Tootsie is on a roll at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre

Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

In 1982, movie-goers were wowed by Dustin Hoffman’s performance as actor Michael Dorsey, who decided to adopt the persona of Dorothy Michaels in order to get an acting job on a soap opera and ends up becoming and accidental feminist icon … until the ruse is revealed. That basic premise, along with the movie’s main character names, have been carried through to the Broadway musical Tootsie, which is now on tour across the US, making a stop this week at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, and next week (beginning December 7) at Washington DC’s National Theatre.

In the musical, Michael (Drew Becker) is a temperamental actor who can’t get a job. No one in New York wants to work with him, and even his agent (Steve Brustien) tells him he’ll never work in this town again. Michael’s friend Sandy (Payton Reilly) is an actress struggling with self-esteem issues which are exacerbated by her never being cast. She asks Michael to go over lines with her for an audition for a Broadway musical, and … she’s not great. Michael decides to audition for the role himself as Dorothy Michaels, mainly to prove that he can get hired … even if ‘he’ is not the actor being cast. Michael’s roommate Jeff (Jared David Michael Grant) thinks this is a terrible idea for many reasons (a man taking a job away from a woman, Michael taking a job away from Sandy, getting a pay cut because he’s a woman), but nevertheless Michael, or Dorothy, persists. The director (Adam du Plessis) of the new play is the same director who fired Michael from his last play, and has a feeling he’s encountered Dorothy before.

Things get complicated when Dorothy begins to bond with his co-star Julie (Ashley Alexandra) and impresses the show’s producer (Kathy Halenda) with her ideas for changing the show to a more female empowering vehicle. The changes go so well that the show’s title, ‘Juliet’s Curse’ (the show is a sequel to Romeo & Juliet in which Juliet lives), to ‘Juliet’s Nurse’ after the character played by Dorothy. The friendship between Dorothy and Julie becomes even more complicated when Michael begins to fall for her, losing himself in the moment and planting a kiss on Julie, which then complicates her feelings for her friend. And on top of that, Michael also has to deal with the advances of Max (Lukas James Miller), who has fallen head-over-heals for the older ‘woman’ who was one of the first people to believe in him. But how long can Michael keep up the ruse before it all comes crashing down on him?

Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

Tootsie the musical keeps the same premise as the movie, but the shift from a TV soap opera to a Broadway musical within the musical works very well. So well, in fact, that the opening number had me wondering what kind of cheese I was about to be subjected to with one of the most stereotypical Broadway numbers you can imagine. Then it’s cleverly revealed that this is a number from the really terrible musical that Michael is about to get fired from and then it all makes sense when the ensemble kicks into gear in a ‘real’ musical number. Very clever. I usually don’t like when a show adapted from a movie changes plot points so significantly, but everything in Tootsie works so well because it follows the movie’s storyline but is far enough removed from it that it doesn’t feel like blasphemy.

The show is buoyed by a winning cast lead by Becker in the dual role (and it seems he’s on stage more as Dorothy than Michael). Becker’s Michael is a real prick and it’s not hard to see why he can’t get a job outside of waiting tables at a steakhouse. But he becomes totally transformed, really tapping into his feminine side when he puts on Dorothy’s wig and dresses. Grant is very funny as Jeff, always ready with a one-liner and more than eager to see his friend fall flat on his face as he juggles his romantic entanglements. Reilly doesn’t get much to do, but she has a great first act song, ‘What’s Gonna Happen’, that is a tongue-twisting number that accelerates as it goes on. Reilly reprises the song a few times, and then gets a moment in Act II to react hilariously to the news that Michael is Dorothy. Miller is endearingly dopey as Max (a character not in the movie), who pronounces ‘Romeo’ as ‘Rome Oh’, and takes drastic action to prove how much he loves Dorothy. He also likes to rip off his shirt a lot, for good reason. Alexandra’s Julie is a smart cookie. When Dorothy sees how director Ron treats her and wants to know why she doesn’t say anything, Julie responds in a way that is probably all too familiar to women in the workplace — he hired her, she can deal with it, but she’s not going to make waves and lose her job. But Alexandra makes sure that we know Julie is never a victim. As Julie and Dorothy have a real bonding moment, Julie relates the story of her lost romance to Dorothy through the gorgeous song ‘There Was John’. Her voice, the music, the phrasing makes the song beautiful and heartbreaking, and it was my favorite song in the show that is full of good songs. This is a great cast and ensemble and they really carry this show to its pretty honest conclusion.

Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

If I have any quibbles with the show it’s the production design. When the show opens, the New York City backdrop is tacky … but it’s supposed to be. Then the actual show’s NYC backdrops are revealed and … they look like they were painted by elementary school art students. The park backdrop is fine, and the backdrop for ‘Juliet’s Nurse’ are nice, but the whole look of the New York skyline is … bad. Only Michael and Jeff’s apartment has any real substance to it and the whole setpiece was very cleverly constructed. Poor Julie only gets a partial wall, sofa and kitchen counter for her apartment set. (It’s telling that of the show’s eleven Tony Award nominations, none of them were for the production design.)

One of the things that has dogged the show (and the movie) is that it’s problematic in so many ways — transphobia being the major issue for some. Some have claimed that Michael dressing as a woman and getting away with it suggests that all trans people are liars and not to be trusted. I don’t see that as all — and I could be wrong. I’m not taking anything away from the struggles and adversity trans people face on a daily basis (watch the second season finale of HBO’s We’re Here to have your eyes opened), but I don’t see how this particular story is demeaning to trans people in any way. I’m all for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility and for people having their voices heard, but I also think that people sometimes like to just be offended so they have a soapbox to stand on (and that applies to any ‘hot button’ topic). In the case of Tootsie, it’s a mountain out of a mole hill, but maybe I’m wrong. I just don’t think audiences going to see this show are going to even consider these things. I know I didn’t. If anything, it’s a commentary on feminism and how men need to take a step back and see that the females of this world are as strong if not stronger than the males. I just went to enjoy a show for the first time in 21 months, and Tootsie was a joyful experience and I believe the majority of the audiences seeing the show will have that same experience.

Tootsie runs through December 5 at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre, and plays December 7-12 at DC’s National Theatre. Other cities on the schedule include Greenville SC, Atlanta GA, Memphis TN, Los Angeles CA, Sacramento CA and more. Visit the official Tootsie website for more information.