RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon joins Chicago on Broadway
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Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon has (clearly) been very, very good to Mama.
EW can exclusively reveal that the double-crowned season 5 and All Stars 7 champion will make her Broadway debut in the role of Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago for an eight-week run at the top of 2023, making her the first drag artist to ever play the iconic role on the legendary New York City theater district.
"I cannot stress enough that this has been a lifelong dream of mine," Jinkx said in an exclusive statement to EW. "To be making my Broadway debut, as my favorite role, in one of my favorite shows — that lifelong dream is coming true and then some. The first number I performed in drag was 'All That Jazz,' so this feels almost too serendipitous. But, I never question my blessings, I just thank Hecate for them."
José Alberto Guzmán Colón 'RuPaul's Drag Race' winner Jinkx Monsoon joins 'Chicago' on Broadway
Jinkx boards the Tony-winning musical as it extends its reign as the longest-running musical revival in Broadway history, and just behind the soon-to-close Phantom of the Opera as the longest-running Broadway show. The production follows Roxie Hart, a nightclub dancer who murders her lover and subsequently embarks on a redemptive journey alongside a criminal lawyer, who helps her turn the criminal affair into a sensational, headline-grabbing narrative.
Mama plays a supporting role in Roxie's tale, presiding over the women's block at the Cook County Jail. Queen Latifah scored an Oscar nomination for portraying the character in the 2002 Best Picture-winning movie adaptation also starring Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The casting comes after a landmark year for Jinkx, who became the first contestant in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory to win the show's title twice at the end of All Stars 7, the show's all-winners edition that reunited eight prior victors to compete for the title of "Queen of All Queens." In addition to Drag Race, Jinkx and her longtime collaborative partner, BenDeLaCreme, had small roles in Clea DuVall's Kristen Stewart-staring LGBTQ rom-com Happiest Season in 2020, while the pair also released their holiday film The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special — inspired by their popular annual tour — on Hulu.
Jinkx's eight-week run as Mama Morton in Chicago begins Jan. 16 at New York City's Ambassador Theatre on Broadway.
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