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By the time Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme—that’s Dela for short, Duh for shorter and Ms. Creme if you’re nasty—cross the finish line of their festive national tour, the holiday season will be nearly over. Wait to exhale with them at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Sunday, Dec. 29, as The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Show wraps up a run of performances that began before Thanksgiving.
Maybe you love the holidays like Dela and want to wring out the last drop of wintry cheer, or maybe you’re more like Jinkx and just want 2024 to end. Either way, the prolific Pacific Northwest drag queens and RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni have closed out each year with an original show for six years, and their seventh is no exception to their rule of confronting the holidays on their terms.
“As another year defiantly slaps the ‘well at least it can’t get any worse’ out of our mouths, we need ways not just to cope, but to gather strength,” Dela said in a statement. “Are there any tools greater than comedy, sequins and song? Yeah absolutely. But those are the gifts Jinkx and I have to share, and we hope you’ll share them with us.”
Each year’s theme is a secret, but past shows never skimped on the zany or outrageous. Monsoon and Dela have twisted Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, battled artificial intelligence set to replace them, and faced post-pandemic depression with peppermints, not to mention the COVID lockdown special that streamed in 2020. It’s all silly to be sure, with original scripts and songs each year, but it comes from a sincere appreciation for the true meaning behind each year-end holiday.
“All the lights and songs and trappings of the holidays were created to help get us through the coldest darkest part of the year, to keep our spirits bright as we steel ourselves for the winter to come and remember that spring will return once again,” Dela said. “In a world that feels increasingly dark, please come make some light with us. We will gladly share our warmth.”
SEE IT: The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Show at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 503-248-4335, portland5.com. 8 pm Sunday, Dec. 29. $49–$200.