Jinkx Monsoon

Episode notes

(Photo: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)

Jinkx Monsoon is a legend in the world of drag. For fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race she is often referred to as “Queen of All Queens” – she’s the only performer to win that competition show twice. 

More recently she’s been performing on stage like Little Shop of Horrors and Chicago. Currently, you can catch her on Broadway in the Tony award-winning Oh Mary. 

The play tells the fictionalized story of Mary Todd Lincoln in the days running up to the death of her husband, Abraham Lincoln. This Mary Todd Lincoln is not the one you’d read about in a history book. She’s a frustrated cabaret performer. A very intense alcoholic.

The show was written by Cole Escola, who originally played the lead part. After playing the part of Mary for the better part of a year, Cole passed along the hoop skirt and curly wig onto a number of performers. Nobody better than Jinkx Monsoon to play a part as unhinged and endearing as that of Mary Todd Lincoln.

We discuss Jinkx’s latest gigs on the stage and how she found herself through drag performances. She also talks about being a drag performer today which sometimes is a very fraught, difficult thing.