The cast of the National Tour of TOOTSIE. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.
Tootsie strutted into Houston Tuesday night as the second show in the Broadway at the Hobby Center 2021-2022 season. Tootsie, based on the 1982 movie of the same title starring Dustin Hoffman, presents the struggle of Michael Dorsey, an out-of-work actor recently fired and unable to land any roles due to his narcissistic and intolerable nature in rehearsals. In a desperate attempt to save his career, Michael attends an audition for “Juliet’s Curse”, a role he was helping his ex-girlfriend rehearse for, disguised as Dorothy Michaels, his newly-formed female alter ego. Chaos ensues as he falls in love with both his popular new persona and with one of his co-stars, who does not know his true identity.
Tootsie is hands-down one of the funniest musicals currently touring, with the Hobby Center audience barely able to restrain their laughter throughout most scenes. Although Dorothy helps to stand up for the other women in the cast, Michael is clearly undermining her own feminism through his ruse. As his best friend Jeff points out, Michael is taking a job from women at a pivotal time when they are finally starting to stand up against the forces holding them back, although he will be taking a wage cut in order to pursue said female job. Tootsie has hilarious one-liners and countless suggestive jokes intertwined into even the most heartfelt and sincere scenes. There were times were you could tell people were wiping their tears from how hard they were laughing at the jokes and situations unfolding on stage.
Not only is the script and humor stellar, the cast of the national tour of Tootsie is extremely talented as well. Drew Becker was incredibly versatile in his role as Michael and Dorothy. He was able to seamlessly switch between both characters in an instant, while being able to belt songs in both parts as well. His head voice was able to match the strength of his chest voice as he traversed the octaves between Dorothy and Michael. Payton Reilly has perfected her emotional rollercoasters as Sandy, Michael’s self-deprecating and anxious ex-girlfriend. The dancers were right on point with all of the pop-culture references and TikTok dances incorporated into the choreography.
If you’re looking for a hilarious night out in Houston, Tootsie should be first on your list. Between the great acting and the perfectly-timed humor, there is something for everyone to love about Tootsie. Tootsie is on stage at the Hobby Center through November 21st. For more information about Tootsie and upcoming Broadway at the Hobby Center shows, please visit houston.broadway.com. For more Houston theater updates, tune into my KTRU specialty show “Showstoppers” weekly on Sundays from 1:45 to 2:45 pm on air and online at ktru.org.