Within the season premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17, Suzie Toot wowed the judges, her fellow contestants, and viewers with a faucet routine that proved she has critical dance chops. Her side-splitting Morse code interpretation of the Gettysburg Deal with secured her the season’s first win, and unleashed a wave of latest followers.
Ms. Toot—born Benjamin Shaevitz—is not any stranger to the highlight: In 2023 she opened for Chappell Roan at Roan’s live performance in Fort Lauderdale. Toot took a second to speak about her love for faucet, the overwhelming response to her faucet quantity on “Drag Race,” her current touring, and what she’s manifesting for the long run.
What first drew you to faucet dancing?
I first found it as a sophomore in highschool, once I was solid in a manufacturing of Mary Poppins. The yr earlier than, I’d been in one other present and was a horrible dancer. None of us within the solid of Mary Poppins had tapped earlier than, however I picked it up shortly. That gave me the drive to essentially dig into faucet dancing. I began finding out and I by no means appeared again.
You’re a well-rounded dance and theater performer. What do you like about faucet particularly?
There’s a stylishness and coolness to faucet dancing that I actually join with. If you do it efficiently, it simply feels good—it’s sturdy and highly effective.
How did you begin to incorporate faucet into your drag?
By means of faucet, I found the unbelievable divas of the [19]20s and ’30s, and have become obsessive about their type. I needed to be Betty Boop or Clara Bow—and why not decide up a pair of faucet heels and begin hoofing it? The items all got here collectively, and including the faucet component to my performances in bars was recent and thrilling.
What has been the response to your faucet routine on “Drag Race”?
It has been unbelievable. I feel it resonated as a result of it was one thing folks hadn’t actually seen on the present earlier than.
I’ve additionally had quite a lot of Broadway-adjacent folks and tap-focused Instagram pages attain out and remark, which has been validating. It has been superb to attach with the faucet neighborhood and see them embrace what I’m doing.
Who’re your faucet idols?
Debbie Reynolds, Eleanor Powell, and Ruby Keeler are enormous influences. I really like Debbie Reynolds’ exaggerated femininity, and I attempt to channel it in my performances. She’s making enjoyable of the female types of the ’20s, and I’m making enjoyable of her making enjoyable of them. I’m additionally an enormous fan of the Nicholas Brothers and their unbelievable athleticism and showmanship.
You’ve been touring the nation these days—how has that have been for you?
I’m performing in a brand new metropolis virtually each Friday, and it has been superb to expertise the completely different drag scenes throughout the nation, from Florida to New York to the Midwest. Attending to journey and do my artwork has been a dream, and other people get so excited in regards to the faucet dancing.
I’ve plans to do much more large-scale tap-focused performances, whether or not that’s in YouTube movies, stay exhibits, and even Broadway-style productions the place dance is de facto the central focus.
Do you may have a specific present in thoughts on your debut on the Nice White Approach?
The Broadway revival of Candy Charity, starring Suzie Toot. I’m manifesting it now.
