How Jinkx Monsoon Redefines Broadway On Her Own Terms

With Pride month only a couple days away, we’re reminded of queer visibility across platforms and industries. Broadway is leading the charge with some of the most beloved alumnae of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race.’ Despite not winning the nomination, Jinkx Monsoon’s eligibility for her role in ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical,’ as an actress in a featured role in a musical category, was nothing short of historic. While drag queens and even other contestants on Drag Race have been featured on Broadway for years, with Jinkx even having a historic run as Mama Morton in ‘Chicago’ in 2023, this marked the first time that a drag queen was ever considered in a gendered acting category.

Before Jinkx had her Broadway debut on Chicago, Peppermint, who competed and landed in the top four of season 9 of Drag Race, helped set the stage for her eligibility by being a trailblazer as the first openly trans woman to originate a principal Broadway role as Pythio in the Go Go’s jukebox musical “Head Over Heels” in 2018. This was historic, not only for her role being central to the show, but due to Peppermint proving that trans people were talented enough to be leads and not just in the chorus.

In the past, people have debated on what roles gender non-conforming actors should be nominated for, and for Jinkx, a trans-femme nonbinary person, to considered for a tony nomination in the “actress in a featured role” category, a category that reflects her identity, is already a huge deal. So often, institutions and voting boards have struggled to accommodate and reflect actors that exist outside of being cisgender or binary. Her seriously being considered alongside cisgender actresses serves as proof that gender expansive and non-conforming actors can and do co-exist in categories that have already been established. There doesn’t need to be a complete overhaul of the awards or how they’re delved out, gender trans and gender expansive people can exist right inside of those categories and there doesn’t have to be any compromise or watering down of who they are to do it.

There have been trans, genderfluid, and even gender non-conforming actors that have been nominated and even won Tony nominations, like with Alex Newell for their role in ‘Shucked,’ and L Morgan Lee for her role in ‘A Strange Loop,’ Jinkx places herself in a long list of performers that are setting a new standard for what it means to be trans and even a drag queen in the spotlight.

Jinkx Monsoon and Peppermint show that trans and gender non-conforming people don’t need separate systems or categories to showcase their talent. They serve as a reminder that existing as your authentic self not only serves as its own reward, but it also allows other people to take notice and feel inspired. While neither of them may have Tony nominations at the moment, they show that authenticity and visibility can serve as their reward and legacy. This is only the beginning for trans people on Broadway, and there’s sure to be even opportunities for nominations for actresses like Jinkx in the future.