"Moulin Ru: The Rusical" is the twelfth episode of the fourteenth season of the American

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

television series '' RuPaul's Drag Race'', which aired on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

on March 25, 2022.

Episode

Lady Camden at DragCon LA 2022 by dvsross

The episode has contestants perform a

Rusical A Rusical (portmanteau of "RuPaul" and "musical") is a musical production on the television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, ...

parody-tribute to the film

Moulin Rouge! ''Moulin Rouge!'' (, ) is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a young English poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and cour ...

for the main challenge.

Andra Day Andra may refer to: People * Andra (singer) (born 1986), Romanian singer *Andra (musician), Zimbabwean-American musician * Andra Karpin (born 1979), Estonian footballer * Andra Neiburga (1957–2019), Latvian writer *Andra Day (born 1984), Amer ...

served as guest judge, alongside regular panelists

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

, and

Ross Mathews Ross Mathews (born September 24, 1979) is an American television host and personality. He first rose to fame as an intern and a correspondent for ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''; he was known as "Ross the Intern" on air. Mathews has appeared ...

. During the challenge, contestants were required to dance and lip-sync on the main stage as they portrayed various characters and other aspects of the burlesque. Leland assisted with the vocal recording process; choreography was supervised by Leslie Jordan. Both would appear in the performance portraying Christian and the Duke of Dickington, respectively.

Gabe Lopez Gabe Lopez is an American pop-rock singer/songwriter and producer. He is of Mexican and Irish descent. Signed to Universal Music Group as a songwriter and to Spectra Music Group as an artist, Lopez has produced and written for Belinda Carlisle, ...

produced the music. The runway theme was "Mirror, Mirror". RuPaul named Lady Camden the winner, while

Bosco Bosco may refer to: People Given name Bosco * Bosco (drag queen) (born 1993), Drag Queen * Bosco Lin Chi-nan (born 1943), Taiwanese bishop * Bosco Frontán (born 1984), Uruguayan soccer player * Bosco Hogan (born 1949), Irish actor * Bosco Lo ...

and

Jorgeous Jorgeous is the stage name of Jorge Meza, a drag performer most known for competing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14), season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Meza was born and raised to a Mexican Americans, Mexican American family in ...

placed in the bottom two. After lip-syncing to " Heartbreak Hotel (Hex Hector Remix)" by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

, Jorgeous was declared a winner but Bosco was saved from elimination due to "Golden Candy Bar" twist introduced early in the season.

Cast

Angeria Paris VanMicheals Angeria Paris VanMicheals (born July 25, 1993) is an American drag performer who competed on the fourteenth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Angeria Paris VanMicheals is from Sparta, Georgia. Career Angeria Paris VanMicheals is ...

as Charisma *

Saltine A saltine or soda cracker is a thin, usually square cracker usually made from white flour, sometimes yeast (although many are yeast free), and baking soda, with most varieties lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. It has perforations over its surf ...

Daya Betty Daya Betty is the stage name of Trenton Clarke, an American Drag (entertainment), drag performer who competed on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14), fourteenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Trenton Clarke was born in Springfield, ...

as Uniqueness * DeJa Skye as

Nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

as Talent *

Lady Camden Lady Camden is the stage name of Rex Wheeler, an English drag queen resident in the United States who competed on season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', placing as the runner-up and winning a cash prize of $50,000. Early life Wheeler was born in ...

as Mama Z *

Willow Pill Willow Patterson (born January 22, 1995), known by the stage name Willow Pill, is an American drag performer. She is best known as the winner of season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2022. Early life Patterson was raised in Denver, Colorado a ...

as Green Fairy

Results

Lip sync

: The contestant lost the lipsync but was revealed to possess the golden chocolate bar and was saved from elimination.

Reception

Stephen Daw of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote, "Season 14's installment of the annual Rusical challenge was, to borrow a phrase, spectacular-spectacular. With a clear-cut concept, some entertaining takes on RuPaul originals and a series of show-stopping performances, Moulin Ru will go down as one of the best Rusicals in the show’s herstory, come what may." Nola Ojomu of ''

PinkNews ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005. It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights aro ...

'' said "the Rusical "was hailed one of the best ever".

Xtra Magazine ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

's Kevin O’Keeffe called "Moulin Ru" "an absolute blast, and one of my favourite Rusicals ever". He wrote, "Yes, it’s another instance of Ru songs being remixed. But unlike in other cases, it makes sense here: ''Moulin Rouge!'' is all about mashing up and covering classic pop songs. Of course the Rusical version would have to feature Ru songs."

Soundtrack album

Alongside the airing of the episode, a 12-track soundtrack album was released with the music from the Rusical on 26 March.

References

{{Portal bar, LGBT, Television, United States 2022 American television episodes Moulin Rouge! RuPaul's Drag Race episodes Rusicals