The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show is a fun, festive romp

The ladies are hitting 32 cities across the U.S. and Canada and are well worth carving out space for in your calendar.

Mark

Dec 21, 2024 - 19:00

0 0

Still from The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show — Looks like those mice were stirring | Santiago Filepe

Given these fraught political times, supporting drag is more important than ever. And in addition to patronizing your local drag scene, many of us have the opportunity to see two iconic queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race this holiday season. The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show is hitting 32 cities across the U.S. and Canada through January 3, 2025, and is well worth carving out space for in your calendar.

While this was the seventh year for BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon’s festive romp, the duo puts in a lot of work each year, completely writing a new two-act extravaganza. So even if you’ve seen them in years past — or their holiday film — you’ll enjoy a whole new evening of laughs, songs, innuendo, and plain old dick jokes with these feisty ladies.

My husband and I saw their recent show in our hometown of Cleveland, and the queens are still flying high. Our show was scheduled for 8:00 p.m., and they came out at 8:07 p.m., pretty damned on time for drag queens! (Don’t get me started about Anita Baker’s or Madonna’s actual start times!)

Pack your bags, we’re going on an adventure

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the best LGBTQ+ travel guides, stories, and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

The banter was fun, and we enjoyed the clever song parodies throughout. Jinkx and DeLa love to play the self-reference game and revel in making fun of their show, as well as the various plots of years past. Fan favorite Hunky the Elf is still a part of the show, prancing around in a revealing vest and short shorts.

The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show is a throwback to the variety shows of yesteryear, and I think we need more of this sort of entertainment these days. Without giving away too much, the ladies deftly included some lines at the end that are particularly poignant and meaningful in this difficult post-election season.

At one point, an exhausted Jinkx asks a still cheery DeLa, “Aren’t you tired of giving a shit? DeLa’s response, which earned a round of applause, was a slightly tart, “No. I’m tired of other people not giving a shit.”

We purchased two available add-ons, an intimate Q&A session with the ladies, which happened about 15 minutes after the show concluded. We also opted for a meet-and-greet opportunity, which was immediately after the Q&A.

The Q&A was remarkably thoughtful, both for the questions and the performer’s answers, which never seemed rehearsed or contrived. They shared their history with creating the show, their heartfelt love of local drag, their favorite Muppet, and even their annoyance at one jerk in the front row, who was rude the entire show.

And the meet-and-greet was also worthwhile, as the ladies are every bit as warm and genuine in person as you’d hope them to be. We last saw them toward the end of COVID-19, so it was wonderful to be able to actually hug these dynamic performers, who have done so much to share their light and love with the world.

Related

These 14 European Christmas markets are like stepping into a movie
There’s something magical about Christmas markets, especially when they’re in the picture-perfect heart of a European city

Upcoming shows include: