This week, Adam welcomes the ultimate "Broadway Baby" of drag, Ginger Minj, who brings her lifelong passion for musical theater to the parade to break down her ultimate artistic spark: Jon M. Chu’s spectacular 2024 cinematic adaptation of Wicked.
Adam and Ginger dive deep into the Emerald City, exploring how a childhood introduction to The Wizard of Oz at three years old became a brilliant Technicolor metaphor for escaping a claustrophobic small town. They trace the rich, explicit queer and trans history woven into L. Frank Baum's original 1900 book series, celebrate the undeniable, magical chemistry between Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and swap legendary backstage stories from the Broadway production.
Adam also gives the first part of his Tribeca Festival highlights for this year!
🎙️ In This Episode, We Discuss:
- The Munchkinland Metaphor: Ginger's grandmother, a 1939 baby, and the three miracles of that year (including Tina Turner!).
- The Backstage Tea: Witnessing the legendary, tense, post-Tony Awards energy between Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on stage.
- The Secret Trans History of Oz: Uncovering the century-old story of Princess Ozma and Tip, and how the source material was ahead of its time.
- Reclaiming the Narrative: How Ginger found her inner Elphaba while handling online critics during RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars.
- The Subliminal Power of Glitter: Why musical theater is the perfect Trojan horse for sparking vital conversations about inclusion and political erasure.
🌟 About Our Guest:
Ginger Minj is a powerhouse performer, actress, singer, and author who first captured global attention as a finalist on season seven of RuPaul's Drag Race and All Stars 6, before winning All Stars 10. A brilliant theatrical force, she has seamlessly crossed over from the mainstage to major feature films, appearing in Netflix’s Dumplin’ and Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2. She is also the author of Southern Hospitality and an acclaimed recording artist.
🎫 Support the Guest & See Her Live!
- Watch: Catch Ginger starring alongside a runway of drag royalty in the wild new action-comedy disaster movie Stop! That! Train!, hitting theaters June 12th!
- See Her Live This Summer: If you're in Atlanta or Provincetown, grab tickets immediately to Liked: For Gay, a raunchy, hilarious Wicked parody show starring Ginger Minj and Jujubee. Playing at Atlanta’s Out Front Theatre through June 28th, and heading to P-Town this July!
The Spark Parade is a podcast that dives deep into the films and albums that have inspired today’s creative icons. Hosted by Adam Unze, each episode features a unique conversation with an artist about their chosen film or album, and how it sparked their artistic journey.
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