Broadway Flash said: "There's barely anything happening in this musical, theres a bunch of pauses, and nothing remarkable happening. I'm most shocked that they won three acting awards. They barely have anything to do especially the featured actor! Can someone explain this to me?"
Admittedly, I am prejudiced because I have a professional connection to Katrina Lenk (and think the world of her talent).
However -
Your observation, "theres a bunch of pauses, and nothing remarkable happening" is EXACTLY (IMO) an essential key as to why this show is so well created. I would also underline Someone in a Tree2's observation: "Then we saw the Tonys performance which was all TV closeups-- and I finally understood a little of the magic of the piece for the first time. Proximity to eyeballs made all the difference."
When I (or perhaps, you) keep that notion that "there's [...] nothing remarkable happening" at the forefront, almost EVERY aspect of this work makes exceptionally artistic sense.
I'm including frustrating occurrences of songs that seem "incomplete", or unfinished, and melodies that are merely chromatic exercises demonstrating overly-simplistic downward movement, and (IMO) the most beautiful song in the score (Answer Me) that replicates Ravel's "Bolero" in being so strictly repetitious, yet demonstrating an emotional "build".
Also (IMO), the lyrics tell you exactly why the show was constructed in this way.
It did help (for me) to see the movie. What is not visible from a far distance (from stage to audience) was filled in (as an audience member) by what I knew from the movie (to Someone in a Tree2's point).
I (and perhaps, maybe, not you) can appreciate the construction of this show. On the other hand, after seeing the Chicago, pre-Broadway run, and after the passage of time since I saw the show, Tootsie is not good.
...There. I said it in boldface type.