The most wonderful time of the year might be just behind us, but I have to say – Atlanta truly blessed me with a cornucopia of quality themed drag events to attend this season. A few weeks ago we managed to make it out to three different drag shows around town – and while all fabulous – I HAD to take a moment to gush about Jinkx Monsoon & BenDeLaCreme’s first collaboration, “To Jesus, Thanks for Everything!”, because WOW. I just mean.. WOW. Wow! YAS. You get the idea, people.
As a (former) New Englander, I’m lucky enough to (have) live(d) within driving distance of Provincetown. For the unaware, Provincetown is literally the meca for all that is gay and drag in the summer. A quaint, Martha Stewart fantasy Cape Cod town gets injected with swathes of gays the minute the weather warms up and honestly, I live for it. Cottages become night clubs with dungeon rooms. Oceanside restaurants become boozy brunch oasis’ full of mimosas and vodka martinis. Bear week is not celebrating Yosemite. It. Is. HEAVEN. But more than anything – what really makes Provincetown a destination for me is that some of the world’s most famous queens set up camp for the summer and trial their new shows all summer long in tiny, unassuming venues (AKA; Not the House of Blues with a swarm of 16 year olds).
This is all a long way of saying I’ve had the divine pleasure of having seen both Ben and Jinkx previously, and both were astounding. They’re both true perfectionists – you won’t catch any messy drag here. And while all drag is art – their drag is like.. FINE art, if you know what I mean. Jinkx has an incredible voice and a huge knack for physical comedy, never missing a beat. Ben has this magical, absolutely insane ability to blend her social activism agenda, history lessons, and puppetry talents seamlessly while also just being the cutest, most charming queen I’ve ever seen. Like, how? But also, I don’t care – I love it.
This show wasn’t just a holiday review. It had plot! It had funny, well written original songs! It showcased both of their individual talents and also did an incredible job of using each of their strengths to create something all together new! Truly, truly fabulous work. I have no idea if they intend on making this a yearly tradition or not – but if so, I absolutely implore you to check it out.
Condragulations on making it to the new year,
