TOOTSIE Continues Way Off Broadway's 30th Anniversary Season

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre will continue its blockbuster 30th Anniversary Season this summer with the new comedy musical Tootsie, opening June 21st.   

Tootsie is the hilarious award-winning musical based on one of the funniest comedic films of all time, in which Michael Dorsey is a skilled actor with a talent for not keeping a job. Desperate and out-of-work, he makes a last-ditch effort at making his dreams come true...by disguising himself as actress Dorothy Michaels. In a meteoric rise to Broadway stardom, Dorothy soon has audiences falling at her feet while Michael (disguised as Dorothy) is falling for his co-star.

The musical is a stage adaptation of the 1982 Columbia Pictures film starring Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, and Dabney Coleman.  It was an instant box office success, becoming the second highest grossing film of the year (behind E.T. the Extra Terrestrial), as well as garnering countless awards and nominations.

Even with the popularity of the film, and the growing penchant to turn hit movies into musicals, Tootsie did not arrive on the stage until it premiered in Chicago in the fall of 2018, almost forty years after the movie's release. The production then headed to Broadway where it began previews on March 29, 2019 at the Marquis Theatre, officially opening April 23rd. Both the Chicago try-out and Broadway production starred Santino Fontana as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels.

As did the movie, the stage show went on to receive numerous award nominations including 11 Tony nominations (2 wins), 10 Outer Critics Circle nominations (2 wins), and 11 Drama Desk nominations (4 wins). Fontana took home all three awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.

 When Tootsie finally closed on Broadway in 2020, it had played 25 previews and nearly 300 regular performances. Following its New York run, a national tour was launched, as well as announcements of a number of international productions.

 “Our goal for Way Off Broadway's 30th Anniversary Season,” says Justin M. Kiska, the theatre's Managing Director, “was to put together a line-up of shows that included some of the newest and biggest name shows to hit Broadway in recent seasons, and that's exactly what we were able to do.  Diana, Tootsie, and Anastasia are three of the newest shows to be licensed to regional theatres. And we're thrilled they are a part of our anniversary season.”  

 Leading the cast at Way Off Broadway will be Jarod Glou as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels. Glou made his WOB debut last season starring as Monty Navarro in the theatre's box office smash-hit production of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.  He will be joined onstage by Amy Cajigas as Julie Nichols, Bob Gudauskas as Jeff Slater, Lizzie Bartlett as Sandy Lester, Robert Howard as Ron Carlisle, Kyle Donovan as Max Van Horn, Megan Elizabeth West as Rita Marshall, and Justin M. Kiska as Stan Fields.  Rounding out the cast will be Christopher DeOcampo, Grace Guzman, Jonah Milam, Wil Spaeth, Will van Deventer, Olivia Wynne, and Shelby Young.

Tootsie has music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Robert Horn.  Way Off Broadway's production is under the direction of the theatre's Executive Producer, Bill Kiska, with music direction by Tina M. Bruley, and choreography by Mallory Rome.

Tickets

The show will run throughout the summer from June 21st until August 24th, with performances every Friday and Saturday evening, and matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month. Ticket prices for dinner and the show are $56 on Fridays, $60 on Saturdays, and $59 on Sundays.  For the evening performances, doors open for dinner at 6:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 8:00 p.m.  On Sundays, lunch begins at 12:30 p.m. with the show starting at 2:15 p.m.

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