While the Mother of Christmas might be, well, Mary, and the Queen of Christmas might be Mariah, proving themselves once more to be the undeniable Drag Queens of Christmas are Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme who are back with their seventh annual The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show. In the midst of a 33-city, 38-show tour to some of North America’s most iconic venues, December 5th saw the drag duo bring their distinctive brand of queer festive cheer to the magnificent Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, a three-thousand-seat former 1920s movie palace that has been restored to its former glory. It is the kind of spectacular venue that demands an impeccable show, and once again these queens delivered.
The Brooklyn date marked the monumental milestone of the 150th Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show live performance, all of which—since the show’s inception in 2018—have been co-created and co-written by BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon, directed by BenDeLaCreme, and produced by BenDeLaCreme Presents. It also happened to fall exactly one month after the US general election.
Jinkx and DeLa knew that many of their audience members would be feeling deflated, defeated, and fearful about the future, and the genius of the 2024 edition of The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show is that it both acknowledges that reality while offering us some much-needed queer yuletide comfort and joy, outlandish escapism, and also a sense of hope. This is, of course, all cleverly achieved through festive-themed allegory without a single explicit mention of current events and without relinquishing any of the show’s signature unbridled zaniness and hilarity, or its tender heart.
Over the past seven years, this show has become a much-cherished holiday tradition by countless Jinkx and DeLa fans across the country and beyond, myself included. It is genuinely community building, creating a cordial space to gather with extended chosen family, old and new, at a time of year that comes with its own pressures and challenges for queer folks, along with a desire to celebrate together. A queer church, if you will. That this show grows bigger each year is not only an impressive accomplishment for an independent production company, but it is an act of queer resistance in its own way, as lawmakers continue to target our community and as we brace ourselves for what is come.
With the ACLU currently monitoring 574 anti-LGBTQ bills across the country, including a majority that target trans lives and a slate of drag bans, Jinkx and DeLa added cities in several of the most affected states to their tour schedule this year, including New Orleans, Houston, Charlotte, and Orlando. In that context, and with hundreds of millions of dollars having being spent stoking transphobia this election cycle, Jinkx and DeLa’s show, one that unapologetically centres queer and trans performers, is a defiant and heartening protest in itself.
When it comes to Jinkx and DeLa on stage, it would be all to easy to underestimate their towering talent because they make what they do look so effortless. One of their gifts as performers is making their Holiday Show, despite the massive scale of the venue, feel intimate and their stage banter appear loose and improvised, like they are making the entire show up off the cuff, when in fact every moment is meticulously crafted and directed with precision, and every word scripted with intention. Though they modestly joke in their opening number, “That Kind of Holiday Show”, that their shows “pretty much write themselves”.
With their contrasting approaches to the holidays well-established by now—Jinkx, a lovable grinch who can’t wait for them to be over, and DeLa, a Noel-devotee with the commitment of a dutiful Connecticut housewife to make sure everything is done just right—there is less friction between them this year, but that does not mean that their unlikely friendship and this clashing comic pairing loses any of its captivating magic. The dynamic is right up there with Dorothy and Rose’s best exchanges on the Golden Girls, with all the warmth of Mary and Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the blissful stupidity of Lucy and Ethel on I Love Lucy, drawing on classic comedy traditions that made matches like Laurel and Hardy so indelible.
Just as their nuanced drag personas channel some of the entertainment world’s most enduring stars to create something entirely distinctive, so do each of their annual holiday shows draw upon elements of well-known stories, resulting in a tale that is uniquely their own. This year’s show sees the queens become immersed in the plot of The Nutcracker ballet with—as you would expect—some hysterical consequences.
As in previous years, there is a deliciously meta element as Jinkx and DeLa let us into the brainstorming process of creation as the show gradually begins to take shape, an approach that both warmly invites us in as an audience and fires up our own imaginations. When the show opens, the interminably perky DeLa is alarmed to discover that all is not well with the season and that the treasures stored in her Christmas box, including her beloved snow globes, are decidedly depressed. Her Country Dancin’ Santa has powered down and her Clay Baby Jesus has gone missing. Meanwhile, the cynical but sensitive Jinkx has more distressing news to impart. Not only is a white Christmas off the cards, due to “unseasonably warm weather”, but two of their snowpeople pals need to have their melted remains identified, and DeLa is the only one who can tell them apart. On top of all that, the ever-sprightly, bell-jingling tattooed heartthrob Hunky the Elf (a scene-stealing hunky Gus Lanza, taking on an expanded role with ease) has come down with a cold. Well, actually it’s a case of “elvinitus”, which thankfully is “not terminal, just deeply un-jolly.”
Following last year’s epic parody of Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam”, that became “Purum Pumpum”, DeLa is struggling to come up with holiday-themed parody lyrics for some of 2024’s biggest pop hits, nearly all of which happen to be by Chappell Roan. Tentatively trying one out, DeLa brought the house down as she turned “Pink Pony Club” into “Red Reindeer Place”, before stopping herself in her tracks thinking that the lyrics were not good enough. Later in the show, she regains her confidence and goes on to deliver a raucous parody version of Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” with the cheerleader style spell-out chorus becoming “H-O-T C-O-C-O”.
DeLa’s accompanying delectable hot coco costume, complete with a skirt of detachable marshmallows, is among this year’s showstopping lewks. While the fabulously flamboyant candy-cane striped chaps she sports as she dexterously delivers one of the show’s standout musical numbers, a holiday spin on Beyoncé’s “This Ain’t Texas”—which playfully addresses the climate crisis, “This Ain’t Christmas”—are a divinely camp creation. With costumes designed by BenDeLaCreme, Mr. Gorgeous, and Nova Dobrev (created The Lady Hyde, Mr. Gorgeous, Jamie Von Stratton, Paris Original, and Nova Dobrev), another sartorial sweet treat is DeLa’s gold and brown Ferrero Rocher wrapper dress. Not to be outdone, Jinkx’s all-white snot-rag ensemble is both hilarious and high fashion, and her dashingly opulent red, white, and gold toy solider number, serves a feast for the eyes.
Tired of having to reference the Nativity in putting together a Christmas-themed show, Jinkx revels in the chance to immerse herself in the Nutcracker narrative, and takes real pleasure in her protest against organized religion with her solo number “Secular”. It is an ingenious parody version of “Popular” from Wicked that had me hanging on each wittily written new line which amusingly, and impressively, perfectly scan in a song with a fairly eccentric rhythm. It also immediately made me want to see Jinkx’s take on Glinda. Which we could well see one day, if she was interested in the role, following the success Jinkx has already had on Broadway in Chicago, and with her starring in this spring’s reimagining of The Pirates of Penzance by Roundabout, Pirates! The Penzance Musical.
With Jinkx set to make her Carnegie Hall debut on Valentine’s Day next year, which DeLa is directing and co-writing with Jinkx, both performers are in very fine voice and each impresses with their ability to tackle any genre of song with verve. The show is bookmarked with two Major Scales-composed favourites that have become seasonal staples, “That Kind of Holiday Show” and the evergreen “Everyone is Traumatized by Christmas”. Among the new Scales works is the poignant, “Look At What We’ve Done”, which includes a fun breakout homage to Madonna’s “Vogue” with the line, “Figgy Pudding, We Love You”. There is also a delightful classic holiday song mashup performed in a “split-stage” duet, with reworked lyrics to fit the show’s twisty plot, “Both Of Us Agree”.
Injecting the staging of the musical numbers with vibrancy and dynamism are Jinkx and DeLa’s “Holiday hoofers”: Mr. Babygirl, Jace Gonzalez, Ruby Mimosa, Derrick Paris, and Scott Spraags, led by choreographer Chloe Albin. No shade to the Rockettes, but with their smooth twirls and high-kicking queering of the festive season, this is my favoutite holiday show dance troupe.
Lighting designer Mike Faba works wonders with transforming the atmosphere of each set piece, with some lush Christmas tree backdrops illustrated by Jeff Hinchee, and there is real attention to detail, and a lot of humour, in Kevin Heard’s sound design. As ever, the video segments, produced by Kain O’Keefe and Trojan Original, are not simply there to distract while the queens do a quick-change off-stage, but an integral element of the show and one of its highlights. Happily, I will never be able to unsee this iconic drag duo free-falling out of their costumes as they become teeny tiny naked figures at the base of a giant Tannenbaum. Speaking of Tannebaums, it is a shape that makes the ever-horny Jinkx want to mount it and, rest assured, there are enough sex-positive, filthy jokes to land Jinkx on Santa’s naughty list, with DeLa lovingly refering to her best friend as a “dickpig”.
Never taking their adoring audience for granted, Jinkx and DeLa continue to create something new and fresh every holiday season while beautifully building upon and riffing on what they’ve achieved before. Endlessly inventive and imaginative, these gals are not afraid to be goofy or stupid, yet always manage to bring the glamour too. Part of the joy of this show is how big and bold is it, but amidst all of its high-spirited playfulness Jinkx and DeLa can also deftly switch gears at times to create stripped down moments of stillness that feel raw, immediate, and very real, resulting in some unexpectedly affecting exchanges that had me wiping away the tears.
Once again Jinkx and DeLa have created a show with its finger on the pulse of some of the year’s biggest pop culture hits—from Chappell Roan, to Wicked, to Sunset Blvd.—to deliver something celebratory that addresses the moment with an enchantingly timeless quality. This is a cathartic, joyful, and galvanizing show, that feels like coming inside from some frightful winter weather to receive a delightfully reassuring warm hug, and nice cup of H-O-T C-O-C-O. I can’t wait to see what their brilliant minds come up with next year.
By James Kleinmann
The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show continues to tour until January 3rd, 2025. See below for dates and cities. For more details and to purchase tickets head to at JinkxandDeLa.com. VIP Packages, including photo opportunities and a Q&A with the stars, are only available to purchase separately at JinkxandDeLa.com with proof of ticket purchase.
The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show 2024 – Remaining Tour Dates:
December 11 – Minneapolis, MN (Pantages Theatre)
December 12 – Kansas City, MO (The Midland Theatre)
December 13 – Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
December 15 – Las Vegas, NV (The Theater at Virgin Hotels)
December 16 – Los Angeles, CA (Dolby Theatre)
December 17 – San Diego, CA (Balboa Theatre)
December 18 – San Francisco, CA (The Warfield)
December 19 – San Francisco, CA (The Warfield)
December 21 – Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 22 – Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 23 – Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 24 – MATINEE – Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 27 – Spokane, WA (First Interstate Center for the Arts)
December 28 – Vancouver, BC (Queen Elizabeth Theatre)
December 29 – Portland, OR (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall)
January 3 – Orlando, FL (Dr. Phillips Center – Steinmetz Hall)