Juliet Mayhew has spoken out about her surprise Broadway cameo in “Titanique.”
The “Real Housewives of London” star, 49, took the stage this weekend in the Celine Dion-inspired musical comedy, trading reality TV drama for feathers, corsetry and a nearly one-meter-long Titanic hat. The appearance marked a long-deferred homecoming for the professionally trained performer, who studied at ArtsEd Tring, London Studio Centre and NIDA in Australia before Bravo came calling.
“It was such a wonderfully bonkers, full-circle moment!” Mayhew exclusively said’s “Virtual Reali-Tea.” The opportunity first arose when she was invited to cameo in the London production, though a string of cancellations she jokes were “almost as eventful as the Titanic itself” eventually pushed the gig to New York.
“Broadway has always been a dream, so the thought of actually stepping onto that stage was incredibly exciting and surreal,” she says.
Mayhew went all in on the bit. She commissioned a custom costume from London designer William F. Henderson, who had worked on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and, in a neat coincidence, trained at the same drama school as the Housewife. The outfit’s centerpiece: an enormous Titanic-inspired hat measuring nearly a meter long and 60 centimeters high, with feathers exploding from the top. Rubber gloves and a feather duster completed the look.
“It took two people to get me into the outfit. The waist was snatched! I could barely breathe, but darling, apparently that is the price of Broadway!” Mayhew elaborates. “I’m Australian. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. Go big or go home, mate!”
Beneath the camp, the moment carried emotional weight. Before reality TV, Mayhew had built her career as a “triple-threat” actor, singer and dancer.
“Being on Broadway was a dream come true,” she tells “VRT.” “It felt like coming home to a part of myself that had been there all along.”
Once onstage, the training flooded back. She sang, danced, improvised, reacted to the cast and even busted out a time step.
“The second I was out there,” she recalls, “I was completely in my element.”
The immediacy of live performance struck her hardest. “There’s no retake and no edit,” she says. “You’re listening to the actors, bouncing off their energy, improvising, playing with the audience and trusting your instincts.”
After two seasons of “RHOLDN,” Mayhew found unexpected parallels between the Housewives dinner table and the Broadway boards.
“You can arrive thinking you know where a scene is going, somebody says something completely unexpected and suddenly you have to react and run with it,” she explains.
Her verdict? “Broadway might actually be the calmer option!”
The trip also brought Housewives crossovers. Mayhew linked up with “Beverly Hills” stars Sutton Stracke, 54, Erika Jayne and Tracy Tutor, who were in town filming their upcoming season during New York Fashion Week. The women gathered at Stracke’s fifth annual Celebration Honoring Women Pioneers of Circular Fashion at the Martha Graham Dance Center. Mayhew and Stracke, both trained dancers, particularly bonded.
Mayhew even envisioned Stracke on Broadway — ideally as “Mame,” with “fabulous clothes, razor-sharp lines and a killer entrance.”
“With two former dancers, a live audience and permission to improvise, I’m not entirely convinced either of us would stick to the script,” Mayhew says. “And frankly, that might be the best part!”
When asked which Celine Dion hit soundtracked her Titanic adventure, Mayhew’s pick was “The Power of Love.” “My Heart Will Go On” may carry new meaning now, she shares, but the former remains her emotional kryptonite.
“I’m an enormous romantic,” the reality TV personality says. “For me, love is the great anchor in life: my husband, my family, my faith and the people I cherish.”
She reserves special reverence for Dion’s delivery. “Celine doesn’t merely sing a love song. She launches it into another stratosphere!” Mayhew exclaims. “Which, come to think of it, is probably rather appropriate for me!”
A small reality star contingent turned out for the debut, including “Love Island USA” Season 8 winners Bryce Alakai and Trinity Tatum and “Selling Sunset” star Amanza Smith.
“Titanique” ends its Broadway run on Sept. 20.