Tayce, who is an instant favourite of mine based on these first two episodes, is in many ways the opposite of Lawrence. Getting some criticism early resets her arc a bit, and gives her the chance to grow. Early favourites tend to earn fanbase ire if they’re overpraised by the judges. To me, though, this is the best thing that could happen to Lawrence. Seriously, this is a tough challenge to judge.) But Lawrence gets the most editing focus, seemingly because it’s such a twist of events after doing so well last week. (And that’s saying something, considering Tayce still kills a great bit of her choreography. It’s pretty obvious Cherry and Tayce will be the bottom two, as they faded into the background in the challenge. Unfortunately, like many other queens this week, her runway falls flat and she just misses the win. She plays the Grizabella-esque character, a former lab rat who seeks validation despite the giant ear growing on her back-and stuns. She has plenty of competition, though! Tia Kofi, who assigns the roles for the Rusical, earns plaudits for her casting choices. She earns 10s across the board, and secures the challenge win. On the runway, in a “Surprise Surprise” category, Veronica serves Stepford Wife realness, transforming from a ’50s housewife into a sleek gold robot. Her Evita is seductive toward Asttina’s ingénue rat Jane, and despite presenting like a shy wallflower in her confessionals, Veronica really comes alive while performing. There are stronger dancers in the cast-Asttina Mandella and Tayce both jump to mind-but Veronica really acts as she dances. Veronica also thrives in choreography rehearsal with instructors Jay Revell and Kieran Daley Ward. Veronica is a fighter, having appealed to get her role (“Evita,” in a reference to another ALW musical) over Cherry, and making the absolute most of it. They do a great job of isolating what each of the girls needs, noting that theatre queen Veronica Green has a particularly impressive register. Michelle Visage, reminding us that she’s performed in the West End (in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, I say in my best Vinegar Strokes voice), works with the girls with the help of her vocal coach, Dane Chalfin. My favorite Rusical episodes really show off the work that goes into putting them together, from working on vocals to choreography. That they can back this up with really delivering in the challenges-if not quite as well on the runway yet-is a sign that this season will be one for the record books. This group really gels, and they’re already giving us both light and heavy storylines absolutely packed with cast charisma. They go from joking around to a serious conversation not because it’ll make for good TV, but because Sister is sincerely interested in learning more about her new friend. Unlike other “mirror moments,” which have long been derided by the fandom for feeling inauthentic, this real and vulnerable moment comes about thanks to Cherry and Sister’s genuine, growing friendship. She talks about how toxic masculinity in her family and community keep her, even now, from being proud of being gay, and admits she can’t talk openly with her father about it. This isn’t just presented as an interesting character detail it’s significantly unpacked to reveal how it has affected Cherry as a gay man. They’re also very open about themselves, as we see this week when Cherry Valentine tells Sister Sister about her experience growing up in a traveling community. Each queen’s style feels distinct, and they all have strong senses of humour. The Drag Race UK Season 2 cast is impressing me in a big way. There are clear standouts, but even those who perform “badly” would be at least safe in many other Rusical challenges. The result is one of the better Rusicals, executed quite well by this season’s cast. The lyrics poke fun at all the absurdities of the Cats movie-the CGI! the nonsense plot!-but still retains tremendous affection for the show and its composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. “Rats: The Rusical” is the latest in a line of musical challenges on Drag Race-however, as one of the few that requires live singing, it’s truer to the spirit of the original challenge from Season 6 (similarly called, “Shade: The Rusical”). All of a sudden, I’m back in an Alamo Drafthouse theatre, screaming at the screen as “ Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat” begins. Yet the second RuPaul announces that the queens will be performing “Rats: The Rusical” in this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, I’m transported. Remember the start of 2020? When COVID-19 hadn’t overtaken our lives? When the start of a new decade promised new possibilities? When Cats was the cinematic disaster that fans couldn’t stop hate-watching? It feels so long ago.
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