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Fasten your seat belts, drag queen fans, the one and only Hedda Lettuce is back at Coco Cabaret, and she’s celebrating her tenth anniversary of live performances here in Puerto Vallarta with a hilarity and style that’s all her own.
Miss Lettuce is appearing for a second spectacular season at the stunning Coco Cabaret. Her all new show titled, “Dressing on the Side!” opened recently for the 2025-2026 season to rave reviews. The performance is a must see spectacular that features Hedda’s one of a kind musical renditions, biting improv, and over the top stand-up comedy that will leave her audience craving more.
In an effort to learn the story of Hedda Lettuce, I had the honor of meeting the grande dame of PV Comedic Drag on a breezy, late November afternoon at the Bean and Brick Coffee Lounge. Hedda arrived exquisitely dressed, with her two small dogs in tow, exclaiming “it’s hard being a single mother with two Chihuahuas.”
As our conversation began, one question kept popping into my mind, how did all the stars align to give us, her fans, this once in a lifetime talent? My query was answered in spades, as Miss Lettuce first shared details of her out of this world new show, and then wove the tale of her life into a kaleidoscope of gaiety.
We began the enlightening discussion in true seven course style with “Dressing on the Side!” Miss Lettuce began by sharing some of her all time favorite songs that are featured prominently in her new show. True classics such as; “The Queen of Green,” “Gringa in Paradise,” “The Carpets Match the Drapes,” “You Can’t Drink With A Dick in Your Mouth,” and a special song written just for this season’s show titled appropriately, “Dressing on the Side,” will all be rapturously performed.
Hedda explained “I write a lot of my own music, I work with a great composer in New York named Paul Leschen, I write the lyrics, then I hum what I hear, I record it, and then Paul puts it to music.”
Sharing one of the secrets of her success, Hedda declared, “With three simple questions to the audience, comedic gold happens; what is your name, where are you from, and what do you do?”
The questions create an instant bond between performer, and audience, as jokes flourish organically throughout the entire show.
Hedda explained, “No matter how many times you come to a Hedda Lettuce show, it’s different every single time, just like a snowflake, no performance is ever the same.”
Miss Lettuce continued, “It’s not just about the comedy itself, it’s the whole package, the lights, the music, the sway, the spontaneity, the glitter, the laughter, it’s like an old school Aunt that doesn’t have a filter, and loves it that way,”
Moving onto the scrumptious main course, we then delved into the incredible life of the one and only Miss. Hedda Lettuce. Born and raised in the borough of Queens, New York, the as yet unnamed future star was an art major in the early 1990s studying a dying craft called fashion illustration. She would travel with friends into Manhattan, to the East Village on the weekends; there they would check out the drag shows where Hedda was bitten by the drag bug.
“I just fell in love with it,” she exclaimed.
A favorite haunt was The Boy Bar, which Hedda fondly recalled was “like a drag making factory.”
Thinking back to her past performances, I asked Hedda where she got her shtick, what influenced her?
Miss Lettuce’s answer was deeply emotional, “I think I developed my sense of comedy from some of the TV shows that my Father used to watch, he loved comedy shows like; The Carol Burnett Show, Monty Python, The Benny Hill Show, and Bosom Buddies, I really credit that kind of talent with building my foundation.”
Hedda continued, “The persona is a combination of those cutting edge TV shows, and all the incredible talent that helped shape me growing up in New York, the greats such as; Sherry Vine, Varla G. Merman, Lady Bunny, Faux Pas, Miss. Understood, and last but not least, Candis Cayne.”
Hedda smiled, recalling those years, “I loved them all,” she said.
I then posed a question I had always wanted to ask, how was the name Hedda Lettuce conceived?
Hedda smiled, and recalled, “In those days the drag queens had more puns in their names, so I wanted something really catchy, believe it or not, the name came to me in a dream,” she continued, “I had a girlfriend named Cindy Campo, and she was really a pop culture aficionado, I told Cindy about the name and she immediately said, “that’s stupid,” I said, “well it may be stupid, but it’s very catchy, and that is how Hedda Lettuce was born.”
Hedda then won a drag competition several times called The Mona Foot Star Search held weekly at The Crow Bar, also located in the East Village. This was the spark that really catapulted her career, as success after success followed.
Hedda starred in a Cable TV show in the 1990s called The Hedda Lettuce Show. She appeared on The People’s Court in 1996, walking into the courtroom in full drag as former New York Mayor Ed Koch looked on from the bench, where he was presiding as the Judge.
Hedda explained, “Bubbles (another drag queen) was my sidekick, and a witness for “The Case of What a Drag,” which I won, by the way, Hedda laughed recalling it all. “It was gay TV before there was gay TV,” she exclaimed. An appearance on Sex in the City followed, with Hedda starring as a hostess in a drag bingo parlor, the episode was outrageously titled “Old Dogs New Dicks,” Season Two.
Appearing on Project Runway, on the Bravo Network, Hedda played a villain in an episode that also included; Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, and none other than RuPaul, who was a judge on the show.
I suddenly asked, “how did you find Puerto Vallarta, when did PV come into your life?”
Hedda shared, “I came here in 2014, I was working on a cruise ship called STD at Sea.” I laughed, as she continued, “What propelled me here was seeing posters of my contemporaries, other drag queens, working here and performing, I thought why am I not working here, in this magical place.”
Two years later an email arrived from the former owner of ACT 2 PV. He invited Hedda to do a run there, which she did, working at the venue for some years before moving to The Palm Cabaret and Bar in 2023, and then opening Coco Cabaret in 2024. Hedda can be found every Saturday calling bingo at La Catrina Cantina from 4 to 6 p.m. Miss Lettuce raises money for charity while simultaneously giving her audience a delightful afternoon in an intimate setting.
The day was moving on, and Hedda wanted to be certain to show her gratitude for all the people that have made these ten incredible years in Puerto Vallarta possible.
She commented, “I want to give my thanks to the entire staff and management team at Coco Cabaret for the incredible opportunity they have provided to me.”
Pausing, she continued, “Most of all, I want to share my appreciation to this exceptional community that keeps live theater truly alive.”
Concluding with a final thought, so prescient for our time, Hedda noted, “people just want to laugh, they want to forget the world for an hour or so, and when they join in a Hedda Lettuce extravaganza, they will experience a fun and joyful reprieve from the insanity of life.”
Show Times for Hedda Lettuce, “Dressing on the Side!” are every Thursday at Coco Cabaret. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m.
In January 2026, a Sunday performance will be added. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m.. Please check the Coco Cabaret website for details.
This story is from the Winter 2026 issue of Out & About PV. Check out the complete print edition here.
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