There's a lot of "hiJinkx" going on at the Laurie Beechman Theater, in The Vaudevillians, a musical-comedy cabaret act starring Jinkx Monsoon (Jerick Hoffer), the multi-talented winner of RuPaul's Drag Race season five, and co-star/pianist Major Scales (Richard Andriessen). Scroll down for photos from the concert!
The pair portray vaudeville entertainers Kitty Witless (Monsoon) and her husband Dr. Dan Von Dandy (Scales) in "The hottest act ever frozen alive." The premise is the couple were accidently frozen under an avalanche in the 1920s, but thanks to Global Warming were thawed out only to discover that generations of pop artists had stolen their songs and were passing them off as their own. They set out to correct these wrongs by showing audiences how the songs were "originally written."
The result is hilarious send-ups of
Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart," performed as an upbeat Charleston; "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as an ode to the women's suffrage movement; and jazzy versions of "Fat Bottomed Girls," Tainted Love," and "Let Me Clear My Throat."
More than cabaret, the show also features a witty storyline about the marital discord between Witless, a self-avowed nymphomaniac, and her closeted husband. The pair exchange pointed barbs and zingers with expert comic timing and flair, culminating in a hip performance of ABBA's "Take a Chance."
On Drag Race, Jinkx Monsoon won the hearts of fans with her spot-on impersonation of Little Edie
Bouvier Beale in the Snatch Game/Match Game challenge. When fellow contestants criticized her because they didn't know who Little Edie was, Monsoon explained, "Little Edie is a risky character. Not everyone's going to know who she is. But I think people should know who she is."
She carries that same sentiment into The Vaudevillians, with musical shout-outs to
Kurt Weill ("Whiskey Bar"), Marie Curie ("Toxic"), and Nora, the heroine of
Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, in a show-stopping rendition of "I Will Survive."
A triple threat, Hoffer, as Monsoon, not only has adept musical and comical abilities, but boy can that girl dance, surprising the audience with a split and over-the-top headstand. Scales is a perfect partner who holds his own at the piano and in the laughs department. Together they are smart, sexy and sassy.
In her off-Broadway debut, Jinkx Monsoon delivers what Drag Race fans suspected. She's talented up the ying yang and lovable too.
A couple days after the show premiered, an opening act was added featuring cabaret star Emma Dean. A sultry and mischievous Aussie singer/songwriter, Dean heats the audience up with two wickedly funny and passionate original songs, "Little Succubus" and "Sincerely Fearful."
Wildly popular, The Vaudevillians was initially booked for just one performance, which sold out quickly. The show opened Tuesday, July 9, and has been extended twice through Aug. 22. July's shows are sold out. Tickets are still available for August dates at
http://www.spincyclenyc.com/index.php.
Story by By Patricia Gay.
Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales wow audiences at The Laurie Beechman Theater in The Vaudevillians. (Wilson Models photo)
Jinkx Monsoon (Wilson Models photo)
Jinkx Monsoon (Jerick Hoffer) and Major Scales (Richard Andriessen) after a midnight show of The Vaudevillians on July 13. (Patricia Gay photo)
Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales pose with fans at a Meet and Greet after the show.
Dustin Winters, aka Ivy Winters, fellow contestant of Jinkx Monsoon on RuPaul's Drag Race, was in the house on July 13. (Patricia Gay photo)
Vaudevillians' opening act, cabaret performer Emma Dean. (Patricia Gay photo)
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