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Promotional art for Red Head Redemption
Cover image credit: Promotional image via Comedy Dynamics

Red Head Redemption

Jinkx Monsoon

Comedy Dynamics · 2023 · 72 min

Cabaret songs and dirty personal history backed by live piano.

Watch on Comedy Dynamics(opens in a new tab)

Released , on Comedy Dynamics.

Jinkx Monsoon approaches stand-up less like a club comic pacing the stage and more like a theatrical raconteur who brought along a piano. Flanked by accompanist Saint Syndrome, Monsoon frames the hour around cabaret storytelling, using musical numbers and theatrical timing to ground jokes about gender presentation, getting sober, and the unglamorous logistics of casual sex.

Notable routines include an embarrassing search for a lost condom, an indictment of airport bathrooms, and a performance of the signature track Cartoons and Vodka. The jokes work best when old-school show-tune polish meets unvarnished, self-deprecating confessions.

Director Brian Volk-Weiss filmed the 72-minute performance at Warsaw in Brooklyn during the 2022 Tribeca Festival, before Comedy Dynamics released it in May 2023.

The project arrived during a notable commercial spike in her career, coming directly after her second Drag Race crown and an extended run as Matron Mama Morton in Chicago on Broadway.

Notable bits & set list

6 bits

  1. Navigating airport security and body scanners as a trans/gender-nonconforming traveler

    Details the anxiety and humiliation of TSA full-body scanning checkpoints and the awkward conversations about how agents should scan her body.

  2. Portland gender reveal party

    Riffs on how terrible gender reveal parties are and envisions an attendee violently throwing cake at guests for showing up to support one.

  3. Gaston's toe in Beauty and the Beast

    Shares the unexpected moment in the Disney animated film where Gaston's toe peeks out of his sock, leading to her discovering a foot fetish.

  4. Joan Cusack musical number from Addams Family Values

    Performs a musical number fully embodying Joan Cusack's character Debbie Jellinsky, voice included.

  5. British people ordering at Subway

    Satirizes the absurdity and mannerisms of British customers ordering food at a Subway sandwich shop.

  6. Judy Garland impression and Drag Race catchphrase

    Delivers her iconic 'water off a duck’s back' catchphrase and performs her Judy Garland impression toward the end of the show.

How it plays

Tone
Vulnerable, raunchy, dark, and idiosyncratic.
On stage
Extremely candid, wicked, irreverent, charismatic, and seasoned performer blending drag cabaret sensibilities with honest self-revelation.
About
trans-femme and non-binary identity, sobriety and alcoholism, dating, sex, and being an ethical slut, airport security and TSA scanners, public bathrooms, gender reveal parties

What the critics said

Praised as wonderfully weird, vulnerable, and devastatingly funny, showcasing her sharp comedic delivery, musical talents, and refusal to soften her trans and queer specificity for mass appeal.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: comedydynamics.com, imdb.com, justwatch.com, themoviedb.org, autostraddle.com, intomore.com, them.us, en.m.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Reflects on her journey of sobriety, marriage, and living as a trans-femme, non-binary performer amidst rising anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Details

Released
Runtime
72 min
Where
Comedy Dynamics
Director
Brian Volk-Weiss
Topics

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