Year of the Queen

After an eight year absence from big musical theatre, Jeremy Stanford suddenly finds himself cast in a leading role of one of the most expensive and eagerly anticipated Australian musicals ever: Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical. Involved from the outset, starting with the workshop of the first script, he navigates the auditions, the nerve wrenching rehearsals and finally, the unbelievably fraught lead up to the world premier of this hit show. It’s a wild bus trip through a landscape of big personalities, high stakes, tantrums and creative blocks. Along the way he limbers up his rusty musical theatre muscle and investigates the outrageous world of drag as he attempts to recreate the role of Tick, the character made famous in the film by Hugo Weaving. This is a book which will leave you breathless with its candor, its insights and insider revelations about how one of the most expensive and successful Australian shows almost never made it to the stage. Since its Australian debut, Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical has gone on to be staged in London, Toronto, New York, Milan and Brazil. Go on the journey with Jeremy, the original Tick as he brings you inside the crazy world of musical theatre.