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When Jinkx Monsoon was offered a meeting with Scott Ellis, the director of Broadway’s Pirates! The Penzance Musical, she had a goal firmly in mind: to land the plum character role of Ruth, the seasoned sea wench who plots to marry her fresh-faced young ward. The two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner was ready for anything. “Before I went in, I decided that I wanted to walk out with the role,” she recalls. “Whether that meant auditioning on the spot, whatever it took.”
A Monsoon at full force is hard to resist. She got the part—and she’s irresistible onstage as well. This is only Monsoon’s second Broadway show; she made her debut as Mama Morton in a 10-week 2023 Chicago stint that broke box-office records. Bt she uses what Time Out critic Adam Feldman praised as her “vocal chops and facial elasticity” to hold her own on a stage she shares with such Broadway pros as David Hyde Pierce and Ramin Karimloo.
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From her dressing room at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Todd Haimes Theatre, Monsoon spoke with Time Out about bringing Ruth to the stage, missing people's smells and using her celebrity for positive change.
You’ve dreamed about Broadway all your life. How does it feel to finally be here?
The joke I often make is that it sure is nice to get here and find that I'm actually quite good at this, because otherwise my life would have been a huge waste of time! I crack a lot of jokes, but they come from the truth. I always wanted to be an actor. I didn't know if I was going to be doing that in drag. I didn't know if I was going to be doing that as a past iteration of myself or the person I am now. I was told so many times the world wouldn't let me be that. It almost lit a vendetta in me to show the world that I absolutely could be a leading actress on Broadway.
You seem so comfortable on Broadway for someone who is relatively new to it.
When you think about what a Broadway production is, and then you think what goes into just being a drag queen—it's the same, you know? It’s a literal head-to-toe transformation. Look at what happens to your average Broadway actor: The wig goes on; there’s a full costume and full makeup; the actor gets lost in the character, much like a drag queen does. The biggest difference is a drag queen is typically doing it all by herself. Or if she's someone like me, she's lucky enough to have a team that she works with, but that's when you've gotten to a level where you can afford to hire people.
How did you get this role?
It's one of those stories that makes it sound a lot easier than it really is. I was doing my second run of Chicago as Mama Morton. I had to turn down an audition for something I really wanted, because it conflicted with the holiday tour that I do annually. So on the day that audition would have been, I was licking my wounds. But that night, I got an email from my agent asking if I could meet with Scott Ellis the following day. I looked at the role—I looked at the text, I found videos and I started to imagine what I could do with this character. He and I talked about my mission statement as an artist, which lines up a lot with values he holds dear. We both decided we wanted to help new audiences experience this story through a new, fresh, accessible angle.
Which is?
It's a very joyful celebration of the fact that no two of us are exactly the same—and that all of us come from somewhere else, so there should be no hierarchy based on geography.
How has Gilbert and Sullivan’s original operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, been reworked to emphasize that?
As with many older shows, many of the classics, there's a lot of good stuff, but then there's a handful of stuff that you’re like, “Eeew.” It was a different time. I came in with some anxieties about how audiences might see the character because I am a trans-feminine actress. [The creative team] really looked at how we could finesse the text so that it's the story it's meant to be, and not the story people might want to put on it because of who I am.
How is Ruth different in this adaptation?
This Ruth is unique in the fact that she's so caring, she's so doting. She doesn't do anything bad on purpose; she's just an idiot. She's just really flighty, the poor thing. What I love about my Ruth is she speaks her mind a lot, and she has a lot of agency. She wants to keep her family together—she doesn't always know the best way to try to do that, but that's her end goal.
What has surprised you the most about being on Broadway?
The anxiety of fucking it up faded away faster than I thought it would. And the other thing that has been really pleasant is how safe and relaxed and comfortable I feel being myself. As a queer person, you do a lot of code-switching; you do a lot to diminish yourself and hide parts of yourself just to make it through your day with as little hassle as possible. But I feel like I'm in the safest space I've ever been in that was not one that I curated myself. To be in mixed company and have our mutual love and respect for the work be our common denominator—that neutralizes our egos and those anxieties. I've felt so at home with these people I've only known for a few months.
In addition to Chicago, you also recently played Audrey in Off Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors. How does originating a role compare to stepping into a long-running show?
It's a completely different experience. What’s funny is that when I'm building a character from the ground up, the character tends to be further away from me. I really love that challenge. I start with how I'm similar to the character and what we have in common to get my bearings, and then I examine the ways we are different. Ruth and I overlapped a lot at the beginning of rehearsal, but as I got to know her better, we stopped overlapping as much. Whereas, when I'm stepping into a character and the role is already set, it's a no-brainer: I got hired to do the job I got hired to do. Put Jinkx Monsoon in that wig and let her sing that song.
You were recently honored at the Drama League Awards and made a joke about speaking after Idina Menzel. What was it like to be in the room with all of those incredible stars?
I worshipped these icons as a young person, and now I get to be one of them. It's very surreal for me. But I try to remember what it means to other young trans people to even see me on that stage, and that's what motivates me. I love when my work gets praised, but don't give me too much credit. I'm just doing what I was put on this earth to do—I just want to use the time that I have people's attention to try to send out waves of positive change that might reverberate in other people. We've just got to be outputting as much love as our oppressors are outputting hate.
Was there anyone you really did fangirl over?
I didn't really get to talk to her, because we all had to do the procession, but I felt Bernadette Peters's hand for a brief moment. She told me over and over that I looked so good, so good, and I don't even think I said words. A single tear, I'm not even kidding, ran down my face.
You’re originally from Oregon. What have you had to let go in embracing New York City culture?
I've embraced that people wear deodorant here. I’m trying to live with that. I, of course, love to smell like a hippie witch. I’m very earthy in my smell. I wish less men around me wore deodorant! But New York’s not that kind of city—maybe in Brooklyn, but I’m in Manhattan. Sorry, was that TMI?
No, but I didn’t suspect that would be the answer!
I’ve also gotten ruder. In the Pacific Northwest, we are passive aggressive. In New York, when a car takes up a crosswalk, I have no problem slamming down on the hood of the car. But that only happened once or twice on injection days, so I can’t be held responsible.
Final question: What are five places you love in New York City?
Times Square’s Dave & Busters. Scent Elate is right next to me and where I get all my rocks, incense and witchy stuff. I love the West Bank Cafe and the Laurie Beechman Theatre—it’s been a second home for me in New York City. Licensed dispensaries! Thank God for them because that is one thing I would have hated to leave in the Pacific Northwest. And can I just say backstage? Backstage at Little Shop, backstage at Chicago, backstage here. They’re my favorite places in the world. I go and visit them in my free time.
Pirates! The Penzance Musical is playing at Broadway's Todd Haimes Theatre though July 27. You can buy tickets here. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
