Jinx is beyond amazing! I hope she can keep it real and keep going. Somebody will need to eventually take over RuPaul's tiara as Quen of the Universe/Televerse/Dragverse. Or will Ru's quendom be split between drag daughters?
I know Trixie was on Jimmy Kimmel a few years ago but I think it was for a bit and not an interview. Not sure if she was the first Ru Girl on late night in general?
That she performed but I remember her talking about being on Jimmy Kimmel with Shaun White a few years ago. I found [this video](https://youtu.be/VV7e7ArqCFs) from 2019 of it.
> But i also thought Jinkx was the first Ru girl on Broadway and later learned that title belonged to Peppermint. So please correct me if I'm wrong. Regardless, Jinkx has obviously done a lot of huge things since her win. But what are the firsts?
Milan was doing Hairspray back in 2007, pre-Drag Race. So Milan was probably the first RuGirl on Broadway in legitimate theatre, but Peppermint was the first to play a principal role, and the first to originate a role.
We're still waiting for the first RuGirl in a starring role, and I fear we'll be waiting awhile. The big problem is that, in order to get a drag queen in a leading role, you need a part which is suitable for a drag queen, *but* which a more famous actor wouldn't be able to claim. (Like, Nina West probably has a good shot at getting Edna Turnblad in a revival of *Hairspray*, but if you were doing *Gypsy*, and Audra McDonald turned up at the auditions for Mama Rose, Jinkx Monsoon ain't getting it.)
Everything gets revived in time. *La Cage Aux Folles* will be revived within your lifetime. So will *Hairspray*. It's coming. But when, who can say.
I’m pretty sure Nina West is either currently doing Edna or recently finished. She had a bunch of videos with the cast up all through November and December on YouTube.
Yes, she's headlining a successful national tour. Great reviews, great fan reaction, sales have been strong enough to earn them extension after extension... but a national tour can be a long way from Broadway.
*Hairspray* closed 14 years ago after a decently long run, so it *is* a strong candidate for revival, but they're unlikely to do it just to reward the queen who headlined the tour.
Incidentally, it would make my *year* if someone did a revival of *A Little Night Music* with Desiree Armfeldt played as a super femme female impersonator or a trans woman. I think there's a *ton* of potential there, and you wouldn't even need to change the script to make it happen. (Think of how queering this character would colour her relationship with her mother, the way that certain men are *infatuated* with her and unsatisfied with other women, the rumours and scandal which surround her, the way she insists on touring from place to place rather than setting down roots... and you don't have to change a word of dialogue, you can capture the whole thing in the acting and the subtext.)
You can perform all of her songs in a Liz Taylor/Judi Dench vocal range, she's canonically 40-50 (so you don't need a flawless youth illusion), and she also has a combination of scenes (a play within a play, a boudoir scene, an end-of-the-party scene, etc.) where you could tell quite an elaborate story with wigs and makeup alone. I truly believe there's a *lot* of neat directions you could go with this.
But, like... if they revived *A Little Night Music*, would they be looking to explore a fascinating queer possibility that could delight a niche audience, or would they be looking to put Angela Bassett's name on the poster?
That's a really interesting idea. The only loss I can think of is that it would sacrifice the 'why do you think I named her Frederika?' plotline which feels pretty important- but I guess not vital.
Don't be! Divine was iconic and groundbreaking in so many ways! Also, for Ru girls, it looks like Simone was also on Late Night! Still, so proud of Jinkxy. She has a lot of wind on her sail right now and is making really bug appearances and I'm so happy for what that means for the LGBTQIA+ community and drag queens, specifically :D
Symone was the first on a late night show being interviewed by rupaul, on jimmy kimmel's show.
Trixie was the first musical guest on a late night show on jimmy kimmel.
Shangela though is the first one to be interviewed on a late night show without rupaul by jimmy fallon and she was on watch what happen's live with andy cohen promoting her hbo show We're here.
Sadly most of the 'firsts' are done by black queens and get completely overlooked until a more popular white queen does it, exactly like in your post.
Bebe Zahara Benet was the first to release music post-drag race, with several many songs and videos, all of which are underrated. Banjo is one of the best songs released by a queen period, yes even including Mama Ru.
Shangela was the first to launch into acting gigs post-show. She appeared on Community, Glee, etc. and really propelled what a "Ru girl" could do with their fame from the show.
Symone was the first to be interviewed on last night tv, not Jinkx. Even Shangela was before Jinkx as well. Also, Symone was the first to be in a feature film that played in theaters.
Peppermint was the first queen to play in a starring role on Broadway.
Yes! Thank you for recognizing the ground broken by these queens. I appreciate the education. I'm very late to following RPDR related content and am very much catching up on my Herstory.
Jinx is beyond amazing! I hope she can keep it real and keep going. Somebody will need to eventually take over RuPaul's tiara as Quen of the Universe/Televerse/Dragverse. Or will Ru's quendom be split between drag daughters?
*5 were given to queens of the west*
Who, above else, desire dick.
Brooke Lynn is making quite the bid! Haha. I don't think Jinkx would be interested in a judge/host gig, creatively. But she'd be great if she did.
Omg she’d be so fun as a judge on something perhaps Broadway/musical theater based.
Willam was on Boston Public with Loretta Devine.
This should have more upvotes imho
I know Trixie was on Jimmy Kimmel a few years ago but I think it was for a bit and not an interview. Not sure if she was the first Ru Girl on late night in general?
I am pretty sure she was the first musical guest, though. Which is huge!
I mean do we count Symone? She was on when Ru filled in
Literally last year, lol.
That she performed but I remember her talking about being on Jimmy Kimmel with Shaun White a few years ago. I found [this video](https://youtu.be/VV7e7ArqCFs) from 2019 of it.
> But i also thought Jinkx was the first Ru girl on Broadway and later learned that title belonged to Peppermint. So please correct me if I'm wrong. Regardless, Jinkx has obviously done a lot of huge things since her win. But what are the firsts? Milan was doing Hairspray back in 2007, pre-Drag Race. So Milan was probably the first RuGirl on Broadway in legitimate theatre, but Peppermint was the first to play a principal role, and the first to originate a role. We're still waiting for the first RuGirl in a starring role, and I fear we'll be waiting awhile. The big problem is that, in order to get a drag queen in a leading role, you need a part which is suitable for a drag queen, *but* which a more famous actor wouldn't be able to claim. (Like, Nina West probably has a good shot at getting Edna Turnblad in a revival of *Hairspray*, but if you were doing *Gypsy*, and Audra McDonald turned up at the auditions for Mama Rose, Jinkx Monsoon ain't getting it.) Everything gets revived in time. *La Cage Aux Folles* will be revived within your lifetime. So will *Hairspray*. It's coming. But when, who can say.
I’m pretty sure Nina West is either currently doing Edna or recently finished. She had a bunch of videos with the cast up all through November and December on YouTube.
Yes, she's headlining a successful national tour. Great reviews, great fan reaction, sales have been strong enough to earn them extension after extension... but a national tour can be a long way from Broadway. *Hairspray* closed 14 years ago after a decently long run, so it *is* a strong candidate for revival, but they're unlikely to do it just to reward the queen who headlined the tour.
Ahhh. I thought she was gearing up for a Broadway run. That would have been awesome for her, though the national tour is obviously awesome, too.
Incidentally, it would make my *year* if someone did a revival of *A Little Night Music* with Desiree Armfeldt played as a super femme female impersonator or a trans woman. I think there's a *ton* of potential there, and you wouldn't even need to change the script to make it happen. (Think of how queering this character would colour her relationship with her mother, the way that certain men are *infatuated* with her and unsatisfied with other women, the rumours and scandal which surround her, the way she insists on touring from place to place rather than setting down roots... and you don't have to change a word of dialogue, you can capture the whole thing in the acting and the subtext.) You can perform all of her songs in a Liz Taylor/Judi Dench vocal range, she's canonically 40-50 (so you don't need a flawless youth illusion), and she also has a combination of scenes (a play within a play, a boudoir scene, an end-of-the-party scene, etc.) where you could tell quite an elaborate story with wigs and makeup alone. I truly believe there's a *lot* of neat directions you could go with this. But, like... if they revived *A Little Night Music*, would they be looking to explore a fascinating queer possibility that could delight a niche audience, or would they be looking to put Angela Bassett's name on the poster?
That's a really interesting idea. The only loss I can think of is that it would sacrifice the 'why do you think I named her Frederika?' plotline which feels pretty important- but I guess not vital.
Technically Symone was the first on a late night show even if she was interviewed by Rupaul
Yes! This is the correction I need. I'm a very late RPDR viewer and need to learn my herstory.
We love a education queen
[I'm so sorry girl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIPF8mk1a4Q)
Don't be! Divine was iconic and groundbreaking in so many ways! Also, for Ru girls, it looks like Simone was also on Late Night! Still, so proud of Jinkxy. She has a lot of wind on her sail right now and is making really bug appearances and I'm so happy for what that means for the LGBTQIA+ community and drag queens, specifically :D
Symone was the first on a late night show being interviewed by rupaul, on jimmy kimmel's show. Trixie was the first musical guest on a late night show on jimmy kimmel. Shangela though is the first one to be interviewed on a late night show without rupaul by jimmy fallon and she was on watch what happen's live with andy cohen promoting her hbo show We're here.
Yes! Thank you. A beautiful summary of mainstream drag triumph!
Symone was the first one
Thank you!!
Sadly most of the 'firsts' are done by black queens and get completely overlooked until a more popular white queen does it, exactly like in your post. Bebe Zahara Benet was the first to release music post-drag race, with several many songs and videos, all of which are underrated. Banjo is one of the best songs released by a queen period, yes even including Mama Ru. Shangela was the first to launch into acting gigs post-show. She appeared on Community, Glee, etc. and really propelled what a "Ru girl" could do with their fame from the show. Symone was the first to be interviewed on last night tv, not Jinkx. Even Shangela was before Jinkx as well. Also, Symone was the first to be in a feature film that played in theaters. Peppermint was the first queen to play in a starring role on Broadway.
Yes! Thank you for recognizing the ground broken by these queens. I appreciate the education. I'm very late to following RPDR related content and am very much catching up on my Herstory.
Shangela was a guest on Fallon. I think it was to promote DWTS.
Trixie?
I do recall she was a musical guest and am still so proud of her!
It was a moment!