Jinkx Monsoon on Broadway debut in "Chicago": "Something I have always dreamed about"
NEW YORK - A familiar face to fans of "RuPaul's Drag Race" is making their Broadway debut Monday night in the musical "Chicago."
Jinkx Monsoon, the winner of season 5 and "All Stars, All Winners," will be stepping into the role of Mama Morton, the matron of the Cook County Jail.
It's the first time a drag queen will be performing the role on Broadway.
CBS2's Cindy Hsu had a chance to sit down with Jinkx ahead of the show.
Cindy: Alright, you must be on top of the world you winner of all winners RuPaul's drag race, you have a holiday special, travel all over the world. But what did it feel like when you first heard that you've got this role?
Jinkx: I mean, this was, this is something I, kind of, have always dreamed about. So it's, it's still feels very surreal. It's one of those things where it's like, it's, It's surreal. And it feels like this ultimate culmination of something I've been working towards for a long time in my career. And then it also feels like so commonplace now, because I've been working towards, you know, it's like, I get to the theater and, and it's simultaneously blowing my mind. And also, I'm like, I do this for a living like these people trust me.
Cindy: "All That Jazz" - the song means something very special to you.
Jinkx: You could still YouTube it, you can see early performances of it was just one of those songs that I just went to time and time again in my career, and really one of the first songs I performed in drag at 15 years old.
Cindy: Wow. You know what. What was that like to start drag it 15?
Jinkx: Well what I'll say is, for me, you know, it was kind of like, my grandma knew my aunt knew. Not everyone in my family knew it was something I was doing myself and asserting my independence. But also because I was allowed to explore who I was who I knew that I was at that age, I got to go through my adolescence as myself, I didn't have to go through my teen years, through those really formative teenage years, for pretending to be someone I wasn't.
Cindy: So you are the comedy queen? Your impression of Judy Garland is iconic.
Jinkx: I mean, it's so, so good and wonderful.
Cindy: Are you going to be using a lot of comedy in your role as mama?
Jinkx: Well, it's one of those things where I kind of don't have any control over. Like, one of those people I could deliver bad news and crack people up. What I love about the rehearsal process is we're really getting into you know, we really are doing the work of examining this character and analyzing all of her lines so, so that we know why she's saying what she's saying. So if something happens to be funny, as long as it's genuine and authentic to the moment. It can be funny, it can be dramatic, it can be intimidating. As long as it's Mama.
Cindy: So getting into drag is, you know, I was listening to your podcast, Hi-Jinkx, you were talking about this is a team effort. This isn't just you, how long does it take what goes into it?
Jinkx: Well, it can take anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours. I like to cushion in about three hours. Because I can surely get done within 3 hours. But it really is a team like today, my publicist was steaming my outfit while it was laying out my nails and, but we all have so much fun getting to do this.
Cindy: Now Broadway shows are becoming more inclusive, especially "Chicago" ... what does it mean to you?
Jinkx: You know, it feels just, it feels so special to be in a show that is like taking huge steps in progressive inclusivity in their casting. And I've had conversations with the production team about this and how, like, exciting it is not just to be on Broadway, but to be on Broadway in this show. The show that's making these big swings, and, and it's putting so much trust in me.
Cindy: You have so many projects going on at the same time? I'm just wondering, anything special coming up or after your eight week run on "Chicago?"
Jinkx: Well, I'll have some touring things happening in the spring. And in the summer, I have some things, some very exciting things that I'm not allowed to talk about yet. But I'm also continuing to work with my music partner Major Scales, we recently released an EP, five tracks that is a preview of our next full feature album. So I've got a lot of things I'm working on. But I'm also excited to take some downtime after.
Cindy: Jinkx, Thank you so much.
