It’s been nearly five years since Ginger Minj rocked the finale of Season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race with her gospel performance that shook the house down boots! Unfortunately, the performance and the full season of excelling at challenges earned Ginger second place to Violet Chachki. But that didn’t stop the self-proclaimed ‘glamour toad’. Ginger Minj has since gone on to many successful projects including Netflix’s Dumplin’ and most recently AJ & the Queen alongside the one and only Miss RuPaul Charles.
Ginger Minj, whose government name is Joshua Allan Eads, has proven to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to acting and she is returning to the stage once again for a rendition of Tom Eyen’s Women Behind Bars like you’ve never seen before! Ginger Minj will take the stage alongside Eureka O’Hara, Chi Chi Devayne, Coco Peru, Poppy Fields, Traci Lords, Mink Stole, Suzie Kennedy, Adrienne Couper Smith, Tatiana Monteiro, and Wesley Woods for a hilarious and dragtastic production at the iconic Montalban Theater in Hollywood January 24th-February 2nd. The show is directed by Scott Thompson.
The show will also have some surprise guests:
Inside the Women’s House of Detention in 1960 the hair is high, the dresses are tight, and the women are bad! Behind steel bars and under unforgiving institutional lighting, a cast of characters plays out the age-old game of survival of the fittest in stilettos and lipstick! This production is NC-17 and is sure to make audiences jump out of their seats with its dark comedic tone. Oh yeah, there’s nudity, profanity, and just a smidge of adult content.
The characters in the show include a fresh-faced innocent, a chain-smoking street-wise tough girl, a delicate Southern belle reminiscent of Blanche DuBois, a lovable granny, and a pyromaniac narcoleptic – all overseen by the tyrannical and overpowering Matron (Eureka) and her nefarious sidekick – these are the WOMEN BEHIND BARS!
I had the honor of connecting with Ginger Minj and catch up with what is going on with the performer and to get some insight on the upcoming performances of Women Behind Bars:
DAVID LOPEZ: How’s life after RuPaul’s Drag Race? I still feel you were robbed!
GINGER MINJ:
Oh, lord, you’re sweet! I appreciate that so much. I’ve heard that a lot over the past five years and it always makes me smile, but I would also never take away from Violet’s win. We represented two very different types of drag and I was happy to share that moment with her. And I’ve been doing just fine, even without the crown! My first album, Sweet T, got a five star review from Billboard Magazine; I’ve traveled the world several times with my one woman shows; became a spokeswoman for Virgin Voyages; got married and appeared in some of my favorite movies, tv shows, and theatre. Life has been one big event after another and, even in the dark times, I’m so grateful for every opportunity!
DL: How has drag shifted for you since then?
GINGER:
I just have a much wider view of what drag encompasses. I worked seven days a week in drag for ten years before season seven, but it was always with the same group of queens in the same few venues. I didn’t know a lot about styles of drag outside of polished southern pageant. I still love “old school” drag, but I’ve had the opportunity to travel around and really experience every type of drag you can imagine. It’s really inspiring to see queens take the fundamental basics of drag and reinvent them. That’s art. That’s exciting!
DL: How did you become part of Women Behind Bars?
GINGER:
It was all just really good timing! I actually had to turn down the show last year because of prior commitments to the Xanadu national tour, but when that got postponed my January freed up just as Thorgy Thor had to leave the Production because of filming commitments. I got to play the Matron in a local Orlando production years ago, so I loved the play already. Add in a fantastic director and this legendary cast and I just couldn’t say no!
DL: How has the process for Women Behind Bars Been?
GINGER:
It’s been frustrating! None of us really leave the stage throughout the show. It’s a lot of little vignettes that tell a bigger story, where if someone says the wrong line it pushes us all into a different part of the play, so it’s been a real challenge to find the rhythm as a group. But we’ve got it and everything is like a big, fun dance now!
DL: What should people expect from Women Behind Bars?
GINGER:
Is it too cliche to say “expect the unexpected”? Seriously, there are so many twists and turns delivered by an exceptional cast you won’t know what’s coming next! Even if you’ve seen the show before, I can guarantee you’ve never seen it like this! The camp is certainly there, but there’s also a real sense of danger in this production.
DL: Will we be seeing Ginger Minj on anymore Netflix or streaming shows?
GINGER:
Who knows where I’ll pop up?! There are a lot of really exciting things happening for me this year, just stay tuned and follow me on social media for all the updates!
DL: What are some of your upcoming projects and/or goals for 2020?
GINGER:
Some are a little too early to talk about, so keep your eyes peeled throughout the year! But I will say that my second album will finally drop in the Spring, Xanadu 2.0 will happen at some point, and I’ll be playing Roseanne opposite Mean Girls’ Daniel Franzese as Dan in a parody production of ROSEANNE at Parliament House in Orlando this February as part of our new TV Land Live series! Other plans include losing a little weight and snuggling my pup.
DL: Anything else you’d like to share with the Instinct readers?
GINGER:
Follow me on social media! Talk to me! I love connecting with the fans, it’s my favorite part of an already pretty incredible job! I’m never too busy or tired for a hello or a picture.
Catch the zany production of Women Behind Bars at the Montalban Theater, January 24th-February 2nd.
