Day: November 22, 2024

Get ready, Brooklyn. “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show” is coming to town.

The one-of-a-kind comedy special will make its Kings County debut at the historic Kings Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 5. The show, which has built a devoted following over its seven-year history, promises wild and unpredictable storylines featuring drag icons Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme.

The holiday spectacular has seen the duo embark on a variety of fantastical adventures, from an “A Christmas Carol”-inspired time travel romp to battling AI overlords, navigating a meta world of their own creation, and exploring post-pandemic depression through a talking peppermint candy puppet.

Directed and produced by DeLa, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show kicked off its 33-city tour on Nov. 7 and run through Dec. 29, making stops in some of its usual places like the Big Apple and, for the first time, at venues across the south, where last year’s wave of hateful anti-drag and anti-trans legislation hit close to home.

Speaking with Brooklyn Paper, Jinkx and DeLa reflected on their journey to Flatbush’s Kings Theatre — and what makes this year’s production their biggest yet.

“It’s so exciting that we’ve stuck it out for seven years,” Jinkx said, crediting DeLa’s production team, which she said has helped grow the holiday show. “The production has fueled our success, which has fueled the production, and so on. It’s been this ping-pong effect, feeding into each next project. And now, seven years later, we’re tackling something really big — we’re going to fill the Kings Theatre with a two-act musical, with all the sense and sensibility of a drag queen variety show.”

“For us, it’s about the reclamation of the holiday season — celebrating chosen family, building your own traditions, and forging a personal connection to the idea of ‘homecoming,’” DeLa added. “These themes have been our focus from the start. But, you know, after doing this for so many years with the goal of creating a new show each time, eventually you run out of candy cane jokes, and you have to get really weird.”

Over the last few years, DeLa said, they’ve tried it all.

“We’ve gone sci-fi, we’ve gone meta, and the audience has gone on these wild journeys with us, which only emboldens us to push the envelope even further. So, this year, we’re taking a very familiar holiday classic — one we haven’t touched before — and turning it on its head, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. I’m excited to take our audience on this wild ride.”

While the plot of this year’s show remains under wraps, fans can expect another round of campy humor, heartwarming storytelling, original songs, and thrilling dance numbers, all complemented by the pair’s signature iconic costumes.

“We’re doing a kind of classic hero’s journey — think epic, Homer-esque storytelling — but with a holiday twist,” DeLa said.

When asked to describe the show in three words, the stars took turns, landing on “irreverent,” “joyful,” “hilarious” and (a necessary fourth word), “important.”

“We strive to be entertaining and earnest,” Jinkx added. “You know, we talk, we tackle the issues that are important to us and to our community in the silliest, most light-hearted way possible because that is how we work best.”

“Choose any of those four words of those 106,” DeLa jabbed.

Taking the show the Kings Theatre is also important to the queens.

“You know, it’s been incredible to bring this show to New York over the years. When the show grew so big that we had to move it to the historic, gorgeous Kings Theatre, that was a huge step for us,” DeLa said. “It’s always been amazing to perform there, especially in a city where the arts are at their peak, where theater and live entertainment are truly thriving. To bring our specific brand of performance to a place like that and have the city embrace us with open arms — that’s a real badge of honor. We’re so excited to continue that tradition with the wonderful people of Brooklyn.”

Jinkx — who recently stepped into the role of Matron “Mama” Morton in Broadway’s “Chicago” — agreed.

“We’ve both been coming to New York with our original shows for years, in various capacities, and I feel like New York really makes you earn your place,” she said. “It takes about a decade before they start treating you like family. But in the last few years, when I go to New York, it feels like everyone’s saying, ‘Hey, Jinkx, welcome back!’ Even strangers on the street, I’m like, ‘What? When did that happen?’ It’s the biggest little city in America.”

This year’s show promises to be bigger, bolder, and more fabulous than ever before.

“We’ve written an entire play with musical elements, there’s original music, pop parodies, lots of dance, and production values we’ve never tackled before,” Jinkx said. “If you’ve never seen ‘The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show,’ this is the year to come”

“And just assume that this is the level we’ve always been working at,” she laughed.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit jinkxanddela.com.

The post @TheStudyofWar: The only fundamentally new characteristic of the Russian strikes against Dnipro City on November 21 was the Oreshnik missile itself, which ostentatiously showcased reentry vehicles to amplify the spectacle of the strike and further imply a nuclear threat. first appeared on October Surprise 2016 – octobersurprise2016.org.