Toot or boot?
It’s a toot! RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17 fan favoruite, crowned that season’s LaLaPaRuza winner and the Queen of She Done Already Done Had Herses, Suzie Toot, debuted her latest cabaret show—Suzie with a Z—at New York’s City Winery on Wednesday night ahead of a US tour. From the moment she appeared on our TV screens on Drag Race, I knew she was a queen that I wanted to see a lot more of and this effervescent one-woman show proves to be a hugely entertaining showcase for her talents. Opening in her adopted hometown of New York City, Toot will end her tour in Florida, the state that raised her, on August 2nd.
With simple staging and no costume changes—who needs them when you’re in a stunning showstopping red sequin flapper dress—Toot proves she doesn’t need any bells or whistles to dazzle or distract. Whether belting out a number, skillfully tap dancing, doing a bit (like removing an impossibly long evening glove upon her entrance), or riffing unscripted, Toot’s stage presence is captivating. She immediately establishes and fun and easy rapport with her adoring audience and never loses that connection throughout the show. There’s also a nice moment of voluntary on-stage audience participation too, that shows just how considerate, kind, and hilarious she is.
With a penchant for Vaudville and anything 1920s, Toot knows show business like no business I know. She’s a music history aficionado who doesn’t show off or geek out but rather warmly invites us in with that knowledge and her infectious passion shines through in every number as she channels her diva idols while delivering something unique. She’s got the smarts, the voice, the charm, and is an engaging storyteller who fully inhabits the world of each song on the eclectic lineup of tunes that she uses to sketch out her life as an entertainer so far.
Taking us through her drag origin story—performing to three generous-tipping elderly gentlemen at a now closed Wilton Manors, Florida bar, Monkey Business—Toot curates a delightful catalogue of songs that takes in the universally known and loved like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Rainow Connection” sung as medley, along with some forgotten gems which will be discoveries for most of the audience like the 1929 Ruth Etting hit “Mean To Me”.
Toot reflects on her season’s Snatch Game performance as Ellen Greene and redeems herself with a sublime pairing of a parody version of “It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green”—titled “It’s Not Easy Bein’ Ellen Greene” reflecting on her experience on that episode of Drag Race—and “Somewhere That’s Green” from Little Shop of Horrors. If this perforamnce is anything to go by she’d make a perfect Audrey in the current Off-Broadway production that Jinkx Monsoon did a sellout stint in back in 2024.
When it comes to musical theatre ambitions, Toot has Chicago and an imaginative concept for a revival of Sweet Charity in her sights. With her treating us to Roxie Hart’s sultry ballad “Funny Honey” from the former and Charity Hope Valentine’s joyously upbeat “I’m a Brass Band” from the latter. A convincing audition for any New York producers in the audience.
Something of a music history lesson, while we get to know the performer herself more intimately, Suzie with a Z is a real hoot. Not only is this an uplifting delight of a show, but Toot gets some poignant heartfelt moments in there too, effortlessly channeling the emotion of each number. Liza would surely be proud to have inspired this twentysomething diva-in-the-making to follow in her bedazzled tap shoes.
By James Kleinmann
Suzie Toot’s Suzie with a Z is on tour across the United States now through August 2nd, 2026. For more details and to purchase tickets head to whereissuzietoot.com. Follow Miss Toot on Instagram @suzie.toot.
Suzie with a Z – 2026 Tour Dates:
July 8 – New York, NY (City Winery)
July 9 – Philadelphia, PA (City Winery)
July 10 – Pittsburgh, PA (City Winery)
July 11 – Atlanta, GA (City Winery)
July 12 – Nashville, TN (City Winery)
July 15 – Boston, MA (City Winery)
July 16 – Hudson Valley, NY (City Winery)
July 19 – Dallas, TX (Addison Improv)
July 20 – Austin, TX (Cap City Comedy Club)
July 21 – Saint Paul, MN (Amsterdam Bar)
July 22 – Chicago, IL (City Winery)
July 23 – St. Louis, MO (City Winery)
July 26 – Phoenix, AZ (Stand Up Live)
July 27 – Seattle, WA (Emerald City Comedy Club)
July 28 – Portland, OR (Helium Comedy Club)
July 29 – Los Angeles, CA (Dynasty Typewriter)
August 2 – Fort Lauderdale, FL (Fort Lauderdale Improv)
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