Jerick Hoffer graduated Summa Cum Laude from Cornish College in Seattle. But Hoffer didn't want to be smart; he wanted to be famous. And so Jinkx Monsoon, whom he calls his "overbearing and impudent persona" was born. And while it's okay to call Jerick Hoffer a "he," you better change those pronouns when addressing Jinkx.
"She would slap you if she heard you calling her he," said Monsoon, who might just be the first openly Jewish drag queen.
"I'm half Jewish but raised Catholic," she said. "When I learned about my Jewish heritage, it seemed to make sense to make Jinkx Jewish."
Monsoon admits to having been Bat-Mitzvahed. "But I couldn't fast on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)," she said. "I couldn't give up alcohol consumption!"
At her official website, Monsoon offers a little back story into how her now iconic character was created.
"From the movie Death Becomes Her, I was inspired by the crazy extent vain women will go for eternal youth, beauty, and power," she explains. "Through Lucille Ball I saw how a woman can bring you to tears with laughter with nothing more than a look. Through the Disney villains I was raised with, I saw how powerful a woman can be, and yet so deliciously evil. And through my mom, I saw not only the trials and tribulations a single mother faces every day, but also the strength and determination a woman can possess when she is trying to provide a bright future for her children."
The result is the very distinctive character that Monsoon has become. "She is definitely a zany, off the wall, irreverent, gorgeous anachronism," Monsoon adds. "She simply refuses to let her audience sit idle; she is a powerhouse of song and comedy, igniting her audiences in a frenzy of laughter and sexual tension."
The nice Jewish girl, who was the grand prize winner on Season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race, is now an acclaimed and popular performer on stages and screens from coast to coast. She'll be making a return engagement to San Francisco, scene of past triumphs, when she takes to the stage at Oasis from February 9-13. The diva is bringing her acclaimed Off-Broadway show The Vaudevillians: Bringing Up Baby to the city.
"The Vaudevillians is a show and concept I have been working on with my music partner for over six years," Monsoon explained. "One day we had the thought that it would be funny to play two characters who were frozen alive in the 1920s, only to thaw out and discover that all their songs had been ripped off by pop stars over the last 90 years. The result is one of the stupidest, funniest shows I have ever worked on."
The Vaudevillians garnered quite a bit of attention during its sold out New York run. Celebrities took notice, with many notable names joining in the applause after taking in the show. Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, talk show queen Sally Jesse Raphael, Neil Patrick Harris, Perez Hilton, and John Cameron Mitchell were among the luminaries who were delighted by The Vaudevillians, and by Monsoon herself.
"We performed for a four-month extended run in New York City at The Laurie Beechman Theater, and we were lucky enough to have some amazing stars in our audience," Monsoon said. "We were frequently visited by Fred Schneider of the B-52s and other celebs, all of whom met us after the show and were extremely nice and enthusiastic to meet us."
RuPaul, who helped launch Monsoon onto a national stage, also took in the show. Monsoon recalls working with RuPaul on Drag Race as an educational experience.
"She constantly told me that she started out as a punk rock, edgy, messy queen," Monsoon said, "When she found her Glamazon self, that is when things really took off. She said I could learn from her life experiences, and I definitely have."
And while onscreen bitchiness has become a hallmark of Drag Race, Monsoon assures us that it's all an act.
"All the fighting happens on-screen," she said. "Honestly, off-screen we were just a bunch of clowns having fun doing drag."
Monsoon is looking forward to seeing some of her drag sisters at Oasis when the curtain rises on The Vaudevillians . She's worked with many local drag stars, and invites them to take in the new show.
"I hope to see some of my drag sisters in the audience like Micah Sigourney, Glammamore, Peaches Christ, Honey Mahogany," she said. "Can you tell I am a huge fan of San Francisco drag?"
Always a busy girl, Monsoon tells us that she and Major Scales, her Vaudevillians co-star and music partner, are now working on an album together.
"I am very excited for this project as I will be bringing more original music by Major Scales," she said. "We will be bringing a more rock edge to this new album and we are truly ecstatic to work on it."
The Vaudevillians @ Oasis. $30-$40. Feb 9 at 7pm & 9pm. Also Feb. 10-13 at 7pm. Feb 11 also 9pm. 298 11th St. 795-3180. www.sfoasis.com