Call it "musical comedy heaven" (Rolling Stone).Call it "the most uproarious new musical in years!" (The Hollywood Reporter).Call it TOOTSIE!This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theater tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime. During the 2018-19 theater season the last full season before the pandemic unionized touring shows grossed $1.6 billion and. Leah Putnam He began directing the national tour in 2021 and said hes excited to bring the show to his home state. The show is blatantly transphobic, including multiple sexist jokes that might have played in the 80s but are rightly recognized today as deeply offensive. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The cast of the National Tour of TOOTSIE. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". With this morning's casting notice, Binder Casting was seeking to solicit additional submissions to ensure a diverse cast. Original Broadway Direction by SCOTT ELLIS, This production of Tootsie was licensed by Music Theatre International. Photos: Mulvaney, Daley, Ghee, and More Walk PFLAG Gala Red Carpet. Continue with Recommended Cookies. STEVE McCOY (Grandpa Joe) is extraordinarily glad to be here reprising his role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.National Tours: Monty Python's Spamalot (King Arthur, world record for most performances), Man of La Mancha (Cervantes) The Will Rogers Follies (Will Rogers), Oliver (Bill Sykes), 42nd Street (Swing). Based on the story by DON McGUIRE and LARRY GELBART and the COLUMBIA PICTURES motion picture produced by PUNCH PRODUCTIONS and starring DUSTIN HOFFMAN Broadway Choreography by DENIS JONES People LOVE getting riled about this and rail against the show's producer when, in fact, the real culprit is the local road presenters and they are getting away with minimal blow back. They also have to share their hotel room with another. Yet Becker can also deliver sincerity, especially once he starts looking at the world through Dorothys eyes: You know what? he says to Jeff, Women listen to each other.. He wins the role with a knockout performance of the Nurses stirring number voicing her promise to Juliet: I Wont Let You Down.. and the COLUMBIA PICTURES motion picture produced by PUNCH PRODUCTIONS and starring DUSTIN HOFFMAN #32 Posted: 5/5/20 at 6:24pm The logistics of tours only playing cities that are deciding to open prematurely would be. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. He told me that they each got a private hotel room and didn't have to share. I understand everyone has to start somewhere but the last Hairspray tour had a few "older"actors in the mix. Costume Coordinator: Christopher Vergara The Ensemble are Leyla Ali, Connor Alston, Darius Aushay, Michael Bingham, Kyra Christopher, Delaney Gold, Danielle J.S. The cast in my opinion were all very young. Tours are where the $$$ is at. High quality Tootsie-inspired gifts and merchandise. Kad said: "HogansHero said: "are you folks seriously laboring under the mis-impression that ANY tour is going out this fall? I understand everyone has to start somewhere but the last Hairspray tour had a few "older"actors in the mix. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The dynamic Kathy Halenda is excellent as the ultimate Broadway producer Rita Marshall. Moving forward, Binder will further work to clarify statements on our breakdowns letting actors and representation know what our casting goals are-what we're seeking, specifically in terms of diversity and inclusion, and what we want to achieve. Fifty years later celebrity performers, presenters, and honorees joined PFLAG leaders, allies, advocates, and corporate leaders to celebrate PFLAGs historic impact. By Swings: Lexi Baldachino,Ashton Lambert Tootsie shines with romantic insanity, reminding us that love, like musical comedy, belongs to us all. THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG Extends Through October 2023. As Dorothy, Becker instinctively grasps the charm and compassion inherent in the character; his performance, like Hoffmans, is reminiscent of Jack Lemmons as Daphne in the 1959 Billy Wilder classic Some Like It Hot, which Lemmon said was based on his mother. pic.twitter.com/xQBs0P1RQN, In a statement, Troika said "As was outlined in the initial casting breakdown, all roles in the national tour of TOOTSIE are open to people of all ethnicities. Its what theyre coming for. his character says. and the COLUMBIA PICTURES motion picture produced by PUNCH PRODUCTIONS and starring DUSTIN HOFFMAN The two will be joined by Chloe Fineman and Megan Stalter to play a group of childhood friends on a mission to help a former best friend. That's what's wonderful. Feel free to rebuttal if I am wrong. | Payton Reillys Sandy is frighteningly insecure, but she executes her dizzyingly difficult opening number, Whats Gonna Happen, with the precision of an ice skater in the dance portion of the Olympics. Not sure about The Cher Show or Pretty Woman. Tootsie plays through December 12, 2021 at The National Theatre 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, DC. Max Van Horn: Lukas James Miller Music Director: Andrew David Sotomayor There will be Equity Chorus Calls on Jan. 9 and 10. matt1982 said: "Do we know the equity status of other tours meant to go out this fall? Mister Matt. Look at Adams Family for example, Broadway By Design: Gregg Barnes Brings SOME LIKE IT HOT from Page to Stage. Theater Shows. massofmen said: "Tootsie is a horrible show that lost its investment on broadway.Why in the heck should this thing tour at all?I'm amazed this thing actually had road producers wanting to actually boook it. The cast also includes Payton Reilly as Sandy Lester, Lukas James Miller as Max Von Horn, Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater, Kathy Halenda as Rita Marshall, Steve Brustien as Stan Fields, and Adam du Plessis as Ron Carlisle. Cast as Romeos brother in the star-crossed stage musical, he never misses a chance to strip. Meet the Cast of SWEENEY TODD, Now in Previews on Broadway! Confirmed by Kristy Cates and Donna Vivino on Facebook. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Stephen Mallatratt's stage adaptation of Susan Hill's novel began its run at the Fortune in 1989. Becker is paired with a dynamite Juliet in Ashley Alexandra. The musical features an original score by Tony Award winner David Yazbeck (The Band's Visit, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn (13; Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance), choreography by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), music direction by Andrea Grody (The Band's Visit), and directed by nine-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner Scott Ellia (She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century). Tootsie - The Musical has 113 performances on its 2023 schedule. ", Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols in "Tootsie. I had not spoken to anyone directly because, well, loaded and heated subject.. truly. It's a non-equity tour and is now on the Equity DO NOT WORK list. When the nonequity tour of Rent came to my city, last year, an actor newly hired to cover Collins sat next to me and we chatted about life on tour. Original Scenic Designfor Broadway: David Rockwell Troika Entertainment, a theatrical production company that specializes in national tours, has issued a statement to clarify a casting notice which called for submissions from only people of color for the upcoming national tour of TOOTSIE. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The ensemble includes Leyla Ali, Connor Allston, Darius Aushay, Lexi Baldachino, Michael Bingham, Kyra Christopher, Delaney Gold, Danielle J.S. If you're not working as an actor, it's not like your actors' union status means anythingoutside of show business,except theability to be seen at Union auditions. HUSKY Health is helping immigrants. The whirlwind Dorothy modernizes, , dropping the Elizabethan swords and gowns and changing the period to the 1950s. "I grew up seeing shows all the time, at both the Bushnell and the Shubert in New Haven. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. Whos to say how much longer the wicked or Hamilton tour will stay on their production contracts. The musical earned 11 Tony nominations, also winning Best Book for Horn. I have a friend who was cast and is sadnow. 30 Following. A celebratory evening with Broadway Bound: The Musicals that Never Came Calendar: Play Readings and Workshops in the DMV. She got cast as Sandy when it was equity. Directed by Scott Ellis, Tootsie opened on Broadway April 23, 2019, with a cast headed by Santino Fontana, who won a Tony for his performance, and Tony nominee Lilli Cooper. (October 15 - 30) at 429 Plymouth in Buffalo What Do Critics Think of Shakespeare Theatre Company's, Film Studio A24 Buys Off-Broadway's Cherry Lane Theatre, World Premiere of Cameron Darwin Bossert's, Ariana DeBose, Amanda Seyfried, More to Star in Comedy Film, See Arinz Kene Explore Art and Gentrification in Photos of. Yet the focus remains on the relationships Michael forms as Dorothy, and the way that viewing life through the eyes of a woman helps him grow emotionally, despite the dishonesty of his masquerade. Sandy Lester: Payton Reilly VIDEO: FUNNY GIRL Announces Broadway Closing; New Performance Montage, McClure, Kritzer, Brightman, & Iglehart to Lead SPAMALOT. The director character, Ron Carlisle (Adam du Plessis), is driven to therapy in typical Manhattan fashion by this dramaturgical journey through madness. On Broadway TOOTSIE played played 293 regular and 25 preview performances. Thanks for your comment, Anna. Gone Female Trio: Leyla Ali, Delaney Gold, Dominique Kempf The chief difference being that on *most* AEA tour tiers, you are given a choice of two company hotels and a choice to share a room or have your own room your choice determines how much Per Diem you receive as the housing cost is deducted or you may take the full Per Diem and find your own housing. Photos Tootsie plays through December 12, 2021, at The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC. Instead, it resulted in a major miscommunication, for which we greatly apologize. Assistant Dance Captain: Ashton Lambert, CREATIVE TEAM for lead performances; $750/wk. The music and lyrics by David Yazbek and book by Robert Horn are inventive, hysterically funny, and beautifully synchronized. This is a carousel. Solomon added that when the show later returned to the Bushnell he grabbed some friends to see the show again. If you're not too familiar with the original movie, you should still have a great time watching this. Our website is made possible bydisplaying online advertisements to our visitors. Original Broadway Direction by SCOTT ELLIS, CAST These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. I am big. Dorothy takes it with good humor (perhaps age has given her wisdom), and the two of them have some strikingly comic scenes together, which I will not ruin for you by describing. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. A friend of mine just posted on Facebook how disappointed he was that Tootsie, which was supposed to go out as Equity this fall has scrapped those plans and will now start out non-union. Tootsie National Tour: Equity Production Scrapped, to start non-union? $73.08. Major products include Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Roll Pops, Tootsie Pop Drops, Tootsie Flavor Rolls, Charms, and Blow-Pop lollipops. Does Equity want more safety precautions or something? | Gordon, Maverick Hiu, Dominique Kempf, Marquez Linder, Lucy Panush, and Alec Ruiz. The cast is terrific. Not to mention that they also do well with the energetic choreography by Denis Jones. Tootsie at the National Theatre updates the film as an all-singing, all-dancing, all-laughing musical comedy. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. This is a public FB status update, so:https://www.facebook.com/nchernicoff/posts/10216375791015588?__tn__=H-R, are you folks seriously laboring under the mis-impression that ANY tour is going out this fall? The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Ensemble: Leyla Ali, Connor Alston,Darius Aushay,Michael Bingham,Kyra Christopher, Delaney Gold,Danielle J.S. In the 1982 movie Tootsie, unemployed actor Michael Dorsey (played by Dustin Hoffman) disguises himself as a woman and becomes soap star Dorothy Michaels. That is their doing. UPDATE: On Saturday, June 2, Binder Casting released a statement about a recent casting breakdown for the upcoming non-Equity tour of TOOTSIE. national tour. LizzieCurry said: "This is a public FB status update, so:https://www.facebook.com/nchernicoff/posts/10216375791015588?__tn__=H-R"While I completely understand being upset at this and it's completely shady and ridiculous, given that 50,000+ Equity members are out of work right now and are going to be looking for jobs whenever things reopen, not sure if blasting any show as "transphobic crap" (whether accurate or not) is the smartest business decision one could make. and Craig, like the actor who plays him, falls for the Nurse instead of for Juliet. Copyright 1991-2023 Playbill Inc. All Rights Reserved. for . (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Tours to You strives to provide accurate information. The original casting notice, and what I assume offers were thus being made based upon, indicated the show was going out under Tier 2 of the SET Agreement, so there would have been room to potentially drop down several tiers and still remain under an Equity contract. Michael doesnt have that problem; he really is talented. Tweets. He wins the role with a knockout performance of the Nurses stirring number voicing her promise to Juliet: I Wont Let You Down., As Dorothy, Becker instinctively grasps the charm and compassion inherent in the character; his performance, like Hoffmans, is reminiscent of Jack Lemmons as Daphne in the 1959 Billy Wilder classic. Director: Dave Solomon I think one reason right now is people are looking to laugh and this definitely delivers laughs. The national tour is produced by Barry Diller. Actors & Performers. Most audience members wouldn't be able to notice the difference between equity and non-equity talent as there is sometimes little to no difference in skill level and professionalism. It's a VERY ****ty thing.RE: HOUSING AND PER DIEMS: Double occupancy rooms is *very* standard on tour, regardless of AEA or Non-AEA. This whole thing is true. As Michael/Dorothy, Drew Becker earns both laughs and cheersas Michael, he is at his best in scenes with roommate Jeff (a winning Jared David Michael Grant), scoring laughs with both his antic physicality and rapid-fire whining. As alter-ego Dorothy, Becker offers homage to Dustin Hoffmans film interpretation, for example, lightly tapping his upper chest area, under his pearl necklace, for emphasis when speaking. Casting has been revealed for the upcoming National Tour of the musical comedy Tootsie, including Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey, Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols.. From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the mic to reclaim their identities out of the shadow of their infamous spouseremixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st century girl power. Is CT recycling going into the trash? What are we going to do with you ? It was before it got to Broadway, when it was in workshop phases," he said. Cynthia Collins, co-founder and assistant artistic director of Actors Theatre of Indiana, joined us Tuesday on "Life. Accounting questions and answers. Directed by DAVE SOLOMON ". "Huge laughs! We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. photo: Evan Zimmerman, The story holds no surprises for anyone whos seen the movie, but Horn sprinkles the shows book with clever one-liners. LOL"Seriously. With that being said, I still found this touring production to be very well put together. Bah! Her play. "Tony-winning director MICHAEL GRANDAGE refines FROZEN by putting the focus on emotion first. March 3, 2023, By Tour Scenic Design: Christine Peters The statement reads: "Let's just face it, sometimes you have the best intentions, but your overall execution doesn't match. Notto mention for a Broadway tour to be financially viable, it HAS to be hitting bigger markets. Non-equity tours usually involve smaller sets and fewer actors than you typically find in Equity productions. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. markypoo said: "But Troika is also producing the MFL tour, and it has Equity actors in it. Why would they replace the cast? Solomon added that he was the associate director for Scott Ellis, who directed it on Broadway. Shameful. The Per Diem listed for this casting call is low, but the housing is provided by the producer separately, so it would balance out *somewhat*The thing that really strikes me on these salaries is that they are offering overage payments to the cast it's not NEARLY equitable (pun intended) to the overages called for by AEA SETA agreements.RE: TOUR HOUSE SUBSCRIPTIONS = PRE-SOLD AUDIENCES: Tour financing is actually somewhat complicated and that pre-sold subscription has very little to do with how these things are determined. Oh look, another movie turned musical no one was asking for! Tweets & replies. . Might just be a cost-saving thing if the tour never goes out this coming season. The Cher Show (also rumored to be scrapped), Pretty Woman, Ain't Too Proud, Oklahoma, Hadestown.We know 1776 is Equity. Original Broadway Director: Scott Ellis Ron Carlisle: Adam du Plessis Logan Culwell-Block The mechanics behind it- a large group of people working closely together, moving from city to city to large venues that then draw in thousands of people from a broad surrounding area- are mind-boggling to reconcile with COVID-related safety.I think the issue is moot: this tour, and any tour, will not be happening for a long time. at Artistic Synergy of Baltimore, Colorful Conversations With The Cast of Clue: Mustard, Green, & Plum Edition, Season of Love & Laughter: A Talk with Ron Legler about the 23/24 Hippodrome Season. Ashley Alexandra as Julie, Tootsie National Tour (Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade) The tour will also play in Costa Mesa at Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts from May 31 - June 12 2022. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. That makes it all the more curious.I know it was SETA, so thank you clarifying which tour was assumed. Apparently it had been cast and contracts were about to be signed when the rug was pulled out from under the entire thing. We apologize for today's ill-considered language and confusing miscommunication.". Michael, desperate for work, transforms himself into Dorothy Michaels. Desperate and out-of-work, Michael makes a last-ditch effort at making his dreams come trueby disguising himself as actress Dorothy Michaels. This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime. Running Time: Approximately two hours 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. He also had the great pleasure of seeing s (read more about this author). The trouble with Tootsie isI guess I just didn't care from the start. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Sophia Howes has been a reviewer for DCMTA since 2013 and a columnist since 2015. ", Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey and Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols in "Tootsie. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. After having its out-of-town tryout in Chicago, Illinois, opened on April 23rd, 2019 at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, where it earned, As Michael's roommate, Jeff Slater, who is also an unsuccessful playwright, Jared David, Rivertowne Repertory Players (10/20-10/29), Mills River Elementary School (5/18-5/21), Theatre At The Imperial Centre (3/03-3/12), Pineville Elementary School (10/19-10/19), 11 Tony Award nominations (including Best Musical), TOOTSIE is Coming to Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in April 2023, TOOTSIE is Coming to Segerstrom Center for the Arts, BWW Review: TOOTSIE is Mostly a Drag at the Buell Theatre at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.