Since its debut in season six, the Rusical (RuPaul musical) has been a highly anticipated staple of RuPaul's Drag Race. It has challenged queens to flaunt their talents and offered some a platform to show why they deserve to be America’s next drag superstar.
At its best, it embodies everything that’s great about drag – the costumes, the camp, the drama, and the theater. At its worst, it's still an interesting talking point and makes for classic car-crash TV. Over the last 10 years, the show has staged nine Rusical productions, each with varying success. This is our definitive list of every Rusical on RuPaul’s Drag Race, ranked.
PharmaRusical (Season 10)
Despite debuting only two main seasons ago, this misadventure into the world of Big Pharma is already the Rusical that time forgot – earning it last place in this list. And it’s a sad ending for what could have been a solid production. PharmaRusical took us on a musical journey of Ruc-Co-Labs, a drug company with the cure for everything, including the desire to ever laugh again. Though the concept was solid, PharmaRusical failed in every other category. The queens forgot lyrics, butchered choreography, and seemed unable to land any of their (mediocre) punchlines. Overall, the production seemed disted, and the result was more high school musical than high drag Rusical. It received widespread critique from fans and pundits alike.
Standouts: Aquaria, Yuhua Hamasaki, Kameron Micheals.
Trump: The Rusical (Season 11)
Trump: The Rusical is divisive, though probably less so than its eponymous ‘villain.' Some fans love it for the noteworthy performances of queens like Yvie Oddly, Nina West, and Silky Ganache. Others find it flippant, and a crude commentary on today’s America. As the only Rusical to feature a full background set, this performance earns serious points for production value. On the other hand, although Silky wows as Oprah, and Nina West as Sarah Huckabee Sanders is both creepy and hilariously accurate, the show lacked luster. For every great queen, there was another who failed to make any mark on the production at all. And the ‘teachable moment’ overtones suck the joy out of an otherwise pleasant show.
Standouts: Silky Ganache as Oprah Winfrey, Yvie Oddly as Kelly Anne Conway, Scarlet Envy as Betsy DeVoss.
Reality Stars: The Rusical (Season 9)
Season’s Nine’s Reality Stars: The Rusical is greater in theory than it was in practice. It will mostly be ed for ‘Chinagate,’ a.k.a Nina Bonina Brown’s breakdown after she failed to secure the role of Blacc China. It will also be ed for Shea Coulee’s short but exceptional parody of the aforementioned Blacc China. And lastly, Alexis Michele’s realistic portrayal of Kardashian ‘momager’, Kris. However, beyond the drama, and two great performances, there is little else in this show worth noting. The production value was flawless. But it was far better than much of the acting, and ing actors overshadowed main characters Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Farah Moan, and Valentine. Ouch.
Standouts: Shea as Blacc China, Peppermint as Britney Spears, Alexis Michelle, and Kris Jenner.
B*tch Perfect (Season 8)
In some respects, B*tch Perfect deserves a higher ranking on this list. When it was good, it was really good. But in the areas it failed, it was terrible. The highlight of this performance was ChiChi Devayne’s team as the girls from Lake Titi-Kaka, whose looks, moves, and killer lip-syncs stole the show. Across the narrow pond, Bob The Drag Queen’s team paled in comparison, with bad wigs, ill-fitting outfits, and generally average acting. The show’s individual performances were a surprising twist as those who stood out had previously failed to make a mark on the competition.
Standouts: ChiCi Devayne twerking, lip-syncing, and head jerking on beat while upside down. Kim Chi somehow managing to perform the entire show in 6-inch platform heels
Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical (Season 10)
As an LGBTQ+ icon, Cher has been played, parodied, and featured on Drag Race several times. It was therefore unsurprising that season 10’s Rusical was dedicated to the life and legacy of the star herself. Expecting 10 queens to play the same character was always going to yield mixed results, but Cher: The Unauthorised Rusical was not as bad as it might have been. There were some irable performances from queens like Kameron Michaels and Asia O’Hara, who managed to embody Cher’s famous affectations perfectly. And even those that didn't live up to the mark still did the legend some semblance of justice. In the end, this performance’s greatest crime was its mediocrity. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but there was also little that excited.
Standouts: Kameron Michaels singing, “I just screwed up all those words” after screwing up all those words. Trés Cher.
Glamazonian Airways (Season 7)
Glamazonian Airways landed in season seven with a drag-race-suitable tongue pop and a bang. Bright and bold, large and in charge, it offered everything one could hope for from a drag stage show. Great outfits? Check. Lypsinka-style variety performance? Check. Semi-dressed male extras? Check, check, and check, please! As one of the earlier Rusicals to feature on Drag Race, Glamazonian Airways was a solid production for its time. But it was out-shablammed by shows on later seasons, and queens who’d had longer to prepare and came ready to perform.
Standouts: Trixie Mattel as the drunk stewardess, Pearl as, well, Pearl.
Drag Divas Live (All-Stars Season 3)
All-Stars 3 kicked off its second episode with Drag Divas Live: Tribute To RuPaul, a parody of the VH1-sponsored concert. It was a fitting Rusical for its season, which saw the return of some of the show’s most iconic queens from previous seasons. What followed did not disappoint, with diva-worthy portrayals from Bebe Zahara Benet as Diana Ross and Shangela as the one-true-diva Mariah Carey. Alas, All-Stars is held to a higher standard than other seasons, and there were some dud performances from queens seasoned enough to do better. Nevertheless, this episode deserves to go down in herstory for BenDeLaCreme’s faultless parody of Julie Andrews twerking while live-singing to RuPaul’s Call Me Mother. I-conic.
Standouts: BenDeLaCreme as Julie Andrews a-la The Sound of Music performing Call Me Mother, Shangela claiming the stage as a modern Mariah Carey.
Shade: The Rusical (Season 6)
Season six has long been considered one of, if not the best, drag season in herstory. Its queens were talented, charismatic, unique, and confident, and it featured some of the most memorable scenes of the entire show. One such scene was the on-stage performance of Shade: The Rusical, a Broadway-style production charting the rise and fall of a small-town drag queen in the big city. Shade was the first ever Rusical on the show, so it's surprising that it's still one of the best. BenDeLaCreme as the Shady Lady plays the perfect stage villain, and the show benefits from the vocal stylings of two former Pop Idol contestants. Even though not all of the contestants wowed, the show was still energetic, lively, and funny. It's not a claim that every Rusical can make, and one that deserves its due credit. Though we’re still waiting for an explanation from Milk for that outfit.
Standouts: Courtney Act as Good Penny, BenDeLaCreme in full leopard-print glory.
HER: Story of the World (All-Stars 3)
All-Stars 3’s HER:Story of the World deservedly takes the crown as the best Rusical ever produced. Lest we forget, despite the inclusion of the prefix ‘Ru-,’ a Rusical is still a professional musical production. And All-Stars 3 delivered exactly that. The show kicks off with Michelle Visage playing ‘Jersey’s own God,’ and it starts as it means to go on. There are no bad characters in the bunch, but what elevates HER:Story is each queen’s ability to stay in persona, even while playing a ing role. The result is a show that’s funny, camp and dramatic, and full of charisma uniqueness, nerve, and talent. And in the words of RuPaul, “it do take nerve.”
Standouts: Alaska as Britney Eve, Ginger Minj as Catherine the Great, Alyssa Edwards as Annie Oakley, Detox’s signature mouth wiggle.