Jinkx Monsoon Stars as Judy Garland at Soho Theatre
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- Jinkx Monsoon is starring as Judy Garland in Peter Quilter's 'End of the Rainbow' at Soho Theatre Walthamstow, London, running 15 May to 21 June, in a dramatic role set in 1968–69's final months of Garland's life
- Monsoon, whose legal name is Hera Hoffer, is a non-binary, trans-femme artist who won RuPaul's Drag Race in 2013 and Drag Race All Stars in 2022, and previously played Mama Morton in a Broadway run of Chicago three years ago
- Monsoon replaced Cole Escola in the Tony-winning 'Oh, Mary!' on Broadway and is close friends with the London run's star Mason Alexander Park
- 'Oh, Mary!' has been the hottest ticket on Broadway since opening in 2024, and Monsoon's earlier Chicago run boosted ticket sales so dramatically that she returned for a second stint a year later — the same pattern early evidence suggests End of the Rainbow will follow
- Monsoon grew up in a Catholic, women-dominated family in Portland, Oregon, who were supportive of her gender non-conforming identity from an early age despite family trauma and addiction
- Monsoon explicitly framed the production as a rebuttal to the myth that audiences won't turn up for trans or queer performers: 'People would rather see a fresh perspective than the same thing over and over.'
Why it matters: Monsoon's track record — sold-out Chicago rerun and Broadway's hottest ticket in Oh, Mary! — provides concrete commercial evidence undercutting industry skepticism about casting trans and queer performers in leading roles, giving producers a data-backed case for inclusive casting decisions.
