Tootsie (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

“Though it retains the premise of the original, it diverges smartly in both plot and milieu...Fontana gets just about everything right...Even though Horn’s book bristles with zingers, a lot of the humor is so rooted in story it doesn’t need words...Comedy rarely flows as smoothly as it does here. The secret is more than the book; it’s the songs...The staging and physical production of ‘Tootsie’ are so trite and vanilla...Happily, ‘Tootsie’ recovers, thanks in part to its excellent cast.”
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“’Tootsie’ is great for a laugh...Fontana, in the performance of his career to date, stars as Michael Dorsey...This is the rare musical in which the book outshines the score. At their best, Yazbek’s songs are densely wordy and nervy; elsewhere, they are merely agreeable, and sometimes a skosh underbaked. But ‘Tootsie' is packed with great zingers and character jokes, and director Ellis’s bright, snappy production has assembled a murderer’s row of actors to put them over.”
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"Despite its razzle-dazzle, 'Tootsie' feels empty at the center. It’s all but impossible to sympathize with the lead, and it’s hard to be that interested in the woman he falls for...Sour center or not, 'Tootsie’s' got bushels of exceptional talent toiling away on it, and these serious chops go a long way toward buoying up the show. I just can’t help wishing that we’d all start spending fewer resources on dragging the past, kick-lining and screaming, into the present."
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“This is a savvy update that manages to combine awareness of the evolution in gender politics with insouciant wit, a playful spirit and an invigorating streak of good-natured vulgarity...The performances right down the line are terrific...Everyone gets their moment. Ellis' extensive experience in comedy is key in a show in which sharp timing and zippy pacing are essential...This sassy riot is the kind of big, brash Broadway musical that gives audiences what they paid for.”
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“The musical within the musical...really works, as many moments do throughout — but the cliché factor doesn’t exactly drop to zero...That said, the show is damn funny...The performances are worthy of raves...Ultimately, the show has the good-time vibe of a jukebox musical, trading long-loved hit tunes for clever zingers and humor. And it makes an honest effort to recognize and support the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, despite the plot’s inherent misalignment with them.”
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“The new Broadway adaptation of ‘Tootsie’ is old-fashioned and proud of it — and it’s a surefire crowd-pleaser...The story holds no surprises for anyone who’s seen the movie, but Horn sprinkles the show’s book with clever one-liners...Well-cast character actors demonstrate their bankable skills at character acting...Each of the songs in the stage musical can make you choke with laughter.”
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“Ellis’s staging is a graduate seminar in how to direct physical comedy so that every joke lands with a bang...The catch is that ’Tootsie' doesn’t need to be a musical...If you’ve never seen ‘Tootsie’, I expect you’ll enjoy the musical version. If you already know and love it, though, you’ll probably be laughing more at the movie you remember than the show you’re seeing on stage.”
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“Numbingly directed with...atrocious jokes masquerading as a ‘book’, and a trunk full of dopey, derivative songs that all sound alike but pass for a ‘score’...The show is a mess, but my admiration is boundless for a talented and industrious cast dedicated to milking it for all it is worth (and a lot of what it isn’t)...’Tootsie’ ends up being the same kind of vulgar, tasteless, cartoonish Broadway musical it sets out in vain to satirize.”
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“This ‘Tootsie’ is a delight, a not-quite-blind date that plays out so much better than you could have imagined...You’ll witness a team at the top of its game...Yazbek’s score is maybe a bit too heavy on the mid-tempo numbers...Best of all is Horn’s dialogue, loaded with sitcom zingers...There’s not a weak link in this cast, though the whole thing belongs to Fontana.”
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“Embraceably funny...The sublime Santino Fontana not only gets to strut his farcical stuff, but also sings, amazingly well, in two registers...With a genuinely witty book by Robert Horn and an engaging score by David Yazbek...“Tootsie” is the tuneful winner this Broadway season has been desperate for. It’s a good-natured, conventionally assured book musical of the golden-age variety, expertly directed by Scott Ellis, with a clown car’s worth of comic actors."
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“A marvel of movie-to-musical reinvention. As much an update as it is an adaptation, the show acknowledges that gender politics have undergone significant changes...while embracing what makes this loony tale still so much fun today. But what really stands out is the wit. This ‘Tootsie’ yields more laughs per minute than any musical since ‘The Book of Mormon’...If ‘Tootsie’ has one major shortcoming, it’s not the relentless silliness but the erratic music."
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“Even with a score by...Yazbek, ‘Tootsie’ doesn’t feel so much like a razzmatazz musical as it does a sitcom in its prime...it’s practically ‘Seinfeld: Live!’ With killer jokes to match...That farcical setup — and Horn’s extraordinary new book, which is even funnier than the movie — delivers the finest collection of character actors onstage...While Yazbek’s jazzy score doesn’t reach the heights of his work in ‘The Band’s Visit’, there are a few really terrific numbers...You will leave laughing."
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“There really is much to like about ‘Tootsie’. Horn’s book is chock-a-block with digressive one-liners...The kinetic Yazbek score — jazzy, brassy and evocative of the ’80s in a gently satiric way — is also great fun, which is no slight...But ‘Tootsie’ struggles mightily to get past one problem...It needs to punish Michael for his ruse...And yet, the show well knows that everyone has come to see Dorothy Michaels...The show wants both to deconstruct 'Tootsie', and snag its nostalgic fans."
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"Substandard...Yazbek rehashes the busy, jazzy rhythms of his earlier works...Horn’s book is chock-full of one-liners...Ellis' production is busy but empty and uninspired...Fontana navigates the role’s unique physical challenges, but he lacks the necessary obnoxious edge. The supporting cast members bring doses of personality and comic sensibility, but it is hardly sufficient to save 'Tootsie.'”
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"'Tootsie' is quite a hoot. On the surface, it's a conventional musical...But it's unconventionally funny. And thanks to an A-list cast of comedians, it's the comedy that makes this one sing...Yazbek's score is still mighty clever and tuneful. His lyrics are a gas, and the inside theatre references are a terrific bonus...Humor is of course in the ear of the beholder and 'Tootsie' may not tickle every funnybone, but judging by the laugh meter, this one's off the charts.”
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“In 2019, a self-righteous straight white man who disguises himself as a woman to steal acting jobs...is not your best bet for a sympathetic protagonist. All the more reason to tip our hats to composer 'David Yazbek' and book writer Robert Horn for...shaping some of the most precarious material into one of the most hilarious musical comedies of the Broadway season...'Yazbek delivers a dependable score...although it leaves us without any memorable melodies to rival...'The Band's Visit.'"
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"A flat-out laff-riot from start to finish, featuring a cast packed with expert stage comedians landing bookwriter Robert Horn's archly-humored gags, enhanced by David Yazbek's muscularly-rhythmed jazz score that propels his attractively glib lyrics...This reviewer was delighted to see a story about a person with privilege learning a bit about what it means to be a good ally. But, gender politics aside, 'Tootsie' is slick and professional musical comedy that satisfies as vivacious entertainment."
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“’Tootsie’ may not be a musical for the ages, and it is the rare show where the book stands out more than the score, but the laughs are so steady, the cast is so accomplished, and the overall atmosphere so helium-light that it would be awfully hard not to have a good time. It also has the nerve to end on a quiet note...Whatever you think of that, it's further proof that 'Tootsie' knows what it is about. You have to admire that.”
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“Fontana was a very good choice...What Fontana does so well is to infuse his character with both comedy and heart. Still...Much of ‘Tootsie's’ strength comes from the performances by some great supporting players...There are a couple of clunky moments...The score generally seems functional, serving the plot without providing too many memorable moments...Notwithstanding these concerns, ‘Tootsie’ hits the mark on so many levels...An entertaining confection to enjoy."
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"Director Scott Ellis has smoothly wrapped this musical comedy package, while Denis Jones provides the sterling choreography...’Tootsie‘ is fast and funny. Very funny, with a rapid stream of jokes and gags and some of the most mirthful choreography since those Mormon boys went to Uganda."
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“’Tootsie’ is full of terrific moments...Most important, a genuinely believable, winning performance by Fontana, who’s so darn convincing as Dorothy that when he starts to sing as Michael it simply sounds wrong...’Tootsie’ will always be a little old-fashioned, no matter how evolved Dorothy and her pals get. But in that famous sparkly red dress, she looks right at home on Broadway.”
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"The film’s sweeter charms and magic have gone missing in the metamorphosis from the screen to the stage...Yazbek’s score boasts punchy, lyrically nimble numbers, but when it comes to catchy melodies, not so much...Equally nagging is the fact that references to selfies and women taking back their power make the action speak to today, but there’s no mention of gender fluidity...'Tootsie' never quite delivers a compelling reason why the story needed to be a musical. And that’s a drag."
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“The book, by Horn, ranks among the flat-out funniest written for a new musical in the past decade...I haven’t laughed as much or as hard at a Broadway musical...The workmanlike score, by Yazbek, drains most of the fizz from the champagne...This is a particular pity because in addition to its outstanding book, ‘Tootsie’, directed with ample polish by Scott Ellis, features a terrific cast.”
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"The new musical 'Tootsie,' with book by Robert Horn and music and lyrics by David Yazbek, based on the well-known and well-liked 1982 film starring Dustin Hoffman, has transformed that cultural icon into a delightful fluff of a musical with just enough wit, theatrical in-jokes, good songs, tongue-in-cheek choreography (Denis Jones) and energetic pacing supervised by director Scott Ellis to make the stage version a completely different animal than the original."
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"Robert Horn has updated the gender switching plot so that's in keeping with the world we live in. His script is so smartly written and chockablock with really funny one-liners that this 'Tootsie' almost feels like a brand new show...The highly entertaining libretto almost outshines the music. But fortunately David Yazbek who knows his way around the styles and tones needed to support a musical's story."
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"One of the funniest Broadway movie musicals around. It’s pretty much comedic gold...None of the more serious songs telling the emotional stories are obviously catchy or carry a hook that stays with you once you leave the theatre. That isn’t where the wiseness and fun of 'Tootsie' resides. It’s in the emotional hilarity of the sidekicks where this show does its best to not fuck it up...It won’t change the world, but it might change how musical theatre sees classic movie remaking."
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“’Tootsie’ makes sound business sense as an adaptation property...The film’s spine remains largely intact...As a case study of a dumb guy becoming slightly less dumb about what gals go through, the play works like gangbusters. This may not be the story many want to hear right now, but it’s the most fun I’ve had at the theater in months...The score feels more like pastiche than vintage Yazbek...Yazbek’s lyrics are witty...more than keeping pace with Horn’s book.”
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"Transferred to the stage with intelligence and style that allows the updated version to enter the 21st century graciously...Ellis keeps the show moving at a fast, fluid pace, but enables his cast to take advantage of every opportunity to cash in on the constant one liners, showcasing their impeccable comic timing...It is not so much the plot but the manner and skill in which it is executed that make this a seamless, hilarious, thrilling, joyride that never stops until the curtain falls."
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“’Tootsie’ — for the most part — strikes a delicate balance of pushing the envelope and political correctness. This is high comedy at its best...But the great irony in this funniest-musical-of-the-season-that-should-have-been-a-play is Yazbek’s forgettable score...Hale’s orchestrations and Chase’s dance arrangements don’t do Yazbeck any favors...Jones’ choreography has nowhere to go...Horn’s book is the real gem...transforming ‘Tootsie’ from middling to marvelously funny.”
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"Towards the end of the show, our protagonist, actor Michael Dorsey (the hard-working Santino Fontana in a Tony-worthy turn) reveals to all around him that he's been pretending to be something else - in this case, a middle-aged actress named Dorothy Michaels...He even has the courage to admit that he's a fraud. Audiences, however, will have to reflect post-curtain on what they've just witnessed to realize how 'Tootsie' has gotten away with seducing us."
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"Fontana's loaded with stage appeal and hits all his marks...However, with diction more like a classical actor's than an everyman's, he somehow lacks the earthy charisma that might have made his performance memorable…It's hard not to wonder why Dorothy gets away with her production-altering shenanigans, while Michael was despised when he pulled similar stunts…Horn's book is filled with crowd-pleasing zingers…Yazbek's music ranges from unmemorable to stuff I'd like to hear again."
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“In attempting to update a story that was very much of its time, ‘Tootsie’...winds up with a show that is more awkward than it surely wants to be, and that says less than it apparently wants to say...Some of the changes do work beautifully, aided by the terrific cast...The show doesn’t much reflect 37 years in the evolution of the women’s movement, and completely ignores the gender fluidity that has fueled several current headline-making issues."
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“The songs are peppy, if not especially remarkable...Yazbek shows his gift for writing for character...A lot of Horn’s jokes are groaners, but some of them aren’t and the script is packed with so many that the laughs-per-minute ratio stays pretty high. The cast is a treat...There are so many things that ‘Tootsie’ does right, that it’s frustrating what it gets wrong. This is still a show in which women are the vehicle for male self-improvement...Still, ‘Tootsie’ is a giddy night out.”
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"Yazbek displays his usual facility for matching song to character and his lyrics are often clever — but there are no songs that jump out as something you are likely to want to hear again very soon. The book, on the other hand, very cleverly updates the basic story to the age of #MeToo, successfully changes the setting from the world of soap operas to the Broadway stage, and regularly provides a barrel of laughs. The strong book is matched by a superb cast and first-rate production values."
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“Horn supplies a few one-liners that are every bit as funny as the movie’s zingers...This ‘Tootsie’ is also blessed with the awesome Broadway musical debut of Andy Grotelueschen...The show’s problems center on Michael Dorsey, both in and out of his Dorothy Michaels persona...Dorothy is every bit as brazen as when he auditioned as a man...Oddly, 'Tootsie' gives us a sneak peek at the coming cultural phenomenon, white female privilege."
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"Pound for pound the most entertaining new musical on Broadway, any caveats to do with 'Tootsie' are swept away by what has to be the funniest book since early Neil Simon...Did I mention how much you’ll laugh? In my book, Mr. Horn deserves the Tony...Alas, David Yazbeck’s songs only intermittently live up to the quality of the book. A few are catchy, several even have explicit, tongue-twisting skill similar to Sondheim, but half take the easy route and end up innocuous."
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“A spit-take-funny script from Horn and winning lead performance by Fontana elevate a production scant on memorable tunes and less than convincing in its update to 2019...The dialogue goes from expressing lip-service sympathy for women to delivering a punch line based on stereotype within seconds...Director Scott Ellis again demonstrates his expert hand at calibrating big-canvas musical comedy....It’s Fontana whose tireless performance galvanizes the production.”
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"In the business of satirising show business itself, and the vanities and insanities of the people who work in it...The show stands or falls largely on the startlingly plausible shoulders of Santino Fontana...It's great to be having fun at a Broadway musical again, and this show is just the ticket for fans of old-fashioned musical comedy."
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"I admit there is much to like about this well-constructed and cheerful musical comedy, from the sitcom-tautness of its jokes to the abundant talent of the cast...But there’s also plenty about this show that irks: a confused tone, an uninspired design, and an overriding sense of performative, self-flagellating apology that permeates the enterprise as the creative team winks then shrugs...'Tootsie' is safe, albeit enjoyable, and quietly apologetic for existing."
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“The Broadway version of the 1982 movie is both chaotic and apologetic, with a sharper and better book than it has music. The show has speeches grafted into it about gender inequality and feminist respect that stand out like absurd sore thumbs.. The book...is witty and sharp...If the words are mostly on point, the music, design, and choreography of ‘Tootsie’ rarely rise above meh...This ‘Tootsie’ is slightly lost in its own cloud of sequins and cultural intent.”
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"The issues of sexuality and gender, showing some evolution since the original, are still as challenging, but even more bitingly hysterical than they ever were, as Michael learns from walking in Dorothy’s shoes. Director Scott Ellis keeps the story flowing, the pace moving, and the laughs coming...This is must-see feel-good entertainment that deserves all of the accolades it garners."
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“Fontana’s performance is so magnetically assured that we can just about believe in Dorothy’s improbable success...Yazbek’s numbers have a chatty, cabaret-like feel to them that accommodates a range of vocal styles and blends well with Robert Horn’s book, which is full of salty one-liners. Horn’s efforts to add a topical feminist spin to the story are less compelling...’Tootsie’, which is set in the present day, might have dug deeper into current debates about gender identity.”
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"Under Scott Ellis’ sure-footed direction, embellished with Denis Jones’ snappy choreography, the show moves forward with the confidence of an old-school Broadway musical comedy, one that knows it’s going to make at least most of its audience happy. And for extra punch, the dialogue is occasionally peppered with a sprinkling of #MeToo era sensitivities...The score is truly just about as good as a score can be without slipping into the realm of marvellous."
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"Horn and Yazbek have wisely re-invented the identical story, creating twists and turns at all the key moments in the plot...Director Scott Ellis has cast the show impeccably and moved it along smoothly...Everything is performed beautifully by a very gifted and attractive cast, and the icing on the cake is leading player Santino Fontana...There are a number of minor disappointments along the way. David Yazbek’s score is far more successful on the lyrical side."
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“Fontana’s by far the outstanding element in a funny, expertly wrought, but somehow mildly disappointing musical. Everything about ‘Tootsie’ is competent or better...Neither Yazbek, Horn, nor Ellis, the director, knows how to freshen the female-empowerment angle...what Ellis does know how to do is set up a gag, earn the laugh, and stretch it out...'Tootsie' might be the funniest musical of the year...We love Fontana and Halston...but everyone else is hovering around capable."
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"Slickly entertaining and feel-good in a good way...Well-crafted and refrains from constant back-and-forth switcheroos that would have been tedious...All the supporting players are knockouts...But none of this would matter if there weren’t a Tootsie to drive it all home, and Fontana delivers a star performance, with comic chops, increasing pathos and heart, and tip-top singing...Horn’s book...has the most laugh-out-loud moments in a show this year."
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“Entertaining and touching new musical...A screen-to-stage adaptation that gets it right...Fontana is a powerhouse, slipping flawlessly between genders and voices, but always with an endearing charm that makes you love his performance...It's all great fun, from the sick one-liners and cringeworthy puns to enough inside theater references...But as in the film, there are important take-aways, lessons Dorothy imparts to Michael about the trials women face.”
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“This is how to adapt a movie to the stage and give it entirely new life...The creators of this ‘Tootsie’ have put forth a show that humbles and critiques its main character far more than it celebrates him...All of this is directed with great spirit and charm by Ellis, and it’s held together by the extraordinary Fontana...If there’s a problem with “Tootsie” it’s that the score by David Yazbek sticks to a familiar musical comedy playbook, bright and bouncy but not especially memorable."
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“Horn’s book is hilarious. There are so many zingers to savor throughout...A solid cast keeps the fun moving along. Surrounding Mr. Fontana is a cadre of merry makers...Yazbek’s score did not seem to match the show it was in...Ellis’ staging is fairly old school. The few ensemble musical numbers and the choreography by Jones were not additive to the fun...Perhaps 'Tootsie' should have been constructed as a play with some music. The pacing would have been much tighter."
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"Despite a rather flavourless score by David Yazbek, the screen-to-stage adaptation of 'Tootsie,' is arguably the funniest new musical on Broadway...The cast is uniformly superb. Fontana’s Dorothy is radiant...But despite the stupendous cast, Ellis’ production is visually uninspiring with predictably shrill sets and costumes for the musical-within-a-musical."
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"'Tootsie' is that rare musical that's actually funny. REALLY funny...What's not to love? Well, for starters, the plot...Horn tries to make all this gender nonsense okay. At the end, Michael babbles some pablum about how he learned that women have it tough, but we actually never see him experiencing that toughness. We only see his life getting easier...The ballads are droopy, the choreography is particularly uninspired. For the most part, however, it's a solid musical and it's funny."
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“One of the better adaptations of movies in recent memory. Credit must be given to Robert Horn for an intelligent, bright and imaginative book. It is fresh and to its credit veers slightly from the movie to enable it to have a different slant...The book is abetted by a bouncy score...Upbeat standard Broadway fare. The cast, although not dynamic, is effective...Ellis has taken a familiar story and presented it in new terms as a musical that is worth visiting and enjoying.”
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“Two and half hour laugh fest that not only gets the movie-into-musical genre right (finally) but also celebrates the best of old-fashioned, Broadway musical comedy tradition...An endless stream of one-liners, zingers that unfailingly zing. Even corny jokes land. What’s more, Horn’s characters are so skillfully drawn - and so fully realized by one of the most talented casts...Story and characters make 'Tootsie' a winner. Horn’s masterful, clever book is welcomed and much needed."
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"It’s the comedic style that makes responding to 'Tootsie' so complicated; objectively hilarious, it is easy to get swept up, but sneakily mixed in among the hilarious lines about show business are the problematic quips that mock drag, gender expression...The transphobic and misogynist premise, poorly written female characters, mocking of queerness, and faux-feminist male characters should not be shocking at all coming from an almost all-white male cisgender creative team."
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"The show is often quite funny; the cast is solid; David Yazbeck's score is strong and occasionally boosted by some truly impressive lyrics...I was a little disappointed by how totally they replaced any real character development...A solidly produced and impressively-performed musical with some genuine laughs...But aspects of it irked me a lot more than I wish they had, largely because I've grown exceedingly weary of lip service to social causes."
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"This delightful musical comedy based on the beloved movie, manages to make the story of a man dressing up as a woman in order to get a job not only politically viable but wise...The music is wonderfully varied — a patter song, a love ballad, a chorus line number — and the lyrics by David Yazbek are both clever and, best of all, absolutely intelligible, so none of the wit is wasted. Robert Horn wrote the excellent book, with solid character development plus insider theater jokes."
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"Working from a satirically playful script by Robert Horn, set to David Yazbek’s jazzy score, director Scott Ellis has cleverly re-imagined Larry Gelbart and Murray Shisgal’s subversive 1982 screenplay, updating its farcical concept with razor-sharp timing, energetic pacing and smartass feminist dynamics...Fontana’s meticulous transformation is miraculous."
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“This thoroughly modern update is a genuine thrill, mostly thanks to Horn's smart book...Central to all of this is...Fontana as Michael, who is absolutely crushing this juicy part...The whole cast gets their moment to shine...If there are weak spots, I would say that while the songs, by...Yazbek, are fine, none are memorable. The music is serviceable and the lyrics quippy, but you won't be humming tunes on your way out of the theater.”
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“The laugh-out-loud funniest musical of the Broadway season. Yes, it’s another tune-filled spin on a hit movie...But this one is actually good...Musical-comedy heaven...Leading a dynamite cast is Fontana in a give-him-the-Tony-now tour de force...Ellis stages this circus like a ringmaster supreme. The infectious score is by Yazbek...The uproarious book ups the fun quotient of the movie by creating an avalanche of one-liners that leave you laughing uncontrollably.”
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"Each song, complete with entrancing melody and lyrics witty and romantic, different from the other, beautifully and often comically sung, with great characters, perfectly cast and each with a special moment...The sprightly score is by David Yazbek. The rich and clever book is by Robert Horn...Yes, this is the kind of musical comedy which will remind you of all those shows that celebrated New York."
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