Tootsie (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (1,230)
See it if you love musicals. Fun update of movie w jokes galore (some fresh/some stale) and lots of songs (some clever/some clunkers). Gr staging.
Don't see it if you want to leave humming. But you'll feel entertained. Drags in places (some dull songs) and "I'm crazy" songs for two female leads. Ugh.
See it if You want a funny show with a great book and performances but songs that while they serve the production are completely forgettable.
Don't see it if You’re looking for serious drama. This is a comedy and it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that. Read more
See it if If you want a very funny musicsl with good acting, sets, the whole thing is done well.
Don't see it if Plot you can drive a truck through. a little silly. If you want a more seious musical
See it if Many funny moments and one-liners, especially in Act 1. Great staging. Crisp propulsive music. Lots of comic stage presence.
Don't see it if Despite coming up-to-date as best possible, it still didn't fit today's world, and made me feel awkward. Predictable apologetic ending.
See it if u want an unabashedly old-fashioned musical (& very funny send-up of NY theater) w/a great cast, clever book & decent score that never drags
Don't see it if u expect a rehash of the movie [Familiarity w/the film is not a prerequisite, btw]; ur not in the mood for some witty, playful jocularity. Read more
See it if Fontana brilliant. Great dancing, Lighting super.Lilly Cooper a find who has been hiding for ages.
Don't see it if Big theater but sight lines on target, Gender problems dated.
See it if You want to laugh and have fun.
Don't see it if You want a serious story. Read more
See it if You’re yearning for a well-written musical comedy with a great book, score, & cast that feels both modern and classic at the same time.
Don't see it if You hate fluffy musicals that try to have some substance when it’s mainly there to entertain the masses.
Critic Reviews (60)
“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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