show’s producer, **Nina Burns**, said Visage blew them all away at auditions with her “**fantastic singing voice**” and “**charismatic stage presence**.” * * * It has just been announced today, in what seems like a dream casting for RuPaul fans, that **Michelle Visage**, long-standing judge on the popular reality competition series, *RuPaul's Drag Race*, will be joining the cast of ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)***. The multi-talented singer and television personality will be **playing the role of Miss Hedge from 18 October 2018 to 26 January 2019**. ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)* **follows the life of Jamie New (played by award-winning actor **John McCrea**), a schoolboy in his eleventh year who dreams of someday becoming a drag queen and attending his school prom in drag. **Michelle Visage’s character**, career teacher Miss Hedge, is the antagonist of the story and tells Jamie to “get real,” even going so far as to criticise him for wearing makeup and eventually banning him from attending the prom. On being cast as Miss Hedge in ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)***, **Michelle Visage** 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**! I can’t wait to help audiences fall in love with the show the way I did when I saw ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)* **for the first time and understand why everyone REALLY IS talking about Jamie!” **Michelle Visage** began her career in the entertainment industry as a singer and dancer. In 1990, she joined an R&B dance vocal trio called **Seduction**, but her breakout in music was when she became the lead vocalist for another dance act called **The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M**., whose single “It’s Gonna Be a Lovely Day,” a cover of **Bill Withers’** “Lovely Day,” was included on the soundtrack for the 1992 film, ***The Bodyguard*** **starring Whitney Houston**. The song shot to #1 on the Billboard dance charts that year and brought Visage into the mainstream. In 1996, Visage joined RuPaul as a co-host on the VH1 talk show and comedy sketch show, *The RuPaul Show*. She became a household name when she replaced **Merle Ginsberg** as judge on *RuPaul’s Drag Race* in 2011 and has played an active role in the series and its spinoffs ever since, including *RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked* and *RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars*. Visage is also known for being a finalist in *Celebrity Big Brother* 2015, coming in fifth place, and most recently appeared as judge on *Ireland’s Got Talent*. Her casting in ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)*** seems more than fitting given her incredible singing talent and the popular motto on *RuPaul’s Drag Race*, “**If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else!”**, which seems to carry one of the many key messages in *Jamie.* After receiving overwhelmingly rave reviews and having [**won three WhatsOnStage Awards this year**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/42nd-street-wins-big-at-the-18th-annual-whatsonstage-awards), including **Best New Musical**, it was recently announced a few months ago that *Everybody's Talking About Jamie*** ****would be **[adapted into a major motion picture](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/1980/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-to-be-adapted-into-a-major-motion-picture-plus-other-jamie-news.aspx).** ***[Everybody's Talking About Jamie](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)*** is now playing at the [**Apollo Theatre**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/venue/1/apollo-theatre.aspx) and **booking until 6 April 2019**. Come see why Jamie is the talk of the town and book your tickets to *Everybody's Talking About Jamie*, **now starring Michelle Visage** this autumn and winter! * * * **[Purchase](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx)**[ **your Everybody’s Talking About Jamie tickets.**](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/musical/2756/everybodys-talking-about-jamie-tickets.aspx) * * * **Please note:** Due to filming commitments for *Ireland’s Got Talent*, **Michelle Visage will NOT be performing between 20 and 29 November 2018**.

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By Nicholas Ephram Ryan Daniels

Ephram is a jack of all trades and enjoys attending theatre, classical music concerts and the opera.