The Vaudevillians and their biggest 78-year-old fan.

I took my grandmother, my mother and my husband to see the Vaudevillians in the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City. And they absolutely LOVED it.

Oh, how we laughed, and laughed, and laughed.. but seriously, folks..

I admit when I first fully realized this grand scheme, I was a little worried about how my grandmother would handle the gratuitous dick/cocaine/anal sex jokes that are sprinkled throughout the show. Since I had seen the show *an undisclosed amount of times* already, I ran a few of them through with my mom first (how nice it is to know that your 51-year-old mother isn't offended by dick jokes, but you're just a little curious about how the 78-year-old will feel about it) and she said it should be fine. My husband also reminded me we played Cards Against Humanity with my grandparents, my parents and my grandparents' friends on Christmas day last year, and CAD is a whole different breed of offensive, yet they still managed to laughed the whole time, so bring on the drag! After all, the family that drags together, stays together.

We had tickets in the VIP section (front row tables, la ti da) which also meant a meet & greet after the show. My mom had just barreled through the entire season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race in about a week and a half's time to catch up, and my husband had seen the Vaudevillians with me before, so they knew what they were getting into ahead of time. I don't think it's shocking to hear that my grandmother wasn't quite as familiar with the whimsical world of drag, however.

Here is a list of things my grandmother has lovingly/accidentally called Jinkx Monsoon (and, in turn, her musical partner, Major Scales) before seeing the show:

• A female impersonator.
• A transvestite.
• A clown.
• A cross dresser.
• "Are they both cross dressing? Is the guy actually a girl? Are they both girls? I don't get it."
• And finally, a drag queen.

As you can probably tell by now, I grew up in a pretty open minded family, so I wasn't worrying about anyone offending anyone else, but I still had my reservations anyway. Filled with nervous excitement, the day finally arrived, and off we went to New York, but not before being harassed by a gentleman at the bus station about how this country is turning into Canada and college students don't understand veterans day and something vaguely racist before the bus pulled up to whisk us away from the New Jersey crazy into the loving arms of the New York City crazy.

We did some touristy stuff in the city to kill time and then made our way to the West Bank Cafe to sneak into the basement and grab our table. Just off to the right, we had a perfect view of the stage. 

My grandmother had to ask if that was THE Joan Rivers they were advertising and not a drag version of her. Not sure if that's a slam against Joan Rivers or a compliment towards the art of drag. Maybe both.

We started getting boozed up (okay - just my mother and I, the other two were party poopers) and ordered our dinner. Dinner came and went and was delicious. We watched the screen shuffle through advertisements of other drag performers who were making their way to the Laurie Beechman Theatre, too, including one Miss Pandora Boxx who I've made it my life goal to see live sometime. And then..

"Ooh, Alaska's coming! Can we see Alaska Thunderfuck's Christmas show? Pleeeease? And we should see Distorted Diznee! I'll see it with you!"

That was not me pleading with anyone that would hear me - that was my mom pleading with me to come see other drag shows with her. Jinkx wasn't even on yet and I've already created a monster. I'm so.. proud?!

Finally, the screen rose and the lights dimmed and it was time. My tummy filled with butterflies. It was finally time to let the reason I've seen this show *an undisclosed amount of times* explain itself before my family's eyes.

I was naturally fixated on the stage, but I kept glancing to my right to check my mom and grandma's reactions. Gratefully, I was met with this every single time:

I'm sure if I bothered to look around the room, you'd see the same expressions on everyone's face.

There's a part in the show where they're singing their ORiginal version of "Music" (as popularized/bastardized by Madonna) where they sing "and when the music starts, I never wanna stop" and they, well, stop. Kitty Witless (aka Jinkx Monsoon aka Jerick Hoffer) and Dr. Dan Von Dandy (aka Major Scales aka Richard Andriessen) freeze, with Kitty pointing at some hapless audience member near the front row. Guess who that hapless audience member was? My mom! HAAAAAAAAhahahaha. She smiled, big and bright. And then it became a nervous smile. She said "whatdoido" under her breath, so I reached over and whispered to my mom "it's gonna drive me crazy." She looked back up at Kitty, still staring at her, completely frozen in time as the rest of the audience laughed, and said "it's gonna drive me crazy?! I'm sorry!" Kitty and the Dr. start up again, finishing the rest of the song. My mom bursts into laughter with everyone else, and for the rest of my life I'll be able to think back at this moment and crack up, too.

I think you can still see her blushing from the encounter.

My husband was also pointed at and then gestured the "up yours" sign to by Kitty during another song, so needless to say, I'm a little jealous, but mostly happy for him. Mostly.

Oh right - she also used the candle from our table for her smoke. Audience interaction is always such an intimate and special experience for everyone involved and they do it so, so right in this show.

Oh no. Not I.

Of course, there's a whole different brand of audience participation from this guy..

..but you'll have to see the show yourself to find out his fate.

The rest of the show was flawless as ever, and although it took an hour and a half from start to finish, it never feels long enough. The show ended to a standing ovation from the entire audience - every ounce of applause deserved to both incredible performers. My grandmother was wiping away tears of laughter and couldn't say enough great things about the show. I think we've found our newest fan.

Of course, the end of the show is still good for us because now it meant we got to meet them! We were the second to last group to meet them. Those butterflies came back again. This was not my first time meeting the duo but there's something indescribable about the presence the two of them have. You really find it hard to believe they're just a pair of twenty-something-year-old men and not just two time traveling shape shifting wizards (or coke addicts, whatever). 

We took a few pictures together - at least ONE person is looking awkward (in this one: Peter) in every shot. Bless the camera man/assistant who took several shots for us.

I introduced my family and Jinkx commented that "the kind of mom who goes to a drag show must be a pretty cool one." Of course she is. Why wouldn't she be?

Look at my adorable husband sucking up in his Vaudevillians shirt.

At this point, we have to make way for the next group of people, plus they had a 9:00 PM show and it was already 8:30, so it was understandable as to why we were a little rushed. My mom had to tell Jinkx, however, that she's watched RuPaul's Drag Race and absolutely adores her and although she is old enough to be her mother, she loves her as one of her own. I told Jinkx I think she loves her more than she loves me and Jinkx laughed, saying I probably don't have to worry about that. We hugged, they wished us well, and we were on our way. 

And that was that.

The first time I came to the show (their first night for their first show, all the way back in July) I wanted to see it because I highly admired Jinkx Monsoon and wanted to see her talent live. The second time I saw it, I wanted to see it again because I highly, highly admired both Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales (seriously - he's an incredible pianist) and now I simply want to see the show because the Vaudevillains is easily one of the best pieces of theatre out there right now. There's a quote by one Mr. Walt Disney (you didn't think I could finish a whole blog without talking about Disney at least once, right?) that goes "What ever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it they will want to come back and see you do it again and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do." That's exactly what they do, time and time again.

I'm excited to say we'll be there for their 7:00 PM December 10th holiday special, but instead of my grandmother, my step-father will be in tow. As I said.. the family that drags together.. etc.

I don't know what I'll do once they're finally touring the rest of the world and not just the amazing basement of a New York City cafe. (Seriously - they're off to Australia for a stint and then will be up to Provincetown for the summer - so excited for their well deserved success!) I'm sure I'll figure something out, but it won't be nearly as fun as seeing them every couple of months. In the words of a famous singer, however: I will survive.

If you have the chance to see the Vaudevillians - please do it. It's worth every single half penny and more.