Jinkx Monsoon reveals she has a new 'water off a duck's back' mantra for Chicago Broadway performance
Like water off a duck's back, Jinkx Monsoon's iconic catchphrase from RuPaul's Drag Race season 5 has fallen away amid the rise of a new self-help mantra for the drag icon's Broadway glow-up in Chicago.
In an interview for her upcoming Everything at Stake tour, Jinkx — the only two-time Drag Race winner in her-story — exclusively tells EW's Quick Drag podcast (below) that, while she didn't repeat her fan favorite saying while preparing to play the legendary role of Mama Morton in the beloved musical, she created a new one to help calm her anxieties.
"I dealt with a lot of impostor syndrome, coming in. My mantra was, 'If they're not worried, why should I be worried?'" Jinkx says of appearing in Chicago, which follows a woman yearning for sensational stardom after she's arrested for allegedly shooting her lover. "I was working with people who've been involved with this production for decades. If they weren't worried about how quickly I was learning things or decisions I was making or acting choices, if they weren't worried about it, why should I, the newcomer, be worried about it?"
Jinkx boarded the cast of the long-running stage production in New York City — which was previously adapted into a Best Picture-winning movie starring Renée Zewlleger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Queen Latifah — on Jan. 16. Jinkx's casting has reportedly boosted ticket sales for the show to 100.51 percent for some dates — beyond normal seating capacity, per Playbill.
Jeremy Daniel; World of Wonder
Though she's proven to be a ticket-selling force as the first drag artist to portray Mama Morton on Broadway, Jinkx says she approached Chicago with caution due to her nerves.
"When they'd tell me, 'You're doing this part really well, keep it up!' my impostor syndrome had to shut up, because my impostor syndrome is a figment of my imagination. These people worked on Broadway for the last 30 years, so let's trust what they think," she says. "All opinions are valid, but not all opinions are equal, and that counts for my own opinion. My opinion of how I'm doing in the show is less important than the stage manager's, the director's, the dance captain's, or the conductor's. So, that's how I dealt with impostor syndrome, and that was my 'water off a duck's back' energy in this project."
Jinkx first popularized her "water off a duck's back" saying on season 5 of the show, which she went on to win after being lightly ostracized — at least during filming — by the other queens during production, seemingly due to her offbeat personality and unorthodox approach to drag and comedy.
Chicago is currently running at the Ambassador Theatre on Broadway. Hear Jinkx's full Quick Drag chat above, listen to more interviews with Drag Race alums on the podcast feed below, and be sure to check out all of Jinkx's Everywhere at Stake tour dates.
Subscribe to EW's Quick Drag podcast for recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race, including reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.
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