Making Rusicals: Behind the Scenes of RuPaul's Drag Race's Best Challenge

When it comes to the great art of rusical theatre, perhaps no one knows more than Jamal Sims. The director/choreographer extraordinaire returned to RuPaul's Drag Race last night to take the helm of every theatre nerd's favorite challenge- the Rusical. This season, the queens tipped their hats (literally) to all things Oz in “The Wicked Wiz of Oz”- a timely tribute to all three musical titles following Wicked's epic resurgence onscreen. This Rusical put a dragified twist on the beloved characters, all wrapped up within the context of A Chorus Line... because why not?! 

This marks Sims sixth Rusical project since he started working on the show in 2014, and it is perhaps the most Easter eggy iteration yet, with homages to Michael Bennet's iconic movement and musical references to songs like "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three," "Sing!," "One," and "I Hope I Get It".

Read on as Sims checks in with BroadwayWorld to explain what goes into creating one of the most beloved moments of the Drag Race season!

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At what point do you enter the Rusical process as director/choreographer? Are you a part of conceptualizing at all, or is it handed to you after a certain point? 

I join the process after the music is done. After it's written and there's a temp track from top to bottom of everybody's parts. So as soon as the music's done, I enter in development of things like: what props are we using? What should the stage look like?

Well in that case, I'm sure you were happy this season to learn the subject matter of this one...

God, literally it was a dream! You just never know what you're gonna get. The show's so unpredictable! But The Wizard of Oz... The Wiz in general, was the thing that really made me wanna even be in the business. So the fact that I was able to do something like this with a film that just really inspired me to be here was just incredible.

I think that the thing that resonates with me with the Wizard of Oz is the idea of being home- wherever you are. We all have these fantastic journeys and sometimes things are great. Sometimes things are not so good... but if you can find a little bit of home wherever you are, that's the thing that I always take with me- wherever I am in the world or whatever project I'm doing... Hey, sometimes I get nervous! And I always go back to: how can I feel that feeling of being home? And I always seek to find that, whether it be people, music, whatever it is.

Of course, within any musical, casting is a very important element. And within the world of the Rusical, you don't have any part in that. How does that affect how you approach the material?

That's the hardest part of it! I could plan out a full thing and then get there and the talent that I'm working with is not what I expected. You have to totally redo it on the spot with the cameras on you. I actually feel like there should be a competition show for choreographers to be able to do a Rusical just because there's so many turns and unexpected challenges that come up. 

I'm coming in for the first time, never meeting any of these queens. Even if I had some sort of idea of the talent level or the dance ability, that would help me... but even so, I'm coming in totally blind, imagining what it could be. But then getting there and realizing, "Ok, we can't do that. Let's go try this instead."

I love watching you work with them, because I feel like you do a really good job of  figuring out their strengths and weaknesses and then building from there.

1000%. It's the only way that I would feel comfortable judging them is if I felt like they had a fair chance, you know? Because if I give them what I wanna do, it wouldn't always be fair. I don't want to see anyone fall on their face. And rightfully so because, you know, this is not America's best dance crew! They're drag queens. I'm not expecting them to be able to pick up every last step that I could ever imagine in my head. 

I just want it to be fair all the time. And I always want them to win, which is also probably not a great thing for me as a judge, but I do! I want every last one of them to succeed.

I thought the queens' casting this time was pretty on point! 

I totally agree. I was so happy. I was like, yes, y'all got it. 

Getting into more the specifics of this Rusical... I went into it thinking it was going to be just a mashup of The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz and Wicked... but that it's also totally in the context of A Chorus Line blew my mind! Did you have to explain that to any of the queens? Did they all get that reference off the bat? 

[Laughs] You know, I really didn't ask them, but I'm sure there were a couple of people like, "What is this?" But of course I knew. And actually, that is another one of my favorites! Like how could I get two of my favorite musicals at one time? 

Theatre people are going to live for all of the references. 

When I was sent the music, I remember dancing around the house, just jumping up and down, cause these are songs that I grew up with! Of course, they're not the exact songs, but we knew which ones they were referencing. I just think they did just an amazing job with the music. 

What's that like, riding that line of homage to the original? Obviously you didn't use Michael Bennet's exact choreography, but there were glimmers of it... 

It's funny because most of my career has been redoing a lot of older shows. So I've found myself always in those weird spaces where you wanna pay homage, but you don't want to copy, you know? I never want anybody to feel like I'm stealing their choreography, but I do love to pay homage. And I want it to be recognizable but also clear that it's a Jamal Simms interpretation. So what I'll do is I'll find the iconic moments... even if it's just move. Then I'll change the sequence, or I'll add something that switches up the vibe. I'm not trying to outdo; I'm not trying to recreate; I'm just trying to do what fits best for the story that we're trying to tell at that moment. 

What to you think is the key to winning this challenge? Is it nailing all of the moves and the words? Or is it flying by the seat of your pants but doing it with confidence and conviction?

It starts in your head. The minute that you start telling yourself you're gonna fail... you're gonna fail. How you speak to yourself is the most important thing. If you think "I'll make it through," you'll make it through! A lot of people start to look around the room and they start to see someone else doing really well... that's where the competition gets wild. When you start to compare yourself to the people around you, that's when you start to go down the rabbit hole and lose self-confidence and then it shows up in your performance. 

Do you feel so proud getting to watch what you created from the judges panel? 

Oh, totally. But it's funny because although I'm proud, I'm also like, "Please y'all, don't mess this up!" [Laughs] I know that the potential is there and I want them to make it through. 

Did you have a favorite part of this particular musical? 

You know what... the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man [played by Arrietty, Lexi Love, and Lana Ja'Rae], the connection between the three of them was somehow emotional for me! They really worked really well together and I love when that happens- when the queens come together and work as a team. I remember walking away feeling good about them.

There has a been a little bit of negativity from the queens this season towards the idea of being a "theater queen". I'm wondering from your perspective, is there anything that you think that drag queens can learn from theater or vice versa?

Both! Even just understanding the structure of theater is important. Even when you're performing at a club, theater is so detailed, and knowing how the small things really count can help a performance anywhere. I think thinking about it theatrically will always enhance  the audience's experience. Whether you just jump on a bar, and somebody slides you a glass, and how you bring it up... those little things that you learn in theater... they really make a difference, even in your club performances. I think that that is really important for the queens to learn.

And hey- there's a reason why these Broadway shows keep making millions and millions of dollars. It's because of the level of detail and the level of rehearsal and the production value. If you could bring that to the stage at any club in the world, people are going to love you and they're going to know what to expect- a level of professionalism.

I agree. I think that it really shows. 

I didn't grow up in the theater. Because I'm an LA native, its not like we got to go see shows all the time. It wasn't until I started dancing for musical artists that I got to travel to New York and whenever I did, I'd always go to whatever show was out.  I just have such a strong love for Broadway and a respect for the theater world. 

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New episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 air on Fridays, at 8pm on MTV. 

Photo Credit: MTV