Tootsie is a Cut Above Most Film to Musical Adaptations at the Orpheum Theatre

Those of us who frequent the theatre and see most every touring show that comes through town will tell you the worst musicals are usually the ones that are adaptations of films that were not musicals in the first place. There are exceptions, Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, A Little Night Music, to name an eclectic few. But most of them fall into the territory of The Bodyguard, Pretty Woman, An Officer and a Gentleman. Tootsie isn’t in the first category, the songs are too forgettable for that, but it certainly isn’t in the latter category either. It falls nicely in the middle, in fact the book by Robert Horn is so funny, it might almost work better as a comedic play. It’s no surprise that Horn won one of the shows two Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t hate the songs, they aren’t bad, but they just don’t elevate the show. What works in a surprising way are the changes made from the original 1982 film on which the musical is based. It’s updated to speak to the times of progressive worldview of today and that modern perspective adds another layer to what was addressed forty years ago in the film.

Tootsie, is the story of a forty year old New York Actor, Michael Dorsey, who is an absolute pain in the ass to work with. So much so that basically no one wants to hire him. Michael lives with his best friend Jeff, an aspiring playwright, who tries to be the voice of reason and keep Michaels ego in check. Michael agrees to help his ex-girlfriend and fellow actor Sandy rehearse for an audition for the role of the nurse in a new musical sequel to Romeo and Juliet called Juliet’s Curse. When it turns out Michael is more convincing as the nurse than Sandy, he has the idea to dress as a woman and call himself Dorothy Michaels, then auditions for the role himself and gets it. Now he has to keep up the charade and to top it off he is falling in love with Julie the actress playing Juliet. David Yazbek wrote the music and lyrics to go with Robert Horn’s book, the best of the songs are really just jokes that are sung, and in that way they are funny and amusing. The best non-jokey song is “Gone, Gone, Gone” sung by Julie about her feelings for Dorothy. There’s also one song, the first that Dorothy sings at her audition called “I Won’t Let you Down” that almost builds to something memorable and might fit the bill on repeated listens. The only reason not to convert this from a musical to a comedic play is that the heightened reality of a musical allows you to go with some of the more outlandish things that happen.

The weakness of the show is audio in almost every aspect. The songs, I’ve already touched on, but there were also multiple instances of mics either not turned on or turned way too low. The strengths of the cast matched the strengths of the show, the acting was great, the singing was very hit or miss. Drew Becker who plays Michael/Dorothy seemed ill equipped vocally for the demands of singing in Dorothy’s higher pitched range. But aside from the singing, he was great. The strongest voice was that of Ashley Alexandra who plays Julie and is one of the reasons the song “Gone, Gone, Gone” was so memorable. The audience favorites, and the reason this show is so successful, is Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff and Payton Reilly as Sandy. Grant kills as Jeff in the same way Bill Murray did in the original film but by playing it completely different from his film counterpart. There are moments between Grant and Becker that play out almost silently and get huge laughs. That isn’t the script, that’s the performers taking the beat they’re given, and turning it into a drum solo. Grant in particular is the master of the reaction, he’s almost as funny when he isn’t speaking as when he is. Reilly’s Sandy gets one of the best joke songs called “What’s Gonna Happen“, and you get the feeling they know it’s the best because she reprises it twice, and the audience loves it each time. Another standout comedic performance is Matthew Rella as Max Van Horn, the male lead in the musical within the musical, who falls in love with Dorothy.

You should definitely see Tootsie, particularly if you are a fan of the film. It makes enough changes that it feels fresh while retaining the essence of the plot and characters. I like that the updates make sense from a modern perspective and also in a way that plays better on a stage such as the change from soap opera in the film to a musical in this version. The changes aren’t just for the sake of making changes, they make sense. I know it sounds as if I’m down on the music, but it isn’t bad, it’s just not the reason to see this show. The script and the comedic performances are the reason to see it and believe me they are more than enough reason to see it. Tootsie is only running through June 25th at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Minneapolis so get your tickets soon. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepintheatretrust.org/events/tootsie-broadway-tickets-minneapolis-mn-2023/

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Photo credit: Jared David Michael Grant, Drew Becker, and Payton Reilly. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade