Talks Upcoming South Florida Appearance, Drag Race, Chicago, & More
By Denny Patterson
July 24, 2023
Coral Springs Center for the Arts | www.TheCenterCS.com
Hello, world, it’s Jinkx Monsoon, and she’s here to take over the mother-tucking world!
Casting her next great spell, the two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race champion and Broadway breakout star is proud to present her biggest concert tour to date, Everything at Stake, which will be coming to South Florida’s Coral Springs Center for the Arts on July 24, 2023. Known for her electric and eclectic performance style, Monsoon weaves together tales from her enigmatic life in a show where music, comedy, witchy magic, and camp-fantasy collide.
At a time where literally everything is at stake, audiences are in for a spellbinding, bombastic, and revolutionary experience straight from the heart of this “internationally tolerated” drag icon.
Monsoon took some time to talk more about her upcoming appearance with OutClique, as well as returning to Drag Race and winning the title of “Queen of All Queens,” making her Broadway debut in Chicago, and playing a Doctor Who villain.
Denny Patterson: Thank you for taking some time to chat with me, Jinkx! How excited are you to embark on your biggest concert tour to date?
Jinkx Monsoon: I’m very excited! Like you said, it’s my biggest concert tour to date, but it’s also coming at a very, very exciting time in my life and a very tumultuous time in the world. Not that I’m happy to be touring during a tumultuous time, but this is why I love getting to write my own material. Whether it’s me and Major Scales together or me and BenDeLaCreme, whomever I’m collaborating with, I love the chance to get to do the work that I love to do about what’s going on in the world right now. As much as I wish circumstances were different, this is exactly why I got into my work as a drag queen. Try to help correct those problems through art and comedy.
Denny Patterson: We are so happy that South Florida made the tour list. Without giving too much away, what can audiences expect from this production?
Jinkx Monsoon: If you have never seen a Jinkx Monsoon show before, I like to say it’s kind of like a hybrid between stand-up comedy, theater, and traditional musical concert. The music is very much the kind of music that I like to hear and listen to, and I enjoy putting more of that out into the world. Then there’s the monologues that I do, and there’s really only one classification that fits into – stand-up comedy. Even though I like to talk about issues that are very important to me, I enjoy being on stage more when I’m making people laugh.
Denny Patterson: What do you always hope people take away from a Jinkx Monsoon performance?
Jinkx Monsoon: I hope that they see someone who really loves doing what they do. I hope they see how passionate I am about entertaining, being on stage, and bringing my best to an audience, but I also hope they leave feeling good about themselves and the queer community. I wish more people who weren’t already on my side would come to see my show so that I could maybe win them over (laughs). It’s all about spreading a message that you believe in to people who are ready to receive it, and then take that message back out into the world. If I can help people learn a better language to educate the jerks they have to deal with in their life, or if I can help people learn that they have every right to advocate and stand up for themselves, demand what they know they deserve as a human being, then that’s a good bonus to my job.
Denny Patterson: Obviously, you made your mark on the world as a drag superstar after winning Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and the fandom was ecstatic to see you return and win All Stars 7. What made you want to come back?
Jinkx Monsoon: The fact that 10 years had gone by and I was a completely different person. I was very, very excited to show that to the world. When All Stars 7 happened, when we were filming it, I was about two years into sobriety from booze. Different people consider sober to mean different things, but someone said to me, and I appreciated their take on it, they said, if you consider yourself sober, then you’re sober. Like, you know what the problem was, and you cut that problem out. I smoke lots of weed and I’m a huge weed advocate, but otherwise, I am a sober person, and I’m a person who believes in therapy, the power of communication, and the power of bettering yourself. Identifying things about yourself that you would like to work on, and I think after 10 years, I have learned so much. I had put so much work into my artistry, but I had finally put a lot of work into myself. I was like, okay, if I’m ever going to be ready to do the hardest thing I’ve ever done for a second time, now is the time.
Denny Patterson: So, this was kind of a reintroduction to Jinkx Monsoon?
Jinkx Monsoon: Yeah! Season 5 was winning for my audience and fans. All Stars 7 was winning for myself. Now, I feel like my planets are aligned, my houses are in order, my ducks are in a row, and I’m at my most powerful. I’m really loving life.
Denny Patterson: You had such a great run on All Stars 7, but one of your most iconic moments was portraying Judy Garland in the Snatch Game. That was iconic! Have you impersonated her much before?
Jinkx Monsoon: That was the only time I had ever done her for anything more than just purely entertaining. I used to do a show where the whole audience would get to decide what I sang that night, and typically, if someone requests “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” I would like to do a little conversation between Liza and Judy. So, that was a place where I kind of worked on it, but I had never gotten into full hair and makeup and committed to being Judy for an hour like I did that day. Obviously, I’m pleased with the payoff!
Denny Patterson: Yes, it paid off very well! Not too long after your win, it was announced that you would be joining Broadway’s Chicago as Mama Morton. What was that experience like, and how did it feel to achieve one of your life dreams?
Jinkx Monsoon: I’d say the term ‘dream come true’ doesn’t cut it for this because it wasn’t just about doing something I always wanted to do. I think the most profound and prolific part of that experience was getting to know once and for all that I am totally capable of doing well on Broadway in that arena, and therefore, other drag queens can be as well. Since my run in Chicago, I have seen multiple announcements about other Drag Race girls and other queens in the business getting roles and opportunities that until previously, I think, were kind of closed off to drag queens because people didn’t think we could handle the heavy lifting. I’ve been on a crusade to teach the world that we may do it in drag, but it doesn’t mean that we do what we do at any less capacity than anyone else. Monét X Change, for example, is a trained opera singer. She’s a drag performer, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less of an opera singer. So, I think the world is catching on that just because we do it in an exaggerated aesthetic, that doesn’t mean we do it at any less capacity.
Denny Patterson: Are there any other Broadway productions you’d love to be a part of someday?
Jinkx Monsoon: My dream role is to play Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, so I hope to get to originate a run as that character some time. Because it’s playing on Broadway now, I’ll probably have to wait 10 years before I get a chance to originate a Mrs. Lovett, but I’m patient. I’d also love to be in The Drowsy Chaperone, and Into the Woods is also one of my favorites. Name a Sondheim musical, and I’d pretty much love to be in it.
Denny Patterson: It was also very exciting when the news broke that you will be in the upcoming season of Doctor Who. I know you probably can’t say much, but what can you tell us about the Doctor’s “most powerful enemy yet?”
Jinkx Monsoon: Well, lots of people have deduced that the character has something to do with music. That’s powerful costume design! My character has piano keys all over their costume, so that is a good hint, but really, every single person in the cast and crew of Doctor Who has treated me with so much trust and respect. Not once have I felt like, oh, I’m not a real TV actor. Even though I’ve only done very few scripted television appearances, these people treat me like a pro. With that respect and trust, I’m able to do work that I’m very, very proud of, and that’s going to really serve the episode. I’m not dealing with any impostor syndrome or anxiety because no one on set is allowing me to feel that way.
Denny Patterson: Was there anything in particular you wanted to bring to this role?
Jinkx Monsoon: I just wanted to serve and deliver the character well because Russell Davies is such a great writer. Even though there are aspects of the character that were differently written so that I could show a wide range of my own talents, I just wanted to play a good Doctor Who villain. I didn’t want the fact that I’m a generally bubbly, kind person to stand in the way of me being genuinely terrifying, and from the reviews I’ve been getting on set, I am genuinely terrifying (laughs). So, mission accomplished!
Denny Patterson: What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?
Jinkx Monsoon: Honestly, all I can say is I just want to keep doing more of the same. I’m exactly where I’ve always wanted to be career wise, so I want to keep digging in. I’d love to do more TV and film work. I worked on Happiest Season with BenDeLaCreme, and that was my first big budget studio film. Clea DuVall had written roles for both DeLa and I, and then she directed it and invited us to be part of that special, wonderful film that was really a bright spot of our Christmas in quarantine. So, I’d love to do more of that, and I’d love to do more Broadway work. I’m very, very happy with where my career is, and I’d like to keep taking it further in this direction.
Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?
Jinkx Monsoon: In April, I released a cover of a song from the 1930s cabaret era called “The Lavender Song,” and I released it in collaboration with the charity organization Everytown for Gun Safety, which works to spread education and real information about gun safety and gun reform. It works to stop the spread of misinformation about how deadly guns are and how much we need to reform our practices around them. This song is very, very special to me, and I think it’s a very poignant, precious song for what we’re facing in the LGBTQ community and in the world right now. I was inspired to put the song out the day that the Colorado Springs shooting happened, and since that tragedy, more and more things have happened. I basically thought the community needed to be reminded of this song because this song was considered the first queer anthem in western civilization. It’s a very special song, and you can stream it on Spotify.
