By Bart Greenberg***Combine Back to the Future with A Christmas Carol, add a dollop of Star Wars, some amazing puppetry, some clever animation, and some excellent dancing, and you get The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show. Oh, and of course the two fabulous drag queens—Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme—both multi-hyphenate artists who contributed all their talents to the delightful evening. 
Together they co-wrote and co-created this very campy celebration (perhaps not quite the word for such a jaded viewpoint) of the holiday season and all the self-examination and bitter-sweetness the end of the year evokes. The duo took advantage of their well-established characters that gained widespread attention through multiple appearances on the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise, with DeLa the optimistic ditz and Jinkx the cynical dominant one. Together, in The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show, they ventured forth to discover where the entire world (meaning themselves) went wrong, leading to a journey through five decades of outrageous fashion and over-the-top production numbers. Somehow, this exploration tied in with the three ghosts of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, who make some startling appearances (The Ghost of Things Yet to Come was especially menacing), thanks to the artistry of puppeteers Erik Andor (of the Andor Studio) and Meredith Youngblood.
Jinkx and DeLa were definitely centerstage throughout, joking, singing, dancing and engaging the audience. Latecomers and those daring to depart to the restroom during the show became entangled in the routines, with the leading ladies happily teasing and reprimanding them. The two also had great fun with an unlikely straight guy in the room by the name of Adam. And 
being tour guides into the past, each took turns leading production numbers—while the other was offstage preparing to return in the next over-the-top gown—featuring designs by The Lady Hyde, Mr. Gorgeous, Jamie Von Stratton and Paris Original. When they both needed to be off stage, innovative animated videos by Trojan Original, Luka Stemberger, Percolate Galactic, Lazy Susan and Andrew Slade, bridged the gap and kept the story moving forward.,
Also exciting was the choreography by the incredibly versatile ensemble — under dance direction by Chloe Albin—who seemed to have as many costume changes as the stars (and not all of them human beings). But whether reindeer or Hannukah dreidels, classical ballet or disco, nothing seemed to slow them down. Chloe Albin, Mr. Babygirl, Elby Brosch, Shane Donohue, Jim Kent and Ruby Mimosa all had their moments to shine, and shine they did. Also helping to push and pull the plotline and keep things moving was Gus Lanza as Hunky the Elf. (Lanza also served as backstage manager and was 
one of the show’s producers). The tremendous vitality and good spirit from all in the ensemble flowed to the audience and built the excitement of the evening.
While the show attempted to be cynical (“everyone is traumatized by Christmas!”), both leads exuded such a joy in performing that the audience could not help but to be nothing if not exhilarated. Both Jinkx and DeLa have strong voices, especially Jinkx (she’ll soon be appearing in the Broadway production of Chicago), with musical material that included classic carols work by Journey—all settled with new lyrics by the two queens. And like all good musical comedies, another number is just minutes away. Jinkx and DeLa presented the audience with the happiest and craziest event of the season.
The Jinx & DeLa Holiday Show is in the middle of a national tour that extends through the end of the year. For more information, venues and tickets, please refer to jinkxanddela.com.
Photos by Curtis Brown
