Two of Broadway’s most exciting stars sit for a chat about muses, performance, and dragThe other day I teared up watching TikTok—not an unusual weekday occurrence. After snooping in on my texts and emails, the algorithm must have recognized that I had been looking up Broadway shows more than usual and showed me a clip of Jinkx Monsoon, the first two-time winner ofcirca 2013, being interviewed by Rupaul.
JM: I go to bed earlier than I ever have before. After years in nightlife. I thought I had to go to bed at 4 . And I totally support that. Like, I think you do you when it comes to sleep. Especially if you’re an artist., all she had the energy to do was wake up, drink a two liter of Pepsi, go back to sleep, then wake up and do the show and then go home and go back to sleep.
JM: Pretty much this, yeah. I mean, there was no covering this up. Every time I’ve come out as queer, as trans, or as trans feminine, it’s always just been like, ‘Yeah, we know. We were waiting for you to figure out how you were gonna talk about it.’ JM: I just remember being awestruck, because I was so impressed. Then also, there was what’s called the ‘pink envy.’ When you’re specifically jealous of other queer people.JM: I had to get over it. I was definitely full of pink envy at points in my life because you know what it feels like to be a queer entertainer. And feel like there’s only like—JM: Like two roles. So when you see one go to someone else, you’re like, oh God, there goes one of the five.
JM: Yeah. And I realized, like, well, gosh, I guess I don’t have to quit drag. So I kind of just kept doing drag and acting in tandem and sometimes they would link up—but this was always on a regional theater scale. I did not think in my lifetime that I would be doing it, let alone a drag queen. Because just 10 years ago or I guess college was…JM: 13 years ago, it felt like a different world.
JM: I know I’m not going to do anything like Patti. My show is not going to resemble hers in any way. But I think the thing I’ve been learning the most from watching people like Patti LuPone and the people I share stages with on Broadway and off Broadway, is that they aren’t freaking out on stage. Like I thought I was comfortable on stage. But true comfort on stage means having a line flub and not freaking the fuck out.