Tootsie

In 1982, 37 years ago (it is hard to believe it has been that long), Dustin Hoffman starred in a movie named “Tootsie” about a fellow named Michael Dorsey, an out-of-work actor who finds work as an actress named Dorothy Michaels. The movie was quite popular and was nominated for ten Academy Awards:

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Lange - WINNER

Best Picture: Sydney Pollack and Dick Richards

Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman

Best Supporting Actress: Teri Garr

Best Director: Sydney Pollack

Best Original Screenplay: Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal and Don McGuire

Best Original Song: Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for "It Might Be You"

Best Sound: Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander and Les Lazarowitz

Best Cinematography: Owen Roizman

Best Film Editing: Fredric Steinkamp and William Steinkamp

This story has now become the basis of a Broadway musical of the same name that has received a fair amount of attention this season. Tony Awards went to Santino Fontana for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, and the show also won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical. Acting nominations included Andy Grotelueschen, Lilli Cooper, and Sarah Stiles for Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical.

This was a fun and light show but not, in my opinion, likely to make anyone’s “top ten Broadway shows” list. Santino Fontana was certainly terrific, switching seamlessly between the two roles as Michael and Dorothy. His vocal range is quite impressive, something that was a requirement for being able to convincingly sing those songs as a female character. Sarah Stiles, who played Michael’s friend, Sandy, was, to be honest, a bit grating on the nerves. One could argue that this was how the character was intended to be, but I found it somewhat annoying.

We were a bit surprised to see a number of relatively young children attending the performance. Call me prude or naïve, but I really did not think the content of this show was appropriate for anyone under 16 or so. There was even one song, “Jeff Sums it Up,” sung by Andy Grotelueschen, in which the primary refrain was “You f’d it up, you really f’d it up.”

We do have tickets for a couple of upcoming Broadway shows, dramas rather than musicals: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” with Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch, and “What the Constitution Means to Me,” a play written by and starring Heidi Schreck that was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I will report on these when we’ve seen them.

Meanwhile, have a good rest of the week.

Love,

Rebecca