Christmas has been a fixation for cult film director John Waters ever since, as a child, he and his family arrived at his Grandma Stella’s house to find her pinned beneath her Christmas tree. That episode inspired a scene in his movie Female Trouble (1974), and for decades now, he’s been spreading his own offbeat brand of holiday spirit with his monologue tour, A John Waters Christmas. Ahead of his show at The Birchmere on December 15, we caught up with the self-described Pope of Trash (but please don’t call him that anymore).
Why he loves The Birchmere (besides the fact that his sister lives nearby in Alexandria):
“I have played at The Birchmere for many, many, many years. It’s really my home for the Christmas show. The audiences there are all ages, all tastes, all very diverse, and at the same time they all have a good sense of humor, or they wouldn’t come see A John Waters Christmas, because I make fun of the audience. But I make fun of myself first. So I think everybody is in on this joke—we’re not laughing at anybody; we’re laughing with ourselves.”
Why he no longer embraces monikers like “The Prince of Puke” and “The Sultan of Sleaze”:
“Well, I said in Town & Country— I’m on the cover, which proves how good taste has changed—that [Donald] Trump ruined bad taste forever. It’s not funny anymore because he ruined it. His taste was so appalling. It wasn’t even funny. So to me, the golden age of bad taste was ended with Trump.”
What’s on his Christmas list:
“There’s nothing I really need. What I always love is books, weird little books that I didn’t know about that are rare, that are finds. It could cost a nickel and would be worth a million dollars to me. It’s never about what a gift costs—it’s about how much time you spend finding it.”
How his humor is contagious:
“No matter what you feel about Christmas, you have to be vaccinated to see my show, or you’re not going to get in. And hopefully, I will infect you with new humor, and I’ll be the booster shot to get you through the holidays.”
Feature image by Greg Gorman
This story originally appeared in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.
