Since Jinkx Monsoon was last in Provincetown for Halloween 2022, she’s achieved many firsts for drag artists and transgender performers: she’s been featured in a record-breaking Broadway-musical run, starred in a hit off-Broadway musical, and joined the pantheon of villains in the British sci-fi classic Doctor Who.
Now known as Hera Hoffer offstage, Monsoon has made changes in her personal life, too — including that she’s not going to let second-guessing the haters affect her decision-making anymore.
Since winning RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2013, Monsoon has enjoyed high-profile successes while making physical changes to match the femininity she’d felt inside for years.
“I’ve been living as myself for quite a while,” she says, “and my decision recently to medically transition feels like a step in the direction I was already going in — I just took a bigger step.” Monsoon has identified as nonbinary for a decade and transfeminine nonbinary for the past five years.
“As scary as the world is now, I’m going to go for it,” she says. “I get called slurs no matter what. I’m a visibly queer person. When I tried to fit in, I got called slurs. When I’m being myself, I get called slurs. If I wear pants and a suit and walk down the street trying to dress the way society says someone with a penis needs to dress, I still get called slurs. So, if I’m going to get called slurs no matter what, I’m going to dress the way I want.”
How she’s feeling about what’s happening politically in the world will come up in the two music and comedy shows Monsoon will perform July 14 at Provincetown Town Hall.
“We’re going to talk about what life is like these days,” she says, “and sing songs to get you through it, basically.”
Those songs will include some she and music collaborator Major Scales haven’t yet performed in public in a program created just for Provincetown.
Just how much will be new, though, will depend on the time available, she acknowledges. Two nights before, she’ll be on stage at Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre, finishing a 20-show Pride reprise of her groundbreaking turn as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago.
The 2023 production of Chicago was Monsoon’s Broadway debut. This past spring, she played the sweet flower-shop worker Audrey off-Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors opposite High School Musical star Corbin Bleu.
In May, she was featured on Doctor Who’s new season on Disney+. Her cackling villain Maestro sucked music out of the world with an orange-wigged, red-lipsticked look aptly described in Slate as having “suitably camp Bette Midler-in-Hocus Pocus-meets-Glenn Close’s-Cruella de Vil vibes.”
Monsoon, now five years sober, has traveled a long road to get these acting opportunities. She hadn’t been offered many roles after first winning Drag Race, but that changed after a decade of hard work, summers in Provincetown, and a second win on 2022’s Drag Race: All Stars.
In a January Instagram post, Monsoon declared, “I’m ready to manifest a wonderful 2024.” She launched her Hera fragrance in February and hosted the 2024 Queerties awards in March, where her sixth annual Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show tour with drag queen BenDeLaCreme won Best Live Theatre. So far, mission accomplished.
Monsoon says she’s been developing a greater sense of comfort with her work that has affected her Chicago return and beyond. She’s still a nervous perfectionist, she says. “But I have an easier time trusting now that, ‘Yeah, I’m a show person,’ ” she says. “This is what I know how to do. Don’t ask me to do math, but I can put on a show, goddammit!”
Monsoon has been using her platform to fight for others in queer and trans communities — especially against “right-wing cultists” who spew hate. “Every trans person just being unapologetically themselves is a revolutionary act,” she says. “I’ve tasted success, and other queer people have tasted success. You’re going to be hard-pressed to take it away from us.”
It’s vital that more trans and queer performers be given chances, too, says Monsoon. Noting her path was paved by other trans, queer, and drag artists, she says, “So many young trans performers have told me that just seeing me playing roles like these in these arenas gives them hope that one day they will be, too.
“New viewers are seeing themselves represented right away,” she says. “It’s time to tell everyone’s story. Younger queer people are growing up knowing there’s a place in the world for them without having to work that hard. I’ll be damned if anyone is going to make us go backwards.”
Monsoon wants help from fans who consider themselves trans-queer allies: speak up, she says, even when it’s not convenient — as people didn’t when she was recently harassed at a Seattle bus stop.
“For some reason, we give people excuses for being queerphobic and transphobic, and I’m just fed up,” she says. “When you see it, you’ve got to say something. Otherwise, you’re not an ally. You’re just someone who benefits from queer people existing but not actually standing up for them when they need you.”
Unapologetically Herself
The event: Jinkx Monsoon, with Major Scales
The time: Sunday, July 14, 6:30 and 9 p.m.
The place: Provincetown Town Hall, 260 Commercial St.
The cost: Starting at $75 at ptowntownhall.com
