With music and lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Robert Horn and based on the story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart, and the Columbia Pictures motion picture produced by Punch Productions starring Duston Hoffman, comes the Australian musical premiere Tootsie, at Teatro in association with On Your Feet Australia, directed by Cameron Mitchell.
If you haven’t seen the 1982 comedy film, it doesn’t matter, as you will still be able to follow the musical adaptation. Plus, it is quite different from the movie. In the stage version, the story still follows Michael Dorsey, a struggling stage actor who is talented but overlooked for his attitude and well, being a man.
When Michael finds out that his ex and dear friend Sandy Lester is auditioning for a role in a new show, wanting Michael’s help rehearsing lines for the audition, Michael decides to audition for the role himself, as his persona, Dorothy Michaels. Thus, chaos ensues when Dorothy unexpectedly rises to stardom, all the while making genuine connections. Complications occur when Michael feels more unsatisfied that he can’t be his authentic self, all the while receiving no recognition for his talent due to nobody knowing who is beneath the Dorothy façade. That’s right, everyone think Dorothy is real!
With music direction by Nicholas Till, sound design by Niamh Sinclair, set design by Dan Potra and lighting by Peter Rubie, the creatives are fantastic in helping transport you to a club, loft apartment, green room and stage with ease. You don’t need a plane ticket to go to New York. You’re already transported just through this show!
I was unable to take my eyes off ensemble Julian Seguna who captivates the room whenever he’s on stage. Chris Huntly-Turner is well cast as Michael’s manage Stan Fields and is great for the time his character is given. Alana Tranter is great as the anxious, quirky and overthinking Sandy, especially during her solo and reprise of, ‘What’s Gonna Happen’. Tyran Stig is excellent as best friend Jeff Slater who Michael doesn’t actually listen to as owns the stage in ‘Jeff Sums It Up’.
Donna Lee is fabulous as music producer Rita Marshall who appears as an ally for Dorothy in ‘I Like What She’s Doing’, pulling Lachlan O’Brien’s director character Ron Carlisle in line. O’Brien too, plays the funniest antagonist, particularly when instructing his cast to follow along with his choreography. Elenoa Rokobaro takes the air out of the room when she’s on stage as Michael/Dorothy’s co-star Julia Nichols. My favourite performance of hers would be ‘Gone, Gone, Gone’, a song that Rokobaro slays and just makes you want to dance in your seat.
Michael/Dorothy finds a genuine connection in Julia’s similar struggles to make it in the theatre scene. Then there’s scene stealer, Brendan Irving is comedic perfection as fellow actor and adorable himbo Max Van Horn. He had my cackling in my seat whenever he graced the Sydney stage and is wonderful when he has his solo ‘This Thing’.
Last but not at all least is Andrew Bevis (doubles as co-founder and co-artistic director at Teatro alongside Nathan M.W Wright), playing the dual role as Michael Dorsey and Dorothy Michaels. This was my first time seeing Bevis on stage honestly, wow, Bevis is fantastic and was born to be a star. Completely convincing as the artistically frustrated Michael, playing Dorothy allows Michael to stretch his feelers, speak his mind without cruel judgement, and Michael is graciously given space to allow his creative juices to flow, all thanks to taking on the role of a lifetime as his Dorothy.
For Bevis to ace both characters is no ordinary feat, let alone Bevis looks stunning in a dress, and props to costumer designer Angela White for how fabulous everyone looks in this precious production. My only criticism for this production is when I attended, the mixing wasn’t right at the start. It was hard to understand what the cast were singing. This was fixed quite quickly but I couldn’t help but wonder what context I missed. With what I did hear, Bevis’ vocals soared whenever he opened his mouth to sing, to the point I don’t have a favourite number of his. However, the hero song of the production would hands down be ‘Unstoppable’. It really is a showstopper. You just had to be there.
As a musical, Tootsie isn’t that deep. Sometimes the characters feel one dimensional and ridiculous, but I assure you, it’s intentional. Tootsie is colourful, vibrant, silly and that’s okay. Sometimes you just need a fun, feel-good show with a happy ending, and this is one of them. Honestly, what a great Australian premiere of Tootsie! Thank-you to all involved who helped to bring this musical for the first time to the Australian stage.
Tootsie is proudly presented by On Your Feet Australia and is currently playing at Teatro the Italian Forum in Leichhardt, Sydney until the 21st of June.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://teatroitalianforum.com.au/date/tootsie
https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/artist/2728443
https://www.instagram.com/teatroitalianforum
Photography by Robert Miniter.
