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2 Drag Race favorites bring holiday show to Houston for the first time

BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show 2024 Tour

This Christmas spectacular is now in its seventh year.

Photo by Jacob Ritts

Fan favorite RuPaul's Drag Race alumni BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon are already planning for the holidays. The corrupted classic duo is hitting the road in November for the Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show 2024 Tour, stopping in three Texas cities along the way.

November 18 - Houston, Bayou Music Center
November 19 - Austin, Long Center
November 20 - Dallas, Majestic Theatre

This holiday spectacular, dripping with old-fashioned charm, sarcasm, and costume changes, is now in its seventh year. After six live shows and one recorded "in the bunker" thanks to pandemic shut downs, this year's edition is another brand-new show.

The tour spans 33 cities with a total of 38 shows. Unfortunately for Texans, there's only one performance in each city. However, Houston is lucky to be added to the tour for the first time this year. The duo is kicking things off with previews in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 7 and 8, and wrapping the tour up in Portland, Oregon, on December 29. There is no Christmas Day show, but there is a December 24 matinee in Seattle, Washington.

This is, of course, no regular Christmas show. In past performances Jinkx and DeLa have parodied classics like A Christmas Carol with a time travel twist, battled AI overlords, and gotten existential in multiple universes. Tying things together is always song and dance, over-the-top costumes, and even a bit of sincerity sprinkled in.

During their stints on Drag Race — including All Stars runs for both — each performer charmed audiences with theatrical, Old Hollywood or Broadway spins informing their main drag styles. Both singers and strong actors, DeLa and Jinkx are two of the leading drag artists in the more vaudeville style, while others have gone on to be standup comedians, podcast hosts, pop stars, and fashion icons.

An artist presale begins July 9 at noon CT (use code "HOHOHO"). Tickets go on general sale July 12 at noon CT at JinkxandDeLa.com. VIP Packages, including photo opportunity and a Q&A with the stars, are only available to purchase separately at JinkxandDeLa.com with proof of ticket purchase.

2024 Tour Dates:

November 7 - PREVIEW - Charlotte, NC (Booth Playhouse)
November 8 - PREVIEW - Charlotte, NC (Booth Playhouse)
November 10 - Durham, NC (DPAC)
November 11 - Atlanta, GA (Atlanta Symphony Hall)
November 13 - Orlando, FL (Dr. Phillips Center - Steinmetz Hall)
November 14 - Clearwater, FL (Ruth Eckerd Hall)
November 17 - New Orleans, LA (Orpheum Theater)
November 18 - Houston, TX (Bayou Music Center)
November 19 - Austin, TX (Long Center)
November 20 - Dallas, TX (Majestic Theatre)
November 23 - Indianapolis, IN (Murat Theatre at Old National Center)
November 24 - Cincinnati, OH (Taft Theatre)
November 25 - Detroit, MI (Masonic Cathedral Theatre)
November 26 - Toronto, ON (Meridian Hall)
November 28 - Montreal, QC (L’Olympia)
November 29 - Albany, NY (The Egg)
November 30 - Washington, DC (Lincoln Theatre)
December 1 - Philadelphia, PA (Academy of Music)
December 2 - Boston, MA (Wang Theatre at Boch Centre)
December 5 - Brooklyn, NY (Kings Theatre)
December 6 - Cleveland, OH (Playhouse Square)
December 7 - Louisville, KY (Brown Theatre at Kentucky Performing Arts)
December 8 - Chicago, IL (Auditorium Theatre)
December 11 - Minneapolis, MN (Pantages Theatre)
December 12 - Kansas City, MO (The Midland Theatre)
December 13 - Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
December 15 - Las Vegas, NV (The Theater at Virgin Hotels)
December 16 - Los Angeles, CA (Dolby Theatre)
December 17 - San Diego, CA (Balboa Theatre)
December 18 - San Francisco, CA (The Warfield)
December 19 - San Francisco, CA (The Warfield)
December 21 - Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 22 - Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 23 - Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 24 - MATINEE - Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
December 27 - Spokane, WA (First Interstate Center for the Arts)
December 28 - Vancouver, BC (Queen Elizabeth Theatre)
December 29 - Portland, OR (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall)

theater holidays christmas

Movie Review

Over-the-top thriller The Housemaid revels in camp, chaos, and excess

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

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The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

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