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FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019
THEATER: "TOOTSIE" IS A DRAG
TOOTSIE ** 1/2 out of ****
MARQUIS THEATRE
The film Tootsie is one of the great comedies of all time. It came out
the same year as the delightful Victor/Victoria, which is a de facto
musical (and became a poor one on Broadway, years ago). While
Victor/Victoria is an unabashed delight, it's also a throwback to
Hollywood movies of old. Victor/Victoria is fun and if lessons are
learned, it's not for lack of not trying.
Tootsie however is perfect for our #MeToo moment. Out of work actor
Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman in the film) is truly gifted but he's
also a pain in the ass. He's obnoxiously opinionated and a casual
womanizer and pretty insufferable. Sure, his instincts may be great,
but who needs instincts when wearing a tomato costume for somedumb ad or something? As his agent says, "No one will hire you." Outof sheer desperation, Michael auditions for a minor part in a daytimesoap...as a woman. His performance in the scene (and indeed his
performance as the "actress" Dorothy Michaels) gets Michael the job.
Suddenly, a brief role gets extended and extended again and the
character played by Dorothy turns into a sensation. Michael is finally ahit! More importantly, Michael learns to empathize with others. He
learns the nonsense women must go through even before walking out
the door in the morning. He learns how to get his ideas listened towithout alienating everyone and their mother. He dodges gropinghands and unethical come-ons from men , lifts up the actors around
him and does it all while creating a character on the soap that really
matters. Michael becomes a better man while playing a woman than he
ever was while being a man.
Oh and the 1982 film is hilariously funny, from the obnoxious directorMICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK
Michael Giltz is a freelance writer
based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com
FAVORITE LINKS
Americablog
Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog
The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN
Radio
Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog
Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl
Chin's Blog
Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of
Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce
Greenspan's Blog
BLOG ARCHIVE
▼ 2019 (31)
► June (1)
► May (9)
who can't believe this semi-truck of a woman has become a hit to the
aging soap star who sees it as his right to an on-screen kiss with every
new female member of the cast. Toss in Bill Murray as Michael's drollroommate, Teri Garr as his insecure pal and Jessica Lange as thedreamily sweet star of the soap Michael falls for and you've got a
genuine classic with heart and smarts to spare. Plus it all climaxes with
a live episode of the daytime soap that ranks as among the funniest infilm history. Hoffman's performance is one of the all-time greats. It'snot a guy in drag: Dorothy becomes a character as real to us as she isto Michael. It's subtle, funny, layered and a wonder to behold.
(Hoffman deserved the Oscar but you can't beat Gandhi.)
It all works beautifully and the basic bones of Tootsie the musical are
the same. They somewhat reasonably switch Michael's big break from
a part on a daytime soap to a role in a new Broadway musical. (My
guest argues it wasn't necessary at all, but I understand the impulse.)They also switch the aging soap star lothario who falls for Dorothy intoa dim-witted reality TV star cast in the musical to sell tickets.Otherwise many of the beats from the opening to the finale are the
same.
Unfortunately, the changes weaken the story from start to finish. After
an artistic breakthrough with The Band's Visit, composer David
Yazbeck's music and lyrics are all middling numbers with hard-to-
remember melodies. An occasional clever lyric pops out, but they're all
jokey lines and eventually even those begin to blur together. If youcan't sing the praises of the show's score, at least you can sing thepraises of the original Tootsie film script, where most of the best
moments in the show can be found. If you've seen the film, this willseem a pale imitation with at best some serviceable songs. If you
haven't seen the film, Tootsie will probably play a little better. It offers
the tourist-friendly heart-warming vibe of Kinky Boots (not a
compliment, in my book) and should do so for maybe a year to come.
It's not bad and the actors redeem many moments but it should havebeen much better.▼ April (10)
THEATER: "INK" STAINED
WRETCHES GET THEIR
DUE
THEATER: "TOOTSIE" IS A
DRAG
THEATER: "ALL MY SONS"
LACKS A FAMILY
THEATER: 'HADESTOWN"
FINDS HEAVEN ONBROADWAY
THEATER: "BURN THIS"
BARELY SMOLDERS
THEATER: THE PAIN OF "THE
PAIN OF MYBELLIGERENCE"...
THEATER: QUESTIONING
"SOCRATES"
THEATER: "OKLAHOMA!" IS
OK THE SECOND TIMEAROUND!...
THEATER: LESS IS MORE AT
"MRS. MURRAY'SMENAGERIE"...
THEATER: "THE CRADLE
WILL ROCK" PUTS YOU TOSLEEP
► March (5)
► February (1)
► January (5)
► 2018 (33)
► 2017 (6)
► 2016 (2)
► 2015 (17)
► 2014 (2)
► 2013 (5)
► 2012 (17)
► 2011 (15)
► 2010 (10)
► 2009 (43)
► 2008 (86)
► 2007 (781)
► 2006 (2412)
First, what they got right: the casting. Santino Fontana as
Michae/Dorothy works very hard and like Ginger Rogers he does it allbackwards and in heels. Fontana even sings in a different register
when playing the part of Dorothy, which is undoubtedly a lot harder
than one even imagines. He captures Michael's self-defeating"integrity" quite nicely and as much as the show allows, evolves into aslightly more self-aware guy who will at least try to listen when othersare talking. Lilli Cooper is a pleasant presence as his love interest, the
actress Julie. But the role is no more interesting here than it was in
the film. (Jessica Lange's Oscar was really a consolation prize forlosing Best Actress in Frances to Meryl Streep's unstoppable turn in
Sophie's Choice. )
The role of best pal Sandy (played in the film by Teri Garr) is the reallyfun female part and Sarah Stiles has a blast. With her comic number"What's Gonna Happen," she also has the show's one decent song andmakes the most of it. Julie Halston as the new musical's producer, Reg
Rogers as the hateful genius director and Michael McGrath as
Michaels' long-suffering agent? All dependable pros.
John Behlmann is the dim-witted reality TV star who falls for Dorothy;
his inarticulate cry of love ("This Thing") is the show's second-bestnumber. To be honest, the rest made no impression, including act one
closer "Unstoppable." And while few can match Bill Murray, actor
Andy Grotelueschen gives his own quiet spin to Michael's roomie.
But why has Michael's roomie been changed from a guy who writes
plays (presumably very good plays or Michael wouldn't act in them)
into a guy who doesn't really write anything at all? He claims to be a
playwright but even Sandy calls him out on never actually writing aword, as far as anyone can tell. Is it a minor change? Yes, but it turnshim from a fellow artist striving to breakthrough to...a kind of loser.
And for what reason? All it does is make him less interesting and place
Michael in a world where his best friends aren't remotely as talentedas he.
The biggest change is moving Michael from the world of daytime
soaps to the world of musical theater. It wasn't necessary but it might
have worked. We don't need rigorous realism in a comedy, yeteverything that happened on the daytime soap was believable. Incontrast, if Michael Dorsey worked on a play that depicted the worldof musical theater the way Tootsie does, he'd stop everything and say,
"This is ridiculous!" Dorothy suggests changes to the script (a script
written by the genius writer/director no less) by simply writing new
dialogue and conspiring with the female lead to do their versionduring rehearsals? And the producer of the show undercuts thedirector by saying they should do it that way? This is ridiculous. Oh
and Michael also whips up some new costume sketches and changes
the entire setting of the play to 1950s Italy? Of course, says theproducer! Even though at that late stage it would be impossible andcost millions of dollars even if it could somehow be done. This too is► 2005 (5)
ridiculous. Finally, the idea that the play has been completely changed
and is now starring Dorothy Michaels and her name is up in lights all
alone...and the female lead of the show isn't angry but in fact delightedfor her new best pal? Well, this is truly ridiculous.
What foolish nitpicking. It's a musical comedy and who cares about
"real life." True and if the songs were better and Michael'stransformation compelling, well maybe I wouldn't mind. But it's the
very fact that we don't see Michael realistically turn into a woman (and
all the painful eyebrow plucking etc that involves) and we don't see
Michael realistically navigate the workplace as a woman and we don'tsee Michael realistically fall in love that undercuts the idea thatMichael has changed at all.
For proof, look at the finale.
SPOILER ALERT
In the film, the soap must go live for an entire episode since since
some footage was damaged. That gives Michael the chance to spin afantastic story on camera and then pull off his wig and reveal thecharacter (and Dorothy) has been a man all along. It's side-splittinglyfunny. On stage, they have this happen at the climax of the openingnight performance. Michael/Dorothy knows he must reveal all and
stumbles through the finale, distracted and barely aware of where he
should stand, mechanically delivering his lines and making a mess ofthings until the dramatic reveal.
That's crazy. The one fact we know about Michael is that he's a terrific
actor. Michael would be giving the performance of his lifetime on
opening night, well aware there are critics in the audience who haven'tseen the show yet. Yes, maybe they've heard Dorothy is one to watchbut this is their first time seeing her. Plus, his commitment to a playhe's transformed into a personal triumph wouldn't allow him to do
anything less than his best. The big reveal should come at the curtain
call when Dorothy/Michael would make a speech and reveal all.
No, that wouldn't be quite as funny as the film version, but neither is
the laborious scene they've delivered instead, which betrays Michael's
professionalism and hardly delivers any laughs. Even sillier is thescene a few weeks later. Michael Dorsey made national news...andthey've fired him from the show? Not in a million years would anyproducer fire the lead of their musical who is suddenly the mostfamous actor in America and garnered free publicity any show would
kill for. Michael would still be in the show without a doubt. The fallout
of his behavior should be that they're all forced to act together, despitethe entire cast and crew feeling betrayed by him. Let him face the messhe made as a man, without Dorothy to hide behind. Michael's apology
to Julie would take place at work, not on a park bench somewhere
after he's been canned.
END OF SPOILER
At the real curtain call, actor Santino Fontana takes his bow,
disappears and comes back as Dorothy. It's a credit to him and thesource material that I was glad to see her again. Everyone likes
Dorothy. And then she starts tap-dancing in heels to furious applause.
Why didn't they incorporate that fun talent earlier? Consider it onemore lost opportunity.
THEATER OF 2019
Frankenstein: Under The Radar Fest at the Public ** 1/2
Minor Character: Under The Radar Festival at the Public ***
Ink: Under The Radar Festival at the Public ** 1/2
Choir Boy ** 1/2
White Noise ** 1/2
Kiss Me, Kate ***
Ain't No Mo' *** 1/2
Ain't Too Proud **
The Cradle Will Rock * 1/2
Mrs. Murray's Menagerie *** 1/2
Oklahoma! (on Broadway) ** 1/2
Socrates **
The Pain Of My Belligerence *
Burn This **
Hadestown *** 1/2
All My Sons * 1/2
Tootsie ** 1/2
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book
lover’s best friend. It’s a website that lets you browse for books online the
way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new
releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal
recommendations every step of the way. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz
Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on
entertainment news of the day with top journalists and opinion makers as
guests. It’s available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called
Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.
POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 6:23 PM
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FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2019
THEATER: "TOOTSIE" IS A DRAG
TOOTSIE ** 1/2 out of ****
MARQUIS THEATRE
The film Tootsie is one of the great comedies of all time. It came out
the same year as the delightful Victor/Victoria, which is a de facto
musical (and became a poor one on Broadway, years ago). While
Victor/Victoria is an unabashed delight, it's also a throwback to
Hollywood movies of old. Victor/Victoria is fun and if lessons are
learned, it's not for lack of not trying.
Tootsie however is perfect for our #MeToo moment. Out of work actor
Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman in the film) is truly gifted but he's
also a pain in the ass. He's obnoxiously opinionated and a casual
womanizer and pretty insufferable. Sure, his instincts may be great,
but who needs instincts when wearing a tomato costume for somedumb ad or something? As his agent says, "No one will hire you." Outof sheer desperation, Michael auditions for a minor part in a daytimesoap...as a woman. His performance in the scene (and indeed his
performance as the "actress" Dorothy Michaels) gets Michael the job.
Suddenly, a brief role gets extended and extended again and the
character played by Dorothy turns into a sensation. Michael is finally ahit! More importantly, Michael learns to empathize with others. He
learns the nonsense women must go through even before walking out
the door in the morning. He learns how to get his ideas listened towithout alienating everyone and their mother. He dodges gropinghands and unethical come-ons from men , lifts up the actors around
him and does it all while creating a character on the soap that really
matters. Michael becomes a better man while playing a woman than he
ever was while being a man.
Oh and the 1982 film is hilariously funny, from the obnoxious directorMICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK
Michael Giltz is a freelance writer
based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com
FAVORITE LINKS
Americablog
Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog
The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN
Radio
Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog
Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl
Chin's Blog
Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of
Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce
Greenspan's Blog
BLOG ARCHIVE
▼ 2019 (31)
► June (1)
► May (9)
who can't believe this semi-truck of a woman has become a hit to the
aging soap star who sees it as his right to an on-screen kiss with every
new female member of the cast. Toss in Bill Murray as Michael's drollroommate, Teri Garr as his insecure pal and Jessica Lange as thedreamily sweet star of the soap Michael falls for and you've got a
genuine classic with heart and smarts to spare. Plus it all climaxes with
a live episode of the daytime soap that ranks as among the funniest infilm history. Hoffman's performance is one of the all-time greats. It'snot a guy in drag: Dorothy becomes a character as real to us as she isto Michael. It's subtle, funny, layered and a wonder to behold.
(Hoffman deserved the Oscar but you can't beat Gandhi.)
It all works beautifully and the basic bones of Tootsie the musical are
the same. They somewhat reasonably switch Michael's big break from
a part on a daytime soap to a role in a new Broadway musical. (My
guest argues it wasn't necessary at all, but I understand the impulse.)They also switch the aging soap star lothario who falls for Dorothy intoa dim-witted reality TV star cast in the musical to sell tickets.Otherwise many of the beats from the opening to the finale are the
same.
Unfortunately, the changes weaken the story from start to finish. After
an artistic breakthrough with The Band's Visit, composer David
Yazbeck's music and lyrics are all middling numbers with hard-to-
remember melodies. An occasional clever lyric pops out, but they're all
jokey lines and eventually even those begin to blur together. If youcan't sing the praises of the show's score, at least you can sing thepraises of the original Tootsie film script, where most of the best
moments in the show can be found. If you've seen the film, this willseem a pale imitation with at best some serviceable songs. If you
haven't seen the film, Tootsie will probably play a little better. It offers
the tourist-friendly heart-warming vibe of Kinky Boots (not a
compliment, in my book) and should do so for maybe a year to come.
It's not bad and the actors redeem many moments but it should havebeen much better.▼ April (10)
THEATER: "INK" STAINED
WRETCHES GET THEIR
DUE
THEATER: "TOOTSIE" IS A
DRAG
THEATER: "ALL MY SONS"
LACKS A FAMILY
THEATER: 'HADESTOWN"
FINDS HEAVEN ONBROADWAY
THEATER: "BURN THIS"
BARELY SMOLDERS
THEATER: THE PAIN OF "THE
PAIN OF MYBELLIGERENCE"...
THEATER: QUESTIONING
"SOCRATES"
THEATER: "OKLAHOMA!" IS
OK THE SECOND TIMEAROUND!...
THEATER: LESS IS MORE AT
"MRS. MURRAY'SMENAGERIE"...
THEATER: "THE CRADLE
WILL ROCK" PUTS YOU TOSLEEP
► March (5)
► February (1)
► January (5)
► 2018 (33)
► 2017 (6)
► 2016 (2)
► 2015 (17)
► 2014 (2)
► 2013 (5)
► 2012 (17)
► 2011 (15)
► 2010 (10)
► 2009 (43)
► 2008 (86)
► 2007 (781)
► 2006 (2412)
First, what they got right: the casting. Santino Fontana as
Michae/Dorothy works very hard and like Ginger Rogers he does it allbackwards and in heels. Fontana even sings in a different register
when playing the part of Dorothy, which is undoubtedly a lot harder
than one even imagines. He captures Michael's self-defeating"integrity" quite nicely and as much as the show allows, evolves into aslightly more self-aware guy who will at least try to listen when othersare talking. Lilli Cooper is a pleasant presence as his love interest, the
actress Julie. But the role is no more interesting here than it was in
the film. (Jessica Lange's Oscar was really a consolation prize forlosing Best Actress in Frances to Meryl Streep's unstoppable turn in
Sophie's Choice. )
The role of best pal Sandy (played in the film by Teri Garr) is the reallyfun female part and Sarah Stiles has a blast. With her comic number"What's Gonna Happen," she also has the show's one decent song andmakes the most of it. Julie Halston as the new musical's producer, Reg
Rogers as the hateful genius director and Michael McGrath as
Michaels' long-suffering agent? All dependable pros.
John Behlmann is the dim-witted reality TV star who falls for Dorothy;
his inarticulate cry of love ("This Thing") is the show's second-bestnumber. To be honest, the rest made no impression, including act one
closer "Unstoppable." And while few can match Bill Murray, actor
Andy Grotelueschen gives his own quiet spin to Michael's roomie.
But why has Michael's roomie been changed from a guy who writes
plays (presumably very good plays or Michael wouldn't act in them)
into a guy who doesn't really write anything at all? He claims to be a
playwright but even Sandy calls him out on never actually writing aword, as far as anyone can tell. Is it a minor change? Yes, but it turnshim from a fellow artist striving to breakthrough to...a kind of loser.
And for what reason? All it does is make him less interesting and place
Michael in a world where his best friends aren't remotely as talentedas he.
The biggest change is moving Michael from the world of daytime
soaps to the world of musical theater. It wasn't necessary but it might
have worked. We don't need rigorous realism in a comedy, yeteverything that happened on the daytime soap was believable. Incontrast, if Michael Dorsey worked on a play that depicted the worldof musical theater the way Tootsie does, he'd stop everything and say,
"This is ridiculous!" Dorothy suggests changes to the script (a script
written by the genius writer/director no less) by simply writing new
dialogue and conspiring with the female lead to do their versionduring rehearsals? And the producer of the show undercuts thedirector by saying they should do it that way? This is ridiculous. Oh
and Michael also whips up some new costume sketches and changes
the entire setting of the play to 1950s Italy? Of course, says theproducer! Even though at that late stage it would be impossible andcost millions of dollars even if it could somehow be done. This too is► 2005 (5)
ridiculous. Finally, the idea that the play has been completely changed
and is now starring Dorothy Michaels and her name is up in lights all
alone...and the female lead of the show isn't angry but in fact delightedfor her new best pal? Well, this is truly ridiculous.
What foolish nitpicking. It's a musical comedy and who cares about
"real life." True and if the songs were better and Michael'stransformation compelling, well maybe I wouldn't mind. But it's the
very fact that we don't see Michael realistically turn into a woman (and
all the painful eyebrow plucking etc that involves) and we don't see
Michael realistically navigate the workplace as a woman and we don'tsee Michael realistically fall in love that undercuts the idea thatMichael has changed at all.
For proof, look at the finale.
SPOILER ALERT
In the film, the soap must go live for an entire episode since since
some footage was damaged. That gives Michael the chance to spin afantastic story on camera and then pull off his wig and reveal thecharacter (and Dorothy) has been a man all along. It's side-splittinglyfunny. On stage, they have this happen at the climax of the openingnight performance. Michael/Dorothy knows he must reveal all and
stumbles through the finale, distracted and barely aware of where he
should stand, mechanically delivering his lines and making a mess ofthings until the dramatic reveal.
That's crazy. The one fact we know about Michael is that he's a terrific
actor. Michael would be giving the performance of his lifetime on
opening night, well aware there are critics in the audience who haven'tseen the show yet. Yes, maybe they've heard Dorothy is one to watchbut this is their first time seeing her. Plus, his commitment to a playhe's transformed into a personal triumph wouldn't allow him to do
anything less than his best. The big reveal should come at the curtain
call when Dorothy/Michael would make a speech and reveal all.
No, that wouldn't be quite as funny as the film version, but neither is
the laborious scene they've delivered instead, which betrays Michael's
professionalism and hardly delivers any laughs. Even sillier is thescene a few weeks later. Michael Dorsey made national news...andthey've fired him from the show? Not in a million years would anyproducer fire the lead of their musical who is suddenly the mostfamous actor in America and garnered free publicity any show would
kill for. Michael would still be in the show without a doubt. The fallout
of his behavior should be that they're all forced to act together, despitethe entire cast and crew feeling betrayed by him. Let him face the messhe made as a man, without Dorothy to hide behind. Michael's apology
to Julie would take place at work, not on a park bench somewhere
after he's been canned.
END OF SPOILER
At the real curtain call, actor Santino Fontana takes his bow,
disappears and comes back as Dorothy. It's a credit to him and thesource material that I was glad to see her again. Everyone likes
Dorothy. And then she starts tap-dancing in heels to furious applause.
Why didn't they incorporate that fun talent earlier? Consider it onemore lost opportunity.
THEATER OF 2019
Frankenstein: Under The Radar Fest at the Public ** 1/2
Minor Character: Under The Radar Festival at the Public ***
Ink: Under The Radar Festival at the Public ** 1/2
Choir Boy ** 1/2
White Noise ** 1/2
Kiss Me, Kate ***
Ain't No Mo' *** 1/2
Ain't Too Proud **
The Cradle Will Rock * 1/2
Mrs. Murray's Menagerie *** 1/2
Oklahoma! (on Broadway) ** 1/2
Socrates **
The Pain Of My Belligerence *
Burn This **
Hadestown *** 1/2
All My Sons * 1/2
Tootsie ** 1/2
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book
lover’s best friend. It’s a website that lets you browse for books online the
way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new
releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal
recommendations every step of the way. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz
Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on
entertainment news of the day with top journalists and opinion makers as
guests. It’s available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called
Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.
POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 6:23 PM
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