TOOTSIE - Chicago tryout- Page 12

[Daddy Warbucks]

Posted: 9/30/18 at 11:59pm

Should we expect reviews to be out tonight or will they trickle in over the coming days?

[DrowsyKaye]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 12:07am

Chris Jones at the Tribune usually gets his review out the next day. Expect it on Monday, likely sometime between 12pm-4pm CST. Other reviews will likely pop up throughout the day elsewhere.

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 12:13am

The Tribune, Sun-Times, and Daily Southtown will probably post reviews within 24 hours. Variety sometimes does a review as well.

Weeklies such as the Reader and Windy City Times may post their thoughts later in the week.

Entertainment reporters on local TV and radio will start their buzz on Monday morning.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 12:26am

I love your coverage, Balcony Club!

Would Ben Brantley or Jesse Green go out to Chicago to review this? Of the recent commercial tryouts, I know Brantley reviewed Moulin Rouge but I don’t remember them reviewing Pretty Woman or The Cher Show.

[JBC3]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 6:31am

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-ent-tootsie-review-1002-story.html

[DrowsyKaye]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 9:06am

Welp, spoke too soon, looks like he got it out pretty early.

The creative team and producers I'm sure are THRILLED with this rave from Chris. Hopefully they'll take the constructive criticism concerning the ending and find ways to make some changes before New York. 

[little_sally]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 11:45am

I was there this past Friday and have to say that it needs a bit of work but overall it's very good--much better than most of the most recent musicals, especially from last season. The book is strong and funny, although there's a little too much telling and not showing. Santino and cast are all terrific (although Sarah Stiles was out). I am sorry to say that I thought the score was the weakest link. Nothing is really exciting or memorable, and I think this is Yazbek's weakest score so far.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 5:24pm

Saw it Saturday and I loved it!  I agree about adding a bit more drama to the 11 o'clock number and more build from that number through the finale, but holy cow, the show is HILARIOUS and in excellent shape already (far superior to the last man-in-drag best musical winner, Kinky Boots).  I think the score is pretty strong and for me, it was pretty memorable for any new musical score that I've seen cold, with no cast recording or multiple television appearances to assist the listener.  I've been humming Sandy's number ever since I walked out of the theatre.  So many gems that I think, not unlike Women on the Verge, will gain traction and quickly generate a lot of fans and appreciation once the cast recording is released.  I was all smiles start to finish and laughed out loud numerous times, sometimes from lyrics, numerous times from lines, and a few times from sight gags (I guffawed at the Donna McKechnie reference).  Yazbeck infuses a his quirky stylings into roughly half  the score, but this is by far his most conventional "Broadway musical" score to date, though some of that having to do with the musical-within-a-musical (fondly reminiscent of Something Rotten).

Nothing is really exciting or memorable, and I think this is Yazbek's weakest score so far.

Really?  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is probably my least favorite of his scores, but honestly, there are always a few scattered "unmemorable" remarks about the score for every show he's ever opened.  Any single song I find more memorable than the entirety of Andrew Lippa's musical theatr career, for whatever that's worth.  I can't forget Sally's number (melody is still stuck in my head), the I'll Make You Proud audition (stopped the show when I saw it), the classic Yazbek subtle ballad Julie sang in the bench scene, and Jeff's hilarious expletive-laden number at the top of Act 2.  The only one that really didn't work for me was Julie's nightclub performance.  Granted, it's not a scene where the song is intended to be an extension of the narrative, but I just wanted the lyrics to link a bit more to the message of the show and perhaps ground her character a bit more.  The music is great and Lilli Cooper performs the hell out of it, but it needs that extra layer of subtle relevance.  Julie is the one character that feels underwritten and it's probably because she's been relegated as the "straight" character while all the comedy is being delivered by everyone else around her. 

If I were going to add anything to the score, it would be turning the contract negotiation dialogue between Dorothy and the producer in Act 2 into a short and fun duet.  It's a good scene, but as a song, I think it has potential to be as great as the Sandy and Jeff comic numbers.

This show is going to be raking in the Tony noms.  I could easily see acting noms for Fontana, Stiles, Grotelueschen and Behlmann.  Plus noms for Musical, Book, Score, Direction, Choreography, Costumes, Scenic Design and Orchestrations.  I'm definitely going to try and catch this again before it leaves Chicago.

Updated On: 10/1/18 at 05:24 PM

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 5:35pm

Am I wrong about Dorothy's audition number? I've been calling it "I Won't Let You Down" because that's what I remember, not "I'll Make You Proud." I'm probably mistaken; the absence of the evolving song list doesn't help my memory! 

I agree about Sandy's song, the tempo is easy to remember, the words less so -- for me -- because of the speed, but I recall the lines being very clever. Sarah's delivery is awesome, glad I got to see her Saturday given she's been out a bit. Really illustrates her neuroses and speed at which her thoughts bounce around inside her head. 

 

 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 5:51pm

Am I wrong about Dorothy's audition number? I've been calling it "I Won't Let You Down" because that's what I remember, not "I'll Make You Proud."

No, you're right.  Somehow, I thought of the Tootsie song in my head, but translated it into Martin Guerre when typing.  I remember the melody more than the specific lyrics and there was no song list in the Playbill.  I wonder how Jeff's song will be listed?  *tee hee*

Speaking of Sandy, that Dirty Dancing joke brought down the house, though I heard a woman behind me very distinctly say, "I don't get it".   SERIOUSLY?!?!?!

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 6:12pm

Mister Matt, were you at the evening show on Saturday or the matinee? After the evening show my buddy said how unfortunate that the one major technical glitch was during the fantasy production number, envisioning Dorothy's rise to fame, that the "CHICAGO" rolling poster didn't light up but the other three did. That's a fun busy number -- in a good way -- with clever ensemble choreography as the signs light up in back, so I didn't notice that rolling poster issue. 

It was the only tech glitch I noticed, aside from when Sandy throws her jacket into the bedroom in Act 2, it hit and popped the back door open revealing the skyline backdrop and a stagehand walking by. The door was very slowly and very softly closed from behind. I was in Row B house right so it was clearly visible. 

Yeah, the Dirty Dancing reference was great. There seemed to be a beat as Sandy buries her head in her hands, and suddenly the audience, all 2500+, get the joke at the same time. LOL I also liked her Cinderella/Prince Charming references directed to Santino. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/1/18 at 7:22pm

Yes, I was at the evening show when that Chicago poster didn't light up.  But from where I was seated, you could still tell it said "CHICAGO".  I remember the door thing happening as well and thought it was sort of funny in that particular moment.  But, even for long running Broadway shows, these things happen.  I remember seeing the stage curtain get caught on the dressing room set in the Kiss Me Kate revival as it rolled out and a stagehand had to step out on stage to fix it.

The whole show made me giddy and happy at a time I really needed it.  For me, this show is already a hit in its current form and I've a feeling they're going to knock it out of the park on Broadway.  I was really looking forward to another Yazbek show (probably the most excited I've been about an announced  Chicago tryout since Spamalot and The Pirate Queen), but I was a bit wary of this particular adaptation.  It exceeded my expectations and didn't let me down. (see what I did there?)

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/8/18 at 6:15pm

It's the final tryout week.

Use a code of FUNNY to obtain $59 main floor seats for performances Tuesday through Thursday, October 9-11.

Performances run through Sunday, October 14.

And worth repeating: the $25 on-line lottery is easy to win. Entries are accepted the prior day between 9AM and 5PM.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 10/8/18 at 8:39pm

I will try the lottery.

If I don't win, seems Dress Circle R LL6 and Dress Circle Left EE1 are good options, better than balcony. 

Any opinion on the view?

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 10/8/18 at 11:22pm

BalconyClub said: "It's the final tryout week."

Hey BC...any significant changes to the ending in the past week? I thought the last five minutes was the weakest part of the show. 

[Menken Fan]

Posted: 10/8/18 at 11:30pm

Our local PBS station, WTTW, had a nice interview with Santino and Lilli tonight.

Chicago Tonight - Tootsie Interview

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 1:52pm

Saw Tootsie for the second time at the matinee last Sunday.  Didn't notice any significant changes, but for some reason, the ending worked a bit better for me the second time around.  In watching Michael's "Thank You" number, I honestly didn't see any need for it to be a typical big belty 11 o'clock showpiece.  And the snippet of it used for the final scene ties it together quite nicely.

There was a technical glitch during the first act when Michael's agent stops by Michael's apartment.  As the agent is attempting to leave, the doorknob to the front door of the apartment came off in his hand and there was no other way he could get the door open.  The actors acknowledged the mishap and covered with some hilarious dialogue that had the audience in stitches.

 

A) The Romeo and Juliet musical is terrible, even after Dorothy fixesit.

Tootsie is a classic musical comedy with elements of farce.  They don't even really show enough of the end result to make that sort of judgment, anyway.  We rely on the behaviors of the characters to supply the credibility of the circumstance.  What we think of it is completely irrelevant.  

B) The klunky writing in the lesbian romance scene. Too many modern writers are terrified of the word bisexual.

I didn't find it clunky at all.  The word "bisexual" doesn't have to be used because nobody truly identifies as bisexual.  It's an awkward scene because one character is willing to try, even though she's clearly confused by her attraction to the same sex, and the other is afraid to say why they can't.  

C) The idea that anyone working on Broadway in 2018 would be shocked by a man playing a woman. Frankly a good chunk of the audience would assume Michael was coming out as trans in that final monologue. There would be a headline or two calling him brave for coming out, rather than treating him like a monster.

Except it would make less sense that anyone would assume a trans female performer would come out in such a way.  Keep in mind that it is established that Dorothy Michaels has generated a lot of buzz and publicity leading up to opening night, so it wouldn't make sense that she'd hide the fact that she's trans from literally everybody for exactly the same reason you mention.  It's the reactions of the other performers, especially Julie, coupled with the speech Dorothy/Michael makes that infer the betrayal.  Michael's behavior quickly makes it clear that he's apologizing for something, not coming out as trans.  If anything, the audience in the world of the show may think it was some sort of publicity stunt with casting to fool the audience (sort of like Mary Sunshine in Chicago).

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 8:34pm

MadsonMelo said: "I will try the lottery.

If I don't win, seems Dress Circle R LL6 and Dress Circle Left EE1 are good options, better than balcony.

Any opinion on the view?"

Hello MadsonMelo,

Tonight, I headed up to dress circle before the performance and tested out your two seats.  

R LL 6 has a more centered view of the stage, but there are a few speakers hanging in your way.  Though the speakers would not block your view of any of the show itself, a smidgen of the top of the grand red traveler curtain is blocked.

L EE 1 has a much better view of the red curtain as well as being a great perch to people watch.  Yet, a hint of one upstage corner will be missed.

I like L EE 1 as it will also offers views of sets before they are rolled into place. This seat also allows you to see some of the lighting in action, which I find exciting.

But you will probably instead win the easy lottery.

Updated On: 10/9/18 at 08:34 PM

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 10:02pm

After seeing shows in NY last week, I returned to Tootsie for the Tuesday, October 9 performance. It appears that the great book has been temporarily frozen since Chicago's Sept 30 opening,

What surprises me is how poorly this wonderful show is selling.

The top 9 rows of the balcony are NOT being sold for the FIVE performances tonight through Friday. 

Theatregoers CAN buy seats in the top 9 balcony rows for Sat, Oct 13 and Sun, Oct 14.

As the show has solidified, I'm back plotting Megabus trips to Indy.

Thank you Tootsie for many fond memories.

 

 


 

Updated On: 10/9/18 at 10:02 PM

[HunterK]

Posted: 10/9/18 at 11:28pm

Just got my 3rd row on the aisle ticket for $59 for Thursday! I am so glad they are discounting rather than having the theatre go empty. I know it is not sold well, but I think when it comes to NY it will be a different story. 

So looking forward to seeing this!

[dougs9797]

Posted: 10/10/18 at 12:28am

Saw this tonight and LOVED it. 

Great cast led by Santino! John Behlman and Andy Grotelueschen were standouts as well along with Julie Halson.

I liked the second half of the show much better than the film which always got bogged down to me in the second half.

The fact there was no closing number didn't bother me at all. I loved the ending. I would like a bigger 11 o'clock number for Dorothy in Act 2 though...

And finally a quibble, a major quibble. Sarah Stile interpretation of Sandy was just annoying. Terri Garr was quirky and neurotic. This was just irritating...So loud! Grating...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/10/18 at 2:47pm

What surprises me is how poorly this wonderful show is selling.

Honestly, it's pretty standard for any Chicago tryout without a BIG STAR NAME as a box office draw.  It probably didn't help that this show followed the tryout of Pretty Woman.

Sarah Stile interpretation of Sandy was just annoying. Terri Garr was quirky and neurotic. This was just irritating...So loud! Grating...

OMG...I love how Sarah Stiles plays Sandy!  Musically, it works better as it adds to her dynamic range and reads better in a large theatre that doesn't enjoy the advantage of closeups to capture a more subtle and subdued performance.  If Sandy weren't irritating and annoying, she wouldn't be half as funny.

[John Adams]

Posted: 10/13/18 at 7:32pm

I won a lottery ticket for the last performance (2:00 matinee, tomorrow). 

Very happy and excited! 

[HunterK]

Posted: 10/13/18 at 7:59pm

My quick review from Thursday nights show.....I just feel it will be a hit in NY. In the orchestra the audience was 100% engaged and the laughter and applause never stopped. Santino, in my own opinion, gives one of the best male lead performance I have seen in years. He is on 100% of the time and is so quick witted with ad-libs. He couldn't hang up his dress in Act 2, it just kept falling and he made a 30 second it about it. Sarah Stiles is hysterical. I don't find her whiney I find that to be the character and they way she was directed. I found it hysterical, her monologues are just side split-tingly funny. The ending was a little off, my only real negative, just because to me the seemed to try and make this seem like an old time musical with the curtain and partial overture/Entr'acte. But I just loved it. Jute Halston's one liners are hysterical and I have a feeling in NY she will be changing them up from night to night. 

Just a great show, a great escape that so many people need! So glad I went!

[pc1145N]

Posted: 10/13/18 at 9:52pm

I won a lottery ticket to tomorrow's final performance too!