We seem to have a lot of nostalgia for the 80's Hollywood comedies. Their implausible conditions that insight our heroes' journeys, outrageous obstacles in the way of solving their problems, and all the levity every Everyman can muster when seeking to obtain the stylishly mediocre. Problems didn't feel quite as life-or-death in those polaroid selfies with mannequin girlfriends, and unsurprisingly for the times, the Oscar-winning 1982 movie that put Dustin Hoffman's Dorothy Michaels in our slapstick hearts, giggled at the very real core of women's' issues. TOOTSIE the musical has, thankfully, updated and adjusted to our #metoo reality, and due to a few lines of feminist postering, there is appropriately (and a little awkwardly) some modern answers to ancient questions.
Set on today's Broadway stage, Michael, our hero, makes his decision to become Dorothy after one too many failed attempts to achieve an acting career as himself. His roommate explains that pretending to be a woman in order to take a job from a woman is pretty despicable. But Michael seems able to live with this until he falls in love with a woman.
Featuring a hilarious Tony-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony-winner David Yazbek, this New York Times Critic's Pick is described as a joyful delight by The Washington Post.
The Broadway creative team includes director Dave Solomon, choreography by Denis Jones, and associate choreographer Chip Abbott. The design team for includes original scenic designer David Rockwell, Christine Peters, costume design by William Ivey Long, associate costume designer Christopher Vergara, lighting designer Donald Holder, associate lighting designers Vivien Leone, Coby Chasman-Beck and assistant lighting designer Colleen Doherty. Sound was designed by Brian Ronan and associate sound designer Cody Spencer.
The cast is stellar. With Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels, Ashley Alexandra as leading lady Julia Nichols, Payton Reilly as ex girlfriend BFF Sandy Lester and Jared David Michael Grant as roomie Jeff Slater. Others included in the ensemble include Lukas James Miller, Kathy Halenda, Steve Brustein, and Adam du Plessis. Payton Reilly delivers a particularly expert and memorable patter in What's Gonna Happen, and Jared David Michael Grant has everyone in stitches with one look.
The musical comedy TOOSIE is indeed a light hearted and gut-grabbing hilarious respite for worldly problems, but ultimately, an opportunity to rewrite this narrative feels a bit missed. Even though this production has considerably updated the original 80s lens on women's issues, we're still watching a play about a man experience a man's experience, and it shows.
The Fox Theatre presented the TOOTSIE national tour for a limited one-week engagement from Jan. 25-30, 2022 to celebrate Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta's 40th anniversary season.
Photo: BRAVE Public Relations
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