Review: Unique Takes - Kerry Lengel on TOOTSIE, The National Tour

From Herb Paine, Senior Contributing Editor, BroadwayWorld/Phoenix:

In the second of his unique takes on theatre ~ THIS IS NOT A REVIEW: Lonesome George Goes to the Theatre ~ Kerry Lengel offers an insightful and provocative perspective on the National Tour production of TOOTSIE.

Kerry served as the very popular and highly esteemed professional theatre critic and reporter on theater, film, fine arts and popular culture for The Arizona Republic for 15 of his nearly 25 years at the paper. Since his departure in January 2020, he has been exploring new ventures in creative expression. This video feature is one of them. Learn more at kerrystewartlengel.us.

THIS IS NOT A REVIEW: Lonesome George Goes to the Theatre

By Kerry Stewart Lengel

If you enjoyed Broadway's take on the hit movies School of Rock, Dirty Dancing and The Wedding Singer, you'll fall in like all over again with TOOTSIE, a new musical based on the Dustin Hoffman film. The first national tour, produced by Troika Entertainment, is at ASU Gammage in Tempe through Sunday, March 20th.

The setting has been updated from the world of 1980s soap operas to present-day Broadway, transforming TOOTSIE into a backstage comedy in the tradition of 42nd Street and Kiss Me, Kate -- although not a particularly memorable one. Taking over for Tony Award winner Santino Fontana, Drew Becker stars as Michael Dorsey, a New York actor who transforms himself into Dorothy Michaels and auditions for a cheesy Shakespearean sequel titled "Juliet's Curse."

Please watch my full non-review on YouTube and subscribe to Lonesome George Productions.

TOOTSIE runs through March 20th at: ASU Gammage ~ https://www.asugammage.com/ ~ 1200 S. Forest Avenue, Tempe, AZ ~ 480-965-3434.

Photo credit to Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade