Drag

Drag Race: Fans are saying the same thing about All Stars 9’s iconic Rusical episode

By Jordan Robledo

6th July 2024

This week’s episode of All Stars 9 featured horror, twists and one of the best Rusicals in Drag Race herstory.

Spoilers ahead

Following Roxxxy Andrew’s win last week, which saw Angeria Paris VanMichaels becoming the last queen to be cut by the Ruby Snippers, the ladies returned to the werkroom to dish about last week’s events.

On a high from securing her fourth Beautiful Benefactress Badge, Roxxxy expressed her excitement over the achievement in a confessional.

“At this point, I’ve got $27,500 for the Miracle of Love. I’m walking into this werkroom like, ‘Bitch, you can’t say shit to the four badge doll, okay?'” the Florida-based queen exclaimed.

It didn’t take long for Angeria to return to the workroom with the snippers in hand. However, unlike previous weeks, there were no hard feelings between the two queens.

“Bitch, we are the definition of scissor sisters. We’ve been scissoring the whole damn season, but still, here are me, Plastique, and Roxxxy in the front of the race… trying to pass each other,” Angeria said in a confessional.

While the queens celebrated the end of the Ruby Snippers era, Vanessa Vanjie wasn’t letting her hair down completely, theorizing that another twist may be on the horizon.

“Chile, yall know this was the last night for the snippers, but, you know, also we here for a few more weeks or whatever. So you never know,” she exclaimed.

Roxxxy and Nina West echoed similar sentiments, with the latter stating: “I think it’s going to be badges, bitch. I think the badges are gonna be hot and wild.”

The next day, the queens strutted into the werkroom refreshed and ready to tackle their ninth maxi-challenge, the highly anticipated Rusical.

“From the producers that brought you hits like Moulin Ru and Wigloose and The Sound of Rusic comes another hit show,” Ru teased.

“For this week’s maxi-challenge, you’ll be starring in Rosemarie’s Baby Shower: The Rusical. It’s an all-dancing, all-singing psychological thriller about New Yorkers willing to sell their souls for a decent apartment.”

Before exiting the workroom, Ru delivered a jaw-dropping twist, revealing that the top two All Stars of the week would win two Beautiful Beneactress Badges, one to keep and one to give away.

“And believe it or not, there’s still a way for each of you to make it to the top three. I know, mathematics and all of that, but anything is possible,” Ru added.

Like in past Rusicals, the ladies were responsible for choosing their respective roles. Fortunately, assigning the parts was a piece of cake, aside from Angeria and Nina briefly clashing over Dr Poltergeist.

The cast of Rosemarie’s Baby Shower: The Rusical was as follows: Gottmik as Blair, Jorgeous as Morgan, the AI doll, Shannel as Sydney, Nina as Dr Poltergeist, Angeria as Ruth, Vanjie as Rosemarie’s baby, Plastique as Rosemarie and Roxxxy as Pennywise.

With their characters selected, the queens headed to the studio to record their vocals with composer David Steinberg and the “vocal coach from hell” Michelle Visage.

While many of the queens thrived during the session, Jorgeous, Angeria, and Vanjie initially struggled to bring their respective lines to life.

After their spooky recording session, the ladies met up with “killer choreographer” Miguel Zarate, who warned them that there were a handful of dance-heavy choreography sections.

During the high-energy rehearsal, queens like Vanjie and Plastique thrived with the dance moves, while Nina and Shannel struggled to keep up.

“This choreography is a f**king nightmare. It is so fast, and I am just not getting it all. Like, at f**king all,” Shannel said in a confessional.

“This is week nine, and I’m running out of opportunities to win a badge. F**k. I’ve gotta figure this shit out.”

With their songs recorded, choreography memorized, and faces beat, the queens headed to the main stage to showcase their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent in Rosemarie’s Baby Shower: The Rusical.

Throughout the spooktacular and Broadway-level performance, the contestants delivered comedic verses, sickening vocals and stunning choreography that kept the judges’ panel in stitches.

After laying it all out on stage in one of the Drag Race franchise’s best Rusicals, the eight queens returned to the workroom to get out their Rosemarie drag and prepare for this week’s runway theme.

On one side of the workroom, Nina and Angeria gushed about the performance, with the former exclaiming her love for the Dr Poltergeist character and the collaborative teamwork between her and the other queens.

Shannel echoed similar sentiments, adding: “I’m proud of myself ’cause this is definitely something that was out of my wheelhouse… it was my very first Rusical, but I enjoyed it. It was fun.”

Things took an awkward turn when Roxxxy asked the group who they would give the extra badge to if they were to win the challenge.

While most of the queens were mum on their respective choices, Jorgeous revealed that she would give one to Shannel, the only contestant without a badge.

Following their quick break, the ladies returned to the mainstage to show off their stunning ‘Bring Back My Pearls’ ensembles and receive their respective critiques.

To no surprise, the judges panel โ€“ including guest judge Kristine W โ€“ praised all of the queens for their dynamic performances and outfits โ€“ resulting in a very difficult deliberation process.

In the end, Shannel and Jorgeous were named the top All Stars of the week and recipients of two Beautiful Benefactress Badges, one to keep and one to give away.

Once the rest of the ladies cleared the stage, the two winners delivered an epic and c*nty lip-sync to Kristine W’s track ‘Love Come Home (Subgroovers Music Video Edit).’

Ultimately, Ru named both Shannel and Jorgeous as the winners of the lip-sync and $5,000 for their respective charities.

After the excitement died down, the two All Stars of the week were asked to give away their extra Beautiful Benefactress Badges.

Keeping to her word, Jorgeous gifted Shannel her extra badge, praising the latter for working hard all season.

In an adorable twist, Shannel gave her extra badge to Jorgeous due to her generosity in the workroom and on the main stage.

Since its release, fans have flocked to social media to praise the recent episode as one of the best in franchise herstory.

One viewer on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote: “The fact that we had the girl from the exorcist, Pennywise and M3GAN on Drag Race is soo campy. This Rusical was one of the best, if not THE BEST Rusical we’ve ever had.”

Another fan tweeted: “They TURNED it out the rusical literally one of the best of drag race history iktr.”

A third fan echoed similar sentiments, writing: “I would legit give everyone a badge๐Ÿ’€๐Ÿ’€๐Ÿ’€ #DragRace #AllStars9 it was that good!!”

On next week’s episode of Drag Race All Stars 9, the queens will be tasked with performing in a Lip Sync LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown.

Check out more fan reactions to Rosemarie’s Baby Shower: The Rusical below.