INTERVIEW: Now everybody in the world is ‘Talking About Jamie’
Photo: Tom MacRae is the book writer and lyricist for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Photo courtesy of Nica Burns / Provided by AGPR with permission.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, the hit musical from England, is currently taking over the world. The show tells the story of a teenager who dreams of becoming a drag queen one day, but he’s stuck in conservative Sheffield. So he needs to rely on the support of his mother and friends to rise above the obstacles in life and realize his full potential.
The musical, based on a documentary called Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, began its life in Sheffield and eventually transferred to the West End. That run is currently on hiatus, but there’s a UK tour that is now circulating the country. And an L.A. engagement at the Ahmanson will be staged in the new year. Also, there’s a new cinematic adaptation that is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Everyone is indeed talking about Jamie.
Dan Gillespie Sells, lead singer-songwriter for the band The Feeling, composed the music, while Tom MacRae handled the book and lyrics. MacRae’s credits include Off Limits: School’s Out, Doctor Who and Threesome. He’s currently adapting the Beetle Boy children’s books for the cinema as well. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with MacRae about the global phenomenon that is Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When did you first get the inspiration to adapt Everybody’s Talking About Jamie for the stage?
Jonathan Butterell, our director, first saw the documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 which inspired the stage show, and it was his idea to turn it into a full-blown musical. When he brought it to me and Dan Gillespie Sells, we fell in love with it immediately. Jamie’s story seemed to really sing, and we knew it could make a great musical.
Have you been surprised and delighted by the success of the musical and now the movie?
We always knew that Everybody’s Talking About Jamie had something special and a little bit magical about it, but we were beyond delighted — and more than a little surprised — to see the response the stage show got the first time we put it in front of an audience. They went wild, and we looked at each other and just thought ‘wow!’
What do you think this story can teach audience members?
Jamie’s story is about many things — it’s about identity, and growing up, and that time in your life when you realise your parents are just people, too. It’s also about the power of community and kindness, and the extraordinariness of ordinary people.
Do you think with each passing year we’re in a better place as far as accepting everyone for who they are?
I think the world is slowly and steadily moving forward into being a more accepting place, but we can’t take such progress for granted. In many places, being gay is still a death sentence, so being able to celebrate Jamie and his story in the way that we do feels as important as ever.
Are there plans for the musical to play Broadway?
It would be my dream for Jamie to play on Broadway! So if anyone reading this can make that happen — please make that happen!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie the movie is now available on Amazon Prime. The stage production is currently on tour in the UK and will open at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in 2022. Click here for more information and tickets.
