"Tootsie," the giddy, candy-coated musical adaptation of the popular 1982 movie that starred Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange and Terri Garr comes to the stage with such a nostalgic, unstoppable mindset, the very idea of a straight male putting on a dress and masquerading as a woman with a full-on Equity card membership is jiggered happily to perfection with the gait, twirl, spin and luster of bygone Broadway- and then some.
As musical theatre, its gender-bending plotline is easy to digest or swallow, if you prefer, because it's really all in good fun - i.e., designed solely for entertainment purposes and nothing more.
And just in case you missed it on Broadway back in 2019 at the Marquis Theatre, the Bushnell - grand and glorious with a mammoth proscenium stage and sound system like no other - is the perfect place to enjoy it just the way it was meant to seen when it first played New York four years ago and received 11 Tony Award nominations including Best Musical and won two - Best Performance by a Leading Actor and Best Book of a Musical.
The National Tour on the road through June 2023 - and perhaps even longer - abounds with giggles galore - in both style and content - mixed and stirred with considered update, emotion, thought and man-in-a-dress hysteria.
The sets, designed by David Rockwell and flanked by breathtaking views of New York City's skylines, are slick, colorful and ingeniously atmospheric.
William Ivy Long's costume design - modern day, Renaissance and 1950's-like Balenciaga - is smart, savvy and specified couture.
The lighting palate, the brainchild of Don Holder, recalls the old-fashioned Broadway musical when Gwen Verdon, Jerry Orbach, Carol Channing and Angela Lansbury were center stage. It is beautiful to the eye and framed with direct, definite narrative inspiration.
Transferring "Tootsie" from screen to stage, playwright Robert Horn gives "the man dressing up as a woman to land an important role" concept a wise, well-fueled update by moving the story from the set of a television soap opera to the rehearsal hall of a brand, new Broadway musical in progress. This, in turn, allows for lots of candor, sarcasm, wit and plenty of inside jokes aimed at actors, producers, auditions, rehearsals, leading ladies, casting directors, writers, backers, reality stars, etc.
It's a topic Horn knows inside out (he also won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical) and one that produces laughs in all the right places.
Almost everything is pretty much fact based - no surprise there - as Horn turns up the heat on the Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels story while layering the many "Tootsie" subplots with acidic and outrageous banter guaranteed to piss off members of the Broadway theatre world and its snarky, double-talking elite.
Musically, "Tootsie" is set afire with music and lyrics by acclaimed composer David Yasbeck whose Broadway credits include "The Full Monty," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "The Band's Visit." Here, he creates a variety of accessible, pleasant-sounding musical numbers that propel the action forward with rapt equality, signature and melody. They are: "Opening Number," "Whaddya Do," "What's Gonna Happen," "Whaddya Do (reprise)," "I Won't Let You Down," "I'm Alive," "There Was John," "I Like What She's Doing," "Who Are You?" "What's Gonna Happen (reprise)," "Unstoppable," "Jeff Sums It Up," "Gone, Gone, Gone," "Who Are You? (reprise)," "This Thing," "Whaddya Do (reprise)," "The Most Important Night of My Life," "Talk to Me Dorothy," "Arrivederci!" "What's Gonna Happen (reprise)" and "Thank You/Talk to Me Dorothy (reprise)."
The score itself - sweet, hummable and pleasant-sounding show music - is lighthearted and family-friendly - filled to the brim with snappy vocals and ensemble numbers that happily portray the musical's innate sense of comedy, its character-driven renaissance, its channeled charm and its faultless giddyap. At the same time, it's not in the same league as "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" or "The Band's Visit." It's also not something you'd be rushing off to buy from amazon.com anytime soon. It is what it is and that's entirely o.k. Music supervisor Dean Sharenow captures the romantic symphonism of it all with drive, energy, sound and lyrical directness.
Staging "Tootsie," director David Solomon, working from a blueprint of the original Broadway direction by Scott Ellis, is wholeheartedly committed to the musical's standard recipe for success - pure laughter; fun storyline; entertaining accompaniment. For the National Tour edition of the two-act musical, he brings flair, opportunity and eyebrow raise to the piece, punctuated by peppy pacing, swoony melodrama, laugh-a-minute giggling and crafty intoxication. He makes great use of the ensemble - one of the best groups of performers out there - who play a variety of different roles while doubling most effectively as the scene change crew. Also effective is Denis Jones' Broadway style choreography, which, in this go-round, peaks and sizzles with uniformed, undeniable chemistry by every single performer on stage.
"Tootsie" stars Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels, Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols, Payton Reilly as Sandy Lester, Matthew Rella as Max Van Horn, Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater and Adam Du Plessis as Ron Carlisle.
In the dual role of Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels, Drew Becker brings the right comedic style to the musical, which, in turn, prompts hilarious laughter in all the right places. He has such great fun in the role, it's easy to get swept up in the Michael/Dorothy story and everything it has to offer. Ashley Alexandra, who plays Julie, the romantic leady lady of the new Broadway musical "Juliet's Curse" and the love interest of Michael/Dorothy, is a standout both vocally and acting wise. As Sandy, Michael's angst-ridden, girlish friend who can't seem to get an acting gig, Payton Reilly's neurotic persona and line delivery is right on point as is her splendid delivery of "What's Gonna Happen," a hilariously written and replayed patter song that paints her obvious neuroses in full-fledged, giggly, manic mania.
Max Van Horn, a young, handsome, dumber-than-dumb reality star with a hot body he continually shows off by dropping his shirt multiple times, Matthew Rella not only stops the show with "This Thing," a full-on, big comic number, but comes to "Tootsie" with a natural, raw energy that makes his studly character stand out every time he's on stage. As Michael's roommate Jeff Slater, Jared David Michael Grant hams it up with perfectly synched deadpan delivery and shading that's well worth watching and cheering.
In the weeks ahead: "Hadestown" (March 7-12), "Tina - The Tina Turner Musical" (April 11-16) and "Jagged Little Pill" (May 9-14).
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