Payton Reilly
![]() Bio:
Sandy Lester in the National Tour of Tootsie.
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Latest News on Payton Reilly
Payton Reilly News

by Theresa Bertram - Jan 18, 2023
What did our critic think of TOOTSIE at Robinson Center?

by Mary Lincer - Nov 26, 2022
What did our critic think of TOOTSIE at Capital One Hall?

by Jay Pateakos - Oct 27, 2022
What did our critic think of TOOTSIE: THE COMEDY MUSICAL at Providence Performing Arts Center?

by Stephi Wild - Oct 19, 2022
The newly renovated State Theatre New Jersey presents the hilarious Tony Award-winning musical, Tootsie, for four performances on Friday, November 4 at 8pm; Saturday, November 5 at 2pm and 8pm; and Sunday, November 6 at 2pm. Tickets range from $40-$98.

by Greer Firestone - Oct 2, 2022
It was with some trepidation that I began my interview with Payton Reilly, star of TOOTSIE, the musical set to begin a 3 day run at The Playhouse on October 6. One of Payton’s acting credits was an off Broadway production of WILD WOMEN OF PLANET WONGO. How does one prepare for this? Is there a language of wongoise?

by Colin Fleming-Stumpf - Sep 23, 2022
What did our critic think of TOOTSIE at Rochester Broadway Theatre League? The Rochester Broadway Theatre League begins its 2022-2023 M&T Bank Broadway season with something fun and splashy, a perfect date night musical based on one of the 1980s' most beloved pop culture gems. 'Tootsie', the Robert Horn and David Yazbek musical adaption of the 1982 Dustin Hoffman film of the same name, is a light and springy show about showbiz, which also attempts to grapple with the difficulties of being a woman in a man's world. Rochester is the first stop on Tootsie's national tour.

by Michael Quintos - Jun 8, 2022
What did our critic think of Tootsie in Costa Mesa? Despite a still problematic central premise, the non-equity national tour of the stage adaptation of TOOTSIE---now playing at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through June 12, 2022---is, for the most part, a funny but flawed musical sprinkled with lots of funny lines, rapid-fire humor, and amusing shenanigans.

by Courtney Symes - May 18, 2022
Broadway Sacramento is closing out their 2022 Broadway on Tour season with the first national tour of Tootsie. Based on the 1982 film of the same name, Tootsie features music and lyrics by David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and a Tony Award-winning book by Robert Horn. Rolling Stone called it “musical comedy heaven” and they’re not wrong. Easily the funniest show of the season, Tootsie is full of one-liners, sarcastic wit, and self-deprecating humor.

by Harker Jones - May 2, 2022
Read our critic's review. TOOTSIE is a contemporary take on an old trope: a man unconvincingly passes himself off as a woman, everyone in his world buys it, and hilarity tries to ensue. It's been done countless times, going back past Shakespeare to the ancient Greeks. That doesn't mean it always works, however, and TOOTSIE is a mixed bag.

by Linda Hodges - Apr 21, 2022
Tootsie made its Northern California premiere at San Jose's Center for the Performing Arts and will be there now through April 24. With a Tony-winning book by Robert Horn, and with music and lyrics by the clever David Yazbek (The Band's Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) Tootsie garnered eleven Tony nominations, two wins and much acclaim, as well as pointed critique centered on transmisogyny. There are other problems as well.
Payton Reilly Videos


by BroadwayWorld TV - Oct 28, 2021
Get a first look at the non-equity national tour of Tootsie in all new photos and videos! The cast includes Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey, Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols, Payton Reilly as Sandy Lester, Lukas James Miller as Max Von Horn, Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater, Kathy Halenda as Rita Marshall, Steve Brustien as Stan Fields, and Adam du Plessis as Ron Carlisle.
by Ben Cameron - Oct 24, 2016
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then parody is a regular old kiss on the lips to any masterpiece. And that's what Spamilton is to Hamilton, a big fat kiss on the lips. And it takes an awfully talented bunch to pull off a loving lampoon of Broadway's biggest hit. We recently welcomed that awfully talented bunch to Broadway Sessions. The Spamilton cast brought the funny, the fierce and the in your face. And don't you worry none, they paid great homage to Hamilton with beautiful renditions of Dear Theodosia, Satisfied and Burn. Check out Nora Schell, Juwan Crawley, Dan Rosales, Christ Anthony Giles, Michael Wordly, Claudia Yanez, Nicholas Edwards and our "Rising Stars" Payton Reilly and Billie Aken Tyers blasting the roof right off the Beechman basement roof.