Posted in: MTV, TV | Tagged: drag race, rupaul

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 E08 Review: The Wonderful "Rusical" of Oz

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 "Rusical" arrived, with The Wicked Wiz of Oz a delightfully proud romp through musicals and classic characters.

It's that magical time of the year again! No, not Girl Scout cookie season, though eating a box of Thin Mints while watching this week's RuPaul's Drag Race is highly recommended – it's time for season 17's Rusical! This season's musical challenge is The Wicked Wiz of Oz: the Rusical and the queens had to choose roles, record vocals and lines, learn choreography, and perform it all for the panel of judges, including guest judge Adam Lambert.

On the whole, this is a fantastic episode – catchy songs, mostly good performances, and memorable characters. There were really only two clear bottoms this week in a strong display of vocals and performance, but before we dig into the bottoms, let's go down the yellow brick road and recap everyone.

Suzie Toot crushed it as the Green Witch, but as the resident theater kid who was quick to excitedly call out, "It's 'A Chorus Line,'" after hearing two seconds of the track, it was relatively expected that she would do well in the Rusical. Her number was good and classic, and most importantly, she looked absolutely gorgeous painted green. Her face is the most stunning I think it's looked this whole season of Drag Race.

Jewels Sparkles, oh girl, they were laughing at you, not at your performance. For starters, she fought Kori King for this part, which is the "Dance Ten, Looks Three" style song about being a curvy queen. Miss Sparkles is the size of a toothpick, and she really didn't pad much for this – the song is called "40-20-44," but in her case, it was more like 32-24-36 and fell a bit flat. It was unintentionally hilarious for obvious reasons, and the fact that her tiny little breastplate kept slipping out of the costume, unintentionally flopping around in a hilarious wardrobe malfunction that I wasn't entirely sure was unplanned. At least she made the judges laugh and was safe and memorable.

Arrietty/Lexi Love/ Lana Ja'rae were the Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Woman, respectively, aka the "Friends of Dorothy," and that song has been firmly planted in my head for the last week. That's not necessarily owing to stellar vocals or performances, but that speaks volumes for the song's composition and direction. The performances were good and memorable, well deserved, and safe all around, even if these ladies aren't all singers (it turned out fine; pitch correct is a wonderful tool). I will say, I did actually enjoy Lana this week – her expressions and body language were spot on.

Sam Star had the other song that's an earworm this week, and that's the Cher-inspired Wicked Witch number. She also originally tossed her hat in the ring for the Kansas Dorothy role, but after Lexi reminded her that the judges wanted to see something not prim and polished from her, she went with the Cher role and won the week. It showed the judges her silly, unserious side, and she absolutely crushed it.

Kori King and Lydia Butthole Kollins were the flying monkeys, and it was…lackluster. Lydia was praised by the judges for always staying in character…but that was about where the good attributes of this number stop. This would be the perfect number for a queen who cannot sing to save her life…and Lydia sings well, which kind of made this number flop. Meanwhile, Miss Kori is not blessed with pipes, and instead of the monkey that doesn't sing, she plays the opposite one. The whole thing didn't really work or make much sense, and I can see why Kori King was sent lip-syncing again. If only they were vers and had switched roles.

Onya Nurve was great, as per usual. Harlem Dorothy did feel a little safe and very expected of her, but at this point in the competition, most things she does feel that way. I am waiting for the judges to tell her to stop playing it safe, but since she is one of RuPaul's favorites, it's unlikely as long as she keeps playing to her strengths and delivering the comedy perfectly tailored to the judges.

Acacia Forgot as Kansas Dorothy? Guuurrrlll, this was rough. First off, there was a big fight over who got what part (naturally), and Acacia fought Suzie for the "aged out old Hollywood starlet" part, which was kind of accidentally strategic because had Suzie done this part, she likely would have taken a third win. The song was a ballad that closed the solo numbers in the show, and she just did not turn it. She parked and barked, but really without the bark, more like a tiny Chihuahua yap at best. Acacia just didn't really do anything with this character, and the joke's on her because that ended up sending her home instead of her crushing it and pulling ahead like I'm sure she intended.

I don't think I've enjoyed a Rusical this much ever – it's hard to go wrong with Wizard of Oz plus A Chorus Line? It's the literal recipe for peak camp enjoyment without being cringe (well, aside from a few numbers). Overall, it felt like a return to form for the show – not only owing to the queens' recording their own vocals but in general as a production number. The challenges on RuPaul's Drag Race started out to test the queens on vital aspects of the job, which was primarily in gay clubs, where hosting, comedy, lip-syncing, dancing, and big gay production numbers with stupid jokes and songs were expected. This is the first Rusical in a long time that feels like it could be a production number at a club, and it feels correct to pay homage to gay history, especially with a cast of nearly all younger queens.

Now, last but not least, let's talk runway: the theme was parasols, and there were some fabulous looks with a few stand-out fashions. Lexi Love is once again doing fashion that feels 90s inspired, but this time, it absolutely works – she utilized her parasol as a hat and presented it as a "reveal" with a cane acting as a fake handle, and it was fantastic. Speaking of excellence, Sam Star's runway is my Roman Empire – she's wearing a dress passed down from her drag mother, Trinity the Tuck (created custom for her by House of Canney, worn previously on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars), and it is STUNNING. Paired with a matching parasol, this fully embroidered sheer floral gown (with matching gloves) is nothing short of perfection. Kori King, by complete coincidence, had a "Wizard of Oz"-themed parasol runway, and it was giving, which turned out good for her because she ate up Miss Acacia and sent her walking the yellow brick road back home.

In the immortal words of Lizzo: it's about damn time. RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 finally feels like it's picking up steam and found its footing; it only took a good 7 episodes or so. Next week's challenge is a Betsey Johnson design challenge, with the designer herself making a guest appearance. Her style is so iconic I cannot wait to see what the queens come up with this week.

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 airs on MTV on Friday nights.

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