A show whose thematic “Oomh!” comes from the Broadway songbook’s emotional depth and camp-friendly absurdities has arrived on West 42nd Street—the very doorstep of its source material—to throw down the gauntlet. Fortunately for us, the gauntlet is actually two pairs of long satin evening gloves worn with confident, comedic ferocity by native-to-Florida drag queens Ginger Minj (RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars finalist) and Gidget Galore (OutTV’s Sew Fierce).

Hot on the heels of rave reviews and packed houses elsewhere in Provincetown and Chicago, the longtime friends and creative collaborators are currently at The Green Room 42 (10th Ave. at W. 42nd St.) with “The Broads Way.” For three shows only (Feb. 10-12), you’re invited to “take a trip down the Great White Way as they bring you on a musical journey of some of Broadway’s biggest shows.”

Chelsea Community News had a chance to chat with show co-creator Ginger Minj, prior to the NYC run. Our Q&A began with a chat about Minj’s recent debut as an author, with the November, 2023 publication of Southern Fried Sass: A Queen’s Guide to Cooking, Decorating, and Living Just a Little “Extra.”  The beefy book, full of glamour shots of Minj and the childhood-favorite homecooked dishes that made her, is a repeat-read-friendly tome that posits the author as alchemist, with Minj mixing inspiring, often harrowing slices of autobiography with heaping helpings of actual recipes, accompanied by clearly written instructions. At first, that seems like a soufflé that just ain’t gonna rise—but Minj, herself a deft practitioner of blending disparate looks, influences, and genes—pulls it off with aplomb (and a plumb?).

Scott Stiffler, for Chelsea Community News (CCNews): What was it like writing the book, and what has the reaction been?

Ginger Minj (Ginger): It was five years of my life. Well, I say five, but it was 39 years of my life, really, put into one book. The past five years, I focused on making that book what it is, and I never knew how it was going to be received… It’s no holds barred. I told things to the audience that I never even told to my therapist and I didn’t know how it was going to be handled by the public—but it has been embraced beautifully. Everybody is finding things about themselves in my story. People are finding their strength and their power through me sharing how I found mine… The coolest thing has been, especially during the holiday season, them [readers] making the dishes from my book and saying, “This turkey is the best turkey.” It’s insane to be a physically tangible part of other people’s lives.

CCNews: What’s the origin story of all those recipes?

Ginger: Simon & Schuster hired me to do my memoir… and then my grandmother passed away. She had the recipe box. I already have a contentious relationship with my family. I won’t say they were vultures, but they all wanted a piece of her. Everybody wanted that recipe box, but she left it to me. I decided I was gonna share the recipes… Every recipe wasn’t just a memory, it was a story. I learned was remembering my childhood—when things were bad, what made me feel good was food. Food is my love language. So I said, “This is it.” This is what’s accessible. I went to my editor at Simon & Schuster and she said, “Absolutely not. You have to buy better paper, shoot the food, hire two tasters.” I said, “What’s it gonna take?” She said, “Pretty much everything we paid you for the book.” [Minj ended up foregoing her advance to fund those necessary upgrades.]

CCNews: About the show you’re bringing to NYC: Like the last time you were here, for your book launch, when you shared the bill with Miss Peppermint, you’re once again appearing with a partner. Why the attraction to duo work?

Ginger: I had a very lonely childhood. I didn’t have friends to play with. It was always a whole lot of “Don’t talk unless you are talked to.” When I got older, I learned that I could take center stage—but it was also so much fun when you could do it with somebody else… Gidget, we’ve been best friends for 21 years… When we were starting drag in Orlando, there were no chunky theater queens out there.

CCNews: Talk about how the stage show came to be.

Ginger: During the pandemic, we learned to go back to our roots doing the digital Broadway show from her garage, doing two or three shows a week.

CCNews: Which begat what you’re bringing to NYC. What’s the “body count” of showtunes?

Ginger: It’s 24 of the biggest Broadway hits of all time, with 20 costume changes. It’s unhinged… You say you try to make people laugh every 30 seconds—we try to do it every 10. There are moments when we deconstruct and make fun of something [aside more serious moments]. In particular, we do 10 songs from 10 classic musicals in five minutes. Gidget will come out as Little Orphan Annie and kind of take the piss out of it. And I come on as Mama Rose and do it serious.

CCNews: I’m sure queens and queer of almost all ages know and love the source material—but is any of it lost on the youngest audience members?

Ginger: I think they know “of” the material. The young people may not know Annie—but they know the iconography of the red dress, and her song [Tomorrow]. I’ve noticed with Never Said Goodbye, they don’t know the show—but they know the name Norma Desmond [and the eccentricities it implies].

CCNews: How did you choose the content and tone?

Ginger: When we sat down to do the show, it was three hours long. We have an amazing concept for Man of La Mancha that didn’t quite fit in. And there has to be a reason to do it… We never make fun of these women. We just embrace it and celebrate it in a way that’s over the top.

“The Broads Way” is performed on Saturday, February 10 at 9:30pm, Sunday, February 11 at 7pm and Monday, February 12 at 7pm at The Green Room 42 (570 10th Ave. at W. 42nd St., on the 4th Floor of Yotel). The cover charge ranges from $30-$70. A livestream option is available for $20. For tickets, visit www.TheGreenRoom42.com. 

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