The musical comedy “Tootsie” is so loaded with laughs that it might be called a ‘Joke Box’ Musical. There’s punchlines aplenty in the slaphappy show on the road to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, May 31 to June 12.
The Tony Award winning Musical is based on the 1982 movie of the same name. And it is as familiar to those who have seen the movie as those who have not. It’s about a man who disguises himself as a woman to get ahead, plots that Shakespeare and the ancient Greeks employed in comedy. The 40 years ‘new’ “Tootsie” has been updated with an all-singing, all-dancing joyfulness that turns the story into a song, a very funny one.
Actress Kathy Halenda featured In “Tootsie” as Rita Marshall, the producer of the show within a show that pilots the plot, describes “Tootsie” as an “Ice cream cone with pop rock sprinkles.”
Ms. Halenda, a 30+ year veteran of Broadway and beyond, knows of which she speaks when talking about “Tootsie.” She has been in over 250 shows, including 19 National Tours. The talented actress has been stylized by one critic as a “buxom, brassy broad who is comfortable in any room from Opera Hall to Beer Hall.”
Her versatility, earthy charm and wisecracking demeanor fit her “Tootsie” character to a T. But it was her vast experience in the business that landed her in the Rita role. She says, “It’s funny, but the Casting Director called me from New York to audition. I put together a couple of tapes, one went well, the other call back tape was a ‘keystone cops’ disaster. I think, they actually signed me on because back in the mid-1980’s I had toured with Dennis Jones, our wonderful choreographer. Guess he knew I was still around and kicking so I got the job.”
“Tootsie’s” plot pretty much parallels that of the movie with a few adjustments to modern times. Halenda says “changes have been made to the storyline to make it more universal and relevant today. Basically it’s about an actor hitting his 4o’s and unemployed because he’s very misogynistic with an irritating white male philosophy. He’s ruined his reputation in New York with his impudent personality. His only shot at working is to disguise himself as a woman. Michael Dorsey recreates himself as Dorothy Michael to co-star in a really bad Shakespearean musical titled “Julia’s Curse.” This is the start of the fun and games. I, as Rita, respond to Dorothy/Michael because she/he is a strong woman with a great voice and some great ideas for the show.”
One of the techniques used to update “Tootsie” was to have Dorothy/Michael audition for a Broadway Musical rather than an old-fashioned Soap Opera, does anyone remember those? There has been some shifting of characters. Halenda’s character Rita Marshall, for example is new. Halenda says “the producer, my role, has been added to make it more relevant today because more women are producers now. It has shifted a bit from the movie but remains much the same. The characters motivations’ and intentions are all there.”
The world has changed a lot since 1982, the Musical Comedy has had to made changes reflecting current issues such as the women’s movement and gender identify. LA Times critic Charles McNulty wrote “Tootsie is a marvel of movie to musical reinvention; the show acknowledges that gender politics have undergone significant changes in the last four decades while embracing what makes this loony tale still so much fun today.”
Halenda credits Robert Horn’s writing with doing such an excellent job of lightly touching on women’s rights and gender identify. She says “the theater in general has become more supportive of women and gender topics in our culture. It had to happen; the world is a more inclusive place. And of course, Robert Horn’s script is delicious, like an ice cream cone, so funny and clever.”
She continues, “The show isn’t about being gay or trans. It’s just about a straight male who’s looking for a job. He makes the wrong choices and through the course of the show the audience comes to see how ridiculously, and laugh worthy, wrong those choices are. As he, Dorothy/Michael realizes how tough life can be for women in general; he gains a whole new respect for the gentler sex that helps him grow as a man. As Michael admits ‘Being a woman is no job for a man.”
“Tootsie” is musical comedy and not meant to be taken seriously. As Halenda says “the humor in the show is absolutely fresh and relational to theater patrons. Audiences are so ready to laugh and in ‘Tootsie’ every other line is a laugh line. One of my favorite lines is when Jeff, the sidekick, tells Michael/Dorothy ‘You’ve seen me so drunk, I found a toilet and tried to buckle my seat belt.”
The characters are comic stereotypes, lacking in complexity. That’s exactly how they were intended to be, so silly that audiences just have to laugh at their antics. Of all the personalities presented, it’s the ensemble that Halenda favors, saying “they add real pizazz to our show that was missing on Broadway. Our ensemble moves the scenery so it’s integral to the story. They’re on stage, singing and dancing while moving props as New York characters, each as their own person in their own world. They are great.”
Halenda, with great enthusiasm, recommends “Tootsie to audiences, saying “after all we’re been through the last few years, people are desperate for something that’s fun. ‘Tootsie’ is all fluff, no thinking involved, just come, take a seat and let it wash over you. Sit back and belt out a belly laugh.”
Just wanna have fun? Don’t walk, run to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. “Tootsie” plays May 31 to June 12, 2022. For tickets and information: The Box Office, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; by phone, 714-556-2787; or online, SCFTA.org
