Jinkx Monsoon is such a force of nature that you'd be forgiven for thinking she has magical powers.
After coming up in the Seattle drag scene, Jinkx hit it big winning the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2013. With razor sharp wit, loads of musical talent and a personality that manages to be both effervescent and deeply cynical, the competitive reality TV show launched her into a new level of stardom, and she's never slowed down. She's released two albums, acted in a Broadway production of Chicago, won season seven of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, created a Hulu holiday special with BenDeLaCreme (The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special) and staged two shows at Seattle Repertory Theatre with her artistic partner Major Scales (2014's The Vaudevillians was one of the best productions I saw while living in Seattle).
But there's one thing that Jinkx wanted, but had yet to achieve — have her own rock band.
That changed this year when Jinkx and Scales put together their latest musical revue, Everything at Stake. The music is at the forefront of the new show — not that there won't be plenty of hysterical asides between numbers — as Jinkx and Co. lash out at the rise of openly bigoted culture with witchy vigor.
Before Everything at Stake hits the stage at the Fox on Sunday, Aug. 13, we caught up with Jinkx to chat about musical chemistry, scapegoating and being filthy with a message.
INLANDER: How does this new show differ from prior shows you and Major Scales have done together?
Well, most of our cabaret shows are very heavily scripted, and we love a convoluted plot. And this show we pared back that convoluted plot a little bit, so that the focus could be equally on the music and the premise of the show.
The show's premise is pretty simple: I'm Jinkx Monsoon. I'm on a 44-city tour with a rock band. I've got shit to say about what's going on in the world right now. And I'm a witch. [laughs]
What's the essence of your chemistry with Scales, both musically and comically?
Musically, we have very similar musical tastes, and we draw from very similar references. Our Venn diagram overlaps quite a bit. And then we both also pull musical inspiration from other sources as well. Major brings in the '80s mod, I bring in the witchy big band swing and the more esoteric stuff, and then it just kind of coalesces well together.
And then my and Major's repartee really just comes from years of knowing and working together. But also Major went to the same theater school as me, and he knows all the same drag queens as I do. He is every bit as much a clown and a drag persona, even though he is playing the straight man in our duo.
What was the organizing principle when putting together the songs for this show?
A lot of the time when I start writing a show with a big theme, it's sometimes hard to fit in our original music, which is very referential to my life, but it's not necessarily narrative. So this time, we started opposite. We wanted to showcase the music since we were going to have a live band, so we started with the songs of ours that we most wanted to perform and would be well-served by performing live with a full rock band. And then once the setlist was devised, I wrote the script to kind of set up context for each song, so that the song can be less narrative but still apply to what the arc of the show is. The show is really just, "Hey, here's what's going on in the world. And here's how I feel about it as a very outspoken trans femme queer witch."
Does it feel different touring a show in this more heightened time of aggression against the drag community?
We might be targeted now, but we've always been targeted. So it's sadly just been a constant.
It became very, very real for me when the Pulse nightclub shooting happened. And that's when I became very staunch on my stance about gun reform. It just became scary in a profession that's all about spreading joy and positivity and trying to create a safe space for people who might not feel like they have a safe space where they live. We're still kind of pariahs in the eyes of many in our society.
And so it is a little nerve-racking to decide to do a show that's like, "Hey, I'm gonna stop pussyfooting around these issues and talk very directly about them." But that's also why the show has felt so special and why I think the audiences have been so electric. We've only experienced audiences that are really, really excited to come together and celebrate what makes our community special in the light of so much vitriol being spewed towards us.
Were there any reference points you used as a guiding light when putting the show together?
There was a focal image of a woman in a white garment being burned at the stake, presumably for witchcraft. And there's a bunch of men up a staircase kind of looking on, but at her feet are a bunch of women in black veils who look very witchy. And they're there with her, holding her hand, like mourning her as she's being burned alive. And I kind of use that as inspiration for what I want this show to be — to look at how our community is being scapegoated, being witch hunted, and look at how we as a community can protect and stand up for each other and advocate for each other.
What I always want to just reiterate is that though the show tackles heavy topics, I kind of pride myself on being able to talk about heavy topics in a very accessible, fun and tongue-in-cheek way. I strive not to be preachy. I always worry that I'm going to scare audiences away by saying, "Hey, I'm gonna talk about the shit we're dealing with in the world right now!" But I want everyone to rest assured it's a filthy, hilarious show that lampoons everything. ♦
Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake • Sun, Aug. 13 at 8 pm • $48-$248 • 18+ • The Fox Theater • 1001 W. Sprague Ave. • foxtheaterspokane.org