Jinkx Monsoon on Being the Latest Star to Take on Oh, Mary!

Hello, Mary Todd Lincoln! How are you feeling?

Hi, Frank. I feel terribly excited, of course! Not only do I get to step into the most talked about show in many communities, but I get to step into it with an amazing cast, and it’s a script written by a longtime friend and directed by a new friend. It’s a lot of positive energy coming together to create something special.

Speaking of the script, when did you first meet playwright Cole Escola?

We first met in Australia; we were both on tour. We were doing the Australian Fringe Festival back in 2013. By the time I met Cole I had already been Cole’s fan for years. I remember at the dawn of YouTube, Cole Escola and Jeffrey Self had a show called VGL Gay Boys. They were two minute-long episodes of the two of them being hilarious. I saw Cole Off-Broadway performing Oh, Mary! And I told Cole the night that I saw them perform Mary, I told them, “You need to do absolutely everything you can with this role. Wring it out. And then when you’re absolutely done, call me and I’ll play the role, because I want that chance.”

How are you prepping for Mary? Because she’s a beast of a role.

Well … yes, she is. Every line is written so well. It’s such a well written show. Getting the words down is a big part of it because every word is so choice; there is no wasted word. For me it’s getting into the mindset of Mary. I love my life, but I’ve spent years as an alcoholic. I know that boredom. I know what that restlessness is like. I know when you’re that bored, anything is possible. So, Mary’s boredom and her dreams of being something bigger than she is — that’s what I want to get into. And that’s a big thing; she’s already the First Lady of the United States.

You’ve gone on record saying Cole is the funniest person alive.

I would say Cole suffers from Madeline Kahn Syndrome, which is what I say for people when you can’t control being funny. When you could literally be listening to someone and we’re going to look at you and laugh at you because you’re just that present because your face is emotive and expressive. I sat and watched Cole at the Drama League luncheon, and what was special was being there and not being the only trans woman. Not being the only drag queen or gender queer person. To look at those tables of Broadway’s biggest stars and seeing my friends Alaska and Tommy Dorfman and Cole Escola. And I was watching Cole so much, listening to other people’s speeches, and I just kept cracking up. And not because Cole was doing anything to be funny — Cole is just funny.

Mary Todd Lincoln is obsessed with cabaret. There’s no denying that Elaine Stritch was truly a great cabaret artist. When I was backstage in your dressing room at Pirates! The Penzance Musical, you had a picture of Elaine on your mirror. Talk to me about that.

That picture was a gift from my dresser Mo. I resonate so much with Elaine Stritch because how candid of a person she was. What people loved about her, and her cabaret work is, she got on stage and by the time she got off you knew exactly who she was. Even though it’s a performance and it’s curated, you knew who Elaine Stritch was. She wasn’t hiding the hard parts of herself. Cabaret is everything you get from a theater show plus the removal of the fourth wall. You’re not only getting the entertainment and spectacle, but you’re learning more about that performer. Cabaret is very much a conversation between the performer and the audience.

Jinkx, I have to say, your career has truly blossomed in the New York theater community. The New York theater community adores you, and you seem to love being on stage in New York.

The Broadway community feels like the most at-home and safe I’ve felt outside of the queer community, outside of spaces I’ve curated for myself. On Broadway, even if I’m the only trans person in a company, no one is acting like the world should stop and we should all figure out what that means. Because we’re all actors playing roles; we all do this for a living. What I like so much about the Broadway community is that, yes, you have to break in, you’ve got to get there, but the way to get that isn’t by being a diva. It isn’t by getting in front of every camera on a red carpet, It’s about doing the work and doing your job well. This community respects work so much more than notoriety. Broadway is not for fair-weather performers.

Bringing it back to Elaine: She once told me when I was in a cab with her heading to her apartment at the Carlyle, “Broadway is not for sissies.”

[Laughs.] Rob Bowman, who was my music director at Chicago, – he was very close with Elaine. He was her music director. He told me one day, “Gosh, you have some things about you that really remind me of Elaine.” I just said, “That’s really cool to hear that from someone who knew her.”

I know you’re going to be busy with Oh, Mary! But recently, when I went to see you in Pirates!, I brought Kristin Chenoweth as my date and it was a love fest between the two of you after your performance. I feel like there’s a show out there for you and Kristin. What do you say?

I want to play Mame one day, but I would happily play Vera to Kristin’s Mame. If Kristin’s playing Mame, I’ll happily play her best friend.