Suzie Toot is phenomenal at letting her freak flag fly. After a sensational debut on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 17, Suzie Toot has solidified herself as an ultra-talented theater queen chasing big Broadway dreams.
Armed with a 20s Vaudevillian aesthetic and perfectly polished outfits, this Betty Boop and Lucille Ball-loving performer continues to eagerly make her mark on stages around the world. However, this summer’s “Suzie with a Z” promises to transport us to her beloved Jazz Age like never before.
We chatted about this highly anticipated one-woman cabaret, all the colorful costumes fans wear to her shows, and her rocketing confidence that may just earn her a Tony Award someday.
So.Gay: Why are theater queens kind of the best, and how are you translating that into your new show?
Suzie Toot: I mean, theater is funny, with all the distinctions and archetypes and everything. But to me, theater queens like Varla Jean Merman, Coco Peru, Jinkx Monsoon, and Charles Busch are the drag artists I fell in love with and consider the peak of drag. So many drag queens cannot compare to what they’ve achieved or the comfort of sitting down for a show, knowing the queen you’re watching just has it. She’s going to sing, dance, and do absolutely everything. All you have to do is sit back and watch, and it will be good and enjoyable. That’s drag. That’s peak drag to me.
So.Gay: How does it feel bringing that energy on the new tour?
Suzie Toot: It feels huge. It’s cool because I’ve been touring for some time now, and I’m really fortunate to say that I have been able to do so. In October, we had ButtTootKing, which went right into the Christmas tour, then the Catwalk in January, and then ButtTootKing in Europe and Australia. But this is my first solo tour, the first time it’s just me and my act completely. I feel so lucky to get to do it. I’m glad there are enough people out there who want to see it, making it all possible. When I did a prototype version of the show called “If You Knew Suzie” last year in Provincetown, I had never finished a show and felt more gratified and excited and like I did something. It was something only I could do, something only I could have achieved. I’m excited to see what the next evolution of that will be, and I’m excited for others to experience it. I know what it is.
So.Gay: How have things changed since competing on Drag Race 17 and winning the Lalaparuza?
Suzie Toot: Oh man, it’s been crazy. I walked away from filming Drag Race because we filmed the Lalaparuza and the finale much later. I tried to reassure myself that I did a good job, but I wasn’t sure. The ending was just so sad that it colored the experience. When I went back with a clear head and understood how I was being received, actually being among audiences and shifting my mindset to come back and do a good job, I felt so proud of that. I’m proud of the comeback story, proud to put a clean button on it, and then to have the perfect launch pad to go off and do everything I want to do with Suzie. Even stuff I didn’t even realize I wanted to do. So much of the Lalaparuza was me exploring a different avenue and seeing what would work. At the end of the day, I’m so proud of what came out of Drag Race and so happy to now stand in front of it. I feel a big part of the show is me stepping away from the Drag Race machine a little bit. I’ve had a great time following the machine and doing what I need to do post-season. But now it’s like the dust has settled, there’s a whole new winner, like season 18 is over. So it’s like, who is Suzie completely on her own? Uninhibited and untethered now.
So.Gay: It seems like you’ve grown so much since your Drag Race time. What advice are you taking with you into this next chapter?
Suzie Toot: I think a big thing for me before Drag Race was that I never really hosted. It’s really hard in South Florida to get gigs with a microphone because it’s usually talent spots and competition shows. I didn’t fully trust myself to come up with the right thing to say in the moment. I was so nervous about that, and the more I got in my head, the worse I would do in whatever challenge. After the show, with ButtTootKing, all three of us host every time we do a bar gig.
They hand you the mic for 10 minutes to say hi to the audience, and I found so much joy and fun in that. The advice I constantly tell myself is that you will know what to say in the moment, because whatever you come up with is what you were meant to say. I think that’s advice that goes well beyond drag, because it’s hard to plan for something that isn’t scripted. So I just trust myself, and there’s so much stand-up comedy and storytelling in this show. It went from something I was terrified of to something that is now my favorite part.
So.Gay: How do you take over the stage with so much confidence?
Suzie Toot: When I did “If You Knew Suzie” before PTown, we had a tryout in Minneapolis, which is one of my favorite cities. Before I went out to do that show, I genuinely felt like I was jumping off a bridge. There have only been very few times in my life that I’ve felt like that. I didn’t know what was going to happen; there were a lot of people there, and it could have gone badly. I had to prepare for the possibility that it might not work out. That’s OK. We had time to work on it before PTown. It ended up being one of my favorite shows of my entire life. I just had to step out, jump off the bridge, and it turned out I had a parachute. Who knew?
So.Gay: You describe your drag as a cross between Betty Boop and Lucille Ball. How do you honor them in your upcoming tour?
Suzie Toot: Betty Boop, for me, is a big aesthetic reference. Without spoiling anything, the costume for this tour is very classic, kind of the ideal and the dream of Suzie. Whenever I get to do a look like that, it makes me very, very happy. But it’s also very fresh and seen through new eyes. As for Lucille Ball, and again, without giving too much away, I’ve been watching a lot of I Love Lucy. My favorite part of I Love Lucy is that she is such a fan of traditional vaudeville and clownery that there’s always at least one act in every episode. It’s just traditional vaudeville: the screen is the stage, it’s only in these four walls, and they do something brilliant. I do borrow from that. It’s one of those things where I saw it years ago and thought, “I want to do that in a show. I can do that.” And then finally, the opportunity presented itself. There’s a lot of stuff like that, so big fans of I Love Lucy will know exactly what it is. On this last tour, when Lydia, Kori, and I were traveling through Europe and Australia, I performed my solo number live, ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Dime,’ which is the cover I put out with the first episode. The way the first notes would play and then everyone would scream, it’s like, this is Yip Harburg, this is 1930s America. This is the anthem of the Great Depression. The excitement of young people, who otherwise might have no idea, or maybe they do, who knows, is incredible. I think that’s me contributing to the world in some way: putting the art that came before on people’s minds, and maybe inspiring them to create their own kind of nonsense. I scrape the bottom of the barrel, finding music that nobody has ever heard. I am a freak. There are these funny, funny songs from the early 20th century, and getting audiences to laugh at them is so cool. It transcends time. There’s something about that, and I’m excited for you to hear some of these.
So.Gay: Would Broadway be in your future? Do you have a dream role we can manifest?
Suzie Toot: Absolutely. First, I want to say that Broadway is the dream, but to me, the real goal is to be doing theater at the highest level that I can. I love theater so much, and Broadway is just one institution of theater. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to have my Broadway debut. Of course. But right now, and actually, I’m wearing Rocky Horror merch, I’m obsessed with this new production of Rocky Horror. It’s so fantastic. An absolute dream would be to play Columbia on Broadway. That would be great. And MJ Rodriguez is so fabulous in it, so I wouldn’t want to usurp her. Just kindly follow behind her.
So.Gay: A tasteful takeover after they’re done with their time.
Suzie Toot: Exactly. I hope this production of Rocky runs for years and years. We’re all rooting for Sam Pinkleton and the crew because I just think it’s incredible what they’re doing. It’s so good to have it here. Good that it exists on Broadway, and that people are seeing it live for the first time. We’re in an era of so many incredible revivals, and I love new works and original works, but I can’t lie—I’m excited to see ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ at Encores; they just announced it.
So.Gay: Back to the tour, is there anything else that fans can expect that maybe we haven’t gone over yet?
Suzie Toot: Oh, my brain just suddenly turned into juice. It happens. But I’m really excited to get back out there, because “If You Knew Suzie” was so limited in its scope. We did a couple of cities here and there, and then had this fabulous P Town run. But now I get to come back to cities, with this being my fourth time touring the US with different shows. I guess what excites me is coming back to these cities where I previously only did a couple of fun lip sync numbers and hung out. Now, they get to experience true cabaret Suzie, which to me is like the mega-evolved, ultimate-form Suzie. So, what I want to say is: if you’ve seen me out on the road before, I’m sure you had a good time then. I don’t do bad shows. But this isn’t that. This is a new, fuller experience: all live singing, all live tap dancing. And I implore you to come on down.
So the entire month of October, we will be on tour, and that’s going to be wildly different from my past work. It’s going to be a rock concert Halloween extravaganza. That’s another thing in the US you can look out for if you need some more Suzie in your life. It’s so much fun touring with them, and the fans of ButtTootKing are incredible because it’s completely a fan-made creation. The fans who come out bring so much energy, especially when everyone is in costume, dressed as the most ridiculous things, trying to out-niche each other. Everyone’s costumes are seven layers deep. It’s really a blast. So if you don’t make any other Halloween plans, I think ButtTootKing is a really good one to go to.
So.Gay: Sounds like a hot ticket. Did they teach you anything from touring together?
Suzie Toot: I mean, Kori’s not the person to go to if you’re looking for professionalism. Just kidding, I love so much that the three of us aren’t party girls when we go to a new city. You have local queens or venue staff always asking, “Where are you going tonight?” And we’re just like, “Yeah, nowhere.” Being with two people who understand that, and feeling no shame about wanting to be rested and ready for the next show, and being polite to everyone because we’re not hungover. That’s the best.
I think that’s part of what has taken our tours and careers so far. Performing with Bosco, Alyssa Edwards, and Shea Coulee on the main stage… It’s insane. I can’t believe I get to do that. I feel like I came out of that experience almost as evolved as I was from Drag Race, because you learn so much so quickly. You see how they carry themselves, little makeup tips, all the small things. It’s really exciting, and just the feeling of being a part of the Drag Race extended universe has been so cool. These tours have been awesome.
So.Gay: What do fans wear to your shows?
Suzie Toot: It’s funny because it’s really two different experiences. As soon as the clown look came out in episode five, I remember it started circulating on Twitter again, which I love. After that, people began coming to my shows in white clown makeup. Then, even more so when Lalaparuza aired. I started calling myself the insane clown posse of drag because it was like a sea of people, all clowned up in different variations and colors. I thought that was so cool and so punk rock. I’ve always encouraged “Suzie with a Z” to have a sophisticated, older audience (which I love.) But right at the front, there are always lesbians in full clown makeup.
So.Gay: You attract a wide net. It’s great you’ll be in more conservative states and bring the party.
Suzie Toot: Every day of my life, I try to become more and more that freak. But people see, you know, young people see what I’m doing on TV and see me standing up to perceived bullies. I love all of them so much, but they see that, and they really like it, and they take that with them, and they are inspired by it. So I feel a duty to be as weird as I possibly can.
Get tickets to Suzie Toot’s tour — tickets are now live on her site, here.
