AUSTIN (KXAN) — Suzie Toot, Lydia B. Kollins and Kori King were standouts on Season 17 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The three drag queens built on the friendship they developed while in the “werkroom” and are now touring with their own show, ButtTootKing.
Suzie Toot spoke exclusively to KXAN’s Freddy Vela about the show, how it was brainstormed into existence, and an interesting celebrity encounter at the The Emmys Awards.
Read an edited version of the conversation below, or use the video player above to listen.
Freddy Vela: Suzie, it’s been a wild few months for you since the show ended. How are you feeling? How has your life changed since being on the show?
Suzie Toot: Oh, my God, in every way imaginable. I feel so lucky and so privileged to just be able to do the art that I was doing before and what I wanted to be doing before at a much bigger scale, and with fans and people who get it and are smart and funny, and it’s just been the wildest ride ever.
Freddy: Do you feel like your drag esthetic has changed since being on the show?
Suzie: Definitely. I mean, I think the vision for Suzie Toot has always been there from the very, very beginning, but Drag Race and being exposed on a international platform really helped me to flesh out and look at different sides of Suzie and sides of myself and my art. Now Suzie is just is so much more than I ever thought that she could be.
Freddy: I have to talk about this. Your tap dancing on the show was iconic, especially during the lip syncs. So how does it feel looking back on that and being known for bringing tap to the main stage.
Suzie: It makes me so happy. I remember back home in Fort Lauderdale, that was how people knew me. Like I would always do at least one number in my shows where I was tap dancing and I’d be backstage, like rehearsing or like warming up my feet in the dressing room. So it was such a huge part of my reputation and my character up until that point. So the fact that that’s, like, one of my biggest moments on the show was, so, you know, everyone from back home was like, of course, it was that the only way it could be.
Freddy: You’ve discussed at length you know about your love of theater, and in fact, you actually have a degree in musical theater. So, you know, I’m gonna throw a little bit of a spitball here. What’s your favorite musical to watch?
Suzie: Little Shop of Horrors. Down boots. Easy. Little Shop is, I think, a perfect musical. The movie is so good, it’s so brilliant, and it’s the thing that let me know that musical theater can be weird and freaky and like that it’s for me.
Freddy: What’s the favorite musical you’ve ever performed in?
Suzie: Ooh, it’s tough, but I’m going to say 42nd Street. I got to do it regionally right before Drag Race, like in the year before, and it was such an affirming and cool. For those who don’t know, it’s very Suzie Toot. It is all 1920s Golden Era, fabulous costumes. It’s everything that I could possibly want in a show.
Freddy: Just recently, you were actually able to attend the Emmys, and you looked fantastic, by the way. Can you spill a little bit of tea and share any encounters with any celebrities? Did anyone actually come up to you and say hi that you were kind of surprised about?
Suzie: Oh my gosh. Okay, so the one for me, the gaggiest one, is we were all traveling like as a pack to enter the after party gala. Angela Bassett is walking in the opposite direction, clocks all of us and points to everybody and makes it very clear that she watched the season and is a fan of all of us. When she clocked me, she went “and you, oh my God,” and then came and took a picture, and I was so beyond gagged by that! That was the coolest thing in the world.
Freddy: That is so…. out of everyone, Angela!
Suzie: I’m such a huge American Horror Story fan. I think she is so brilliant. So, like, for, I don’t know it was really cool.
Freddy: That’s awesome! Okay, so I do need to switch gears now. The whole reason you’re here, let’s talk about the show with your three sisters from the show, Kori King and Lydia B Kollins. How did the concept of ButtTootKing come about?
Suzie: ButtTootKing, to me, is a complete thank you to the fans of the show and the fans of the three of us. The name ButtTootKing came from the fan sphere of putting us together as a trio. They loved seeing all the interactions between the three of us. And then when Kori and I did that lip sync in the Lollapalooza, we were the top two of the Lollapalooza, and we didn’t know who had won it yet. In my mind, I was like, that completes the triangle. Because obviously Kori and Lydia have this relationship. Suzie and Lydia have a friendship that was shown on the show, but Kori and Suzie only had that off of the show. So when the Lollapalooza happened, it was like, the triangle is complete. We have to go on tour. We have to do this. And that’s the birth of it.
Freddy: Hopefully they’re including you and you’re not third wheeling it.
Suzie: I saw a tweet once that said, “Susie isn’t the third wheel, she’s the driver.” And I was like, “Yeah! That tracks!”
Freddy: Talk to us about the show. You know, what can people look forward to if they decide to catch the show?
Suzie: You know, it’s a thank you to the fans, and in a lot of ways, it pays tribute to anybody who is a fan of us from the season. It’s also just a blend of our three very distinct, different drag styles, in a way that I think is massively entertaining. I think the show itself, and we had already done a couple tryouts of it, once in New York, once in Arkansas. Those were rock concerts. Those were the fans were the energy was electrifying. And so we took everything we did in that show and just beefed it up to 1000 so it’s really something you do not want to miss, really, truly.
Freddy: Are we going to get a bit of singing from Susie Toot?
Suzie: We may get a bit of live singing from Susie Toot, how very astute of you. I’m really pumped about my number. This is all in the month of October, so we, we definitely took to Halloween theming. We have some great spooky, scary, fabulous numbers, a costume contest that every single show so very encouraged to dress up and act a fool.
Freddy: Will this be your first time in Austin?
Suzie: I think it is. I was in Texas twice, but I don’t believe I’ve ever been in Austin, which is such a crime, so I’m thrilled to rectify that.
Freddy: You got to get barbecue while you’re here, by the way. Barbecue king of the world.
Suzie: Okay, okay, this is the information I need!
Freddy: If people want more details on the show or to purchase tickets, where’s the best place people can go to?
Suzie: You can go to, ButtTootKing.com but I happen to know that for for all of you in Austin, this our show is on the 10th of October at Empire Garage and showtime is 8pm get your tickets as soon as you can, because our cities are selling out like crazy, very, very cool. But yes, for information on the whole tour, ButtTootKing.com
Freddy: So I know you’re here to promote ButtTootKing, but that’s not the only time that you’re coming into Texas. Later on in the year, it was announced that you’re actually going to be part of A Drag Queen Christmas. How are you preparing for that. Are you ready? What can we look forward to in that?
Suzie: I mean, it’s crazy because I will be gone for all of October, so I’m prepping both tours at the same time. So just like all these production numbers, all these costumes, but I’m so excited about it. It’s going to be very like ButtTootKing is one side of Suzie, and the Christmas tour is a very other side of Suzie. So basically, you’re going to have to come to both, because let me tell you, Suzie Toot is not going to disappoint. All right.
Freddy: We love having you on hopefully we’ll see you on Broadway soon.
Suzie: I think that’d be fantastic. Well, here’s the hoping, baby.
Freddy: Suzie Toot, Kori King and Lydia B Kollins at Empire Garage on Friday, October 10. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today.
Suzie: Thank you so much, this was lovely!
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