TOOTSIE - Chicago tryout — Page 9

I also thought the balloon line was the weakest in the bunch. No pun intended as I'm rereading that sentence. anyway,

I meant to say that I did enjoy the music, I just had such high expectations that they fell short.

My problem with the entire premise, and yes I know that this will not change, is that no one can stand to work with him as a man but when he became Dorothy, even though it was a large part because of the woman producer, suddenly, he got his way about everything. I know that this is not original and I also that the stakes needed to be higher. If she was just another actor, it would not be such a big deal for her to come out as a man. It just bugs me.

Won the lottery for Friday night - got tickets in Row D off to the left. Great view, but being directly in front of the speaker resulted in a less-than-ideal sound experience (the pit seemed over-amplified in relation to the singers, and the whole thing sounded a bit muddy).

While the music didn't stick in my head, it was perfectly serviceable. Reminds me of when I saw War Paint at the Goodman - liked the show but wouldn't buy the cast recording. I also strongly agree with whoever said the opening number either needs to be clearly a joke or something stronger - as it is now, I was starting to wonder what I got myself into for a bit there.

Santino Fontana was excellent, as was Lilli Cooper and the actors playing Sandy, Jeff, and Craig(?) - forgive me, I don't have the Playbill in front of me at the moment. Still no song list in the Playbill btw.

The speech Michael gives about how much strength it takes to be a woman came across as a little preachy to me, but many in the audience ate it up.

(Jauntily sings) "Oh yes it takes a woman..."

Small changes. The Megabus Edition.

Halfway to Indy southbound on I-65.

My memories of the past 4 Tootsie weeknights include a small handful of additional minor changes.

Carl the stage manager is now atop Juliet's staircase singing a brief line from his clipboard.

Carl also now has small gospel-ish notes at the conclusion of THE MOST IMPORTANT NIGHT OF MY LIFE.

In that same number, one of the female ensemblists is deciding between 4 outfits. She only had 2 choices the first week.

In Act 2, more Dorothy clothes appear in the apartment's front room closet.

Julie Nichols has more tender lines with Dorothy in the dressing room scene.

At Friday's show, the flourish music that once started the fantasy montage was absent.

Ticket sales are strong for today's and Sunday's matinees.

Act 1 has been running 1:20, a 15 minute intermission, then 1:02 second Act.

I've witnessed a few Metra riders duck out a few moments before the final scene.

I went to the matinee show this Saturday and I feel like there were significant number of changes. This is my 3rd time seeing the show apologies if these have been mentioned.
Most importantly this is the greatest day changed to this is the most important day which was a change. I’m not sure if I like it. . They never said this is the greatest day at all. Also the beginning scene has TMNT bed sheets during that number.
I enjoy how Rita and Rob were added into previously ensemble roles I thought it was a good change.
There wes some added changes that I really enjoyed.
First in the beginning scene they changed it from the yelling and dying scene to Michael being a little boy with the hat and the voice being a director who he previously trash talked and it was him being called out.
There was a change in choreography in the opening number which was appreciated. And the previously mentioned changes of staging with Michael being out before the audition room falls.
When Sandy and Jeff talked at the party there were some added lines which were amusing and when Michael walks with sandy to the bedroom there is an underlying music.

In the scene with Sandy and Jeff after the reveal they changed the line to something along the lines “I’m going to ride you” over the original “how dare you”.
There were some minor changes in the first line of the “audition song” I believe.
The coat at the Act 1 ending is most definitely purple now.
Right before unstoppable when Dorothy is changing into Michael Jeff says something along the lines of “well that’s a change of boundaries”
Compared to the other shows I have seen the crowd energy seemed down in act 1 compared to the other nights and act 2 was much higher. That probably was due to it being a matinee. The bows were also similar to stated above where a lot more people joined the crowd of going through the middle
I thouroughly think there are still some parts to improve but I do it enjoy a good ton!

Angelica_loves_musicals said: "Also the beginning scene has TMNT bed sheets ..."

Aha! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Thank you for the clarification.

Saw the 7:30pm performance last night (Sunday). A lot of thoughts spinning round my head. Apologies if this rambles on for a bit.

I'm pretty adamant about the fact that there should be a woman on the creative team for this show. Yes, it is important for men to create material that is grappling with their own inherent sexism. And yes, this is obviously a satirical show, and there are many instances (especially from the character of Jeff) where the show is essentially grappling with it's own existence (A paraphrased line from Jeff in Act 1; "At a time when woman are FINALLY getting the opportunities they deserve in the industry, you're going to do THIS?". The all-male team are clearly trying to put in the work to tackle the mountain that is "Making a Tootsie Musical in 2018."
But to put in all this work and not have ANY women writing the show, directing the show, in any major design position on the show...that says a lot, and is arguably a self-defeating point to this whole thing. Why make a show about tackling sexism and misogyny in the entertainment industry (and for all intents and purposes, that is the clear message of this show) when you aren't even putting in the work to have that presence on the creative team? This isn't even getting into the fact that the world as it stands now is working to break down the concept of a gender binary anyways, but that's a post for another day.

And the thing is, the show as it is is a VERY FUN TIME. It is definitely an out-of-town tryout (there's a lot of exposition to figure out in the first half-hour and they're still figuring out how to best to get it all across), and for every solid zinger, there are about 2-3 jokes you can see from a mile away. They'll figure those out.
The performances are phenomenal across the board, and ironically (ironically?, i dunno), I found the female characters to be the most interesting/have the most interesting songs (Sarah Stiles and Lilli Cooper walk away with this thing, they are outstanding). Santino is astounding and a sure frontrunner for the Tony, Andy Grotelueschen knocks his Act 2 opener (very much in the vein of Full Monty's Act 2 opener) out of the park, and John Behlmann has some of the funniest lines in the play ("Mistake. Mistake!!!!!".
David Yazbek's score is a lovely time. I'm still humming the "terrible" opening number in my head. I agree about the ending. It's far too abrupt and I honestly think Julie shouldn't be as quick to forgive Michael. I'm grateful that this is an out-of-town tryout, and I'm hopeful that they'll learn from this run and make the changes they need to to tighten it up.

But I truly hope there's SOME chance of them bringing on a woman between now and Broadway to work on the book/the direction/ANYTHING. Heck, a "consultant" credit, just some kind of authoritative female presence in the room.

Is Tootsie a good musical? It sure as heck is it on it's way to be.
Is Tootsie the musical we need right now? I'm really not so sure.

Updated On: 9/24/18 at 12:49 PM

Here's something I'm missing from all the posts about the previews. (BTW, I'm hoping to see the show in Chicago toward the end of its preview run).

I know the movie very well. It's one of my favorites. In the movie, the character of Michael Dorsey is not a likable character - at least not to women. He first love is acting, and acting ONLY. He does some pretty self-centered things, and proves himself to be an ego-centric cad throughout the move.

Things like:

- He has no steady, romantic relationship with a woman.

- He has no qualms whatsoever about taking a role away from a woman. ...And not just any woman, but a woman who it seems he considers to be a good friend.

- He excuses the selfish action above by telling Sandy that he's doing it for her, so she can star in Jeff's play, but it seems obvious from other scenes that if he's being altruistic at all, it's for Jeff's benefit (because Jeff wrote the play) and for his own, self-serving purposes.

- In the birthday party scene, he hits on EVERY woman present, in the hopes that he can hook up with one of them, but is unsuccessful (mostly because the women see through his superficial come-ons, like the character Christine Ebersole plays in the film).

- Even when he decides to come clean at the end, it's not because he realizes how he's hurting people, but because he doesn't want to be contractually obligated to spend more time masquerading as a woman.

Even at the end of the movie, there can be doubt as to whether Michael and Julie will last as a couple because we, as the audience have yet to see how he will treat her as himself - a man who is still primarily focused on his career.

At the end of the movie we can only see Michael and Julie at the very beginning of their relationship. We don't get the luxury of seeing how his time as Dorothy will effect how he will act differently as a man, in a male/female relationship, or if his time as Dorothy has changed his priorities regarding his work vs. his relationships with women. The movie's ending (perhaps somewhat similar to the musical's if I'm understanding what I'm reading) is not cut and dried regarding Michael and Julie as a couple.

BUT - the movie has one (literal) note of hope. It's the song "It's Telling Me It Might Be You" that underscores throughout the film, and even more importantly, over the closing credits. That one song and its lyrics add the missing ingredient of hope that perhaps Michael has truly changed enough that he and Julie can be successful as a couple.

So far, I haven't heard that there is a song like that in the musical; something that Michael can sing to Julie on that park bench, with literally no other set pieces surrounding them, just the two them at the very uncertain start of their real relationship.

In a way, I think it will be smarter for all if the ending does not get changed or fixed by the end of the preview run. If that happened, there would be less to look forward to for the Broadway run - kind of like a spoiler before the show even opens.

I know I'm more familiar with the movie than the musical, and as I say, I'm hoping to catch one of the final previews. Those of you who have been following the previews so closely, I'd love to hear if you think my notions are incorrect regarding the movie vs the musical, and any other input.

Thanks for all the posts! (I don't mind spoilers)!

Updated On: 9/25/18 at 10:43 AM

Thank you jbp1232, that's exactly what I was getting at!
I completely agree, eastcoasttheatre. I don't think there are enough opportunities/advocacy for disabled artists in theatre, especially musical theatre. We need more artists with disabilities writing/directing shows, and more work that is created in such a way that artists of all abilities are able to thrive and make the best work possible.

Saw the show a second time tonight. And much as it breaks my heart to say, the balcony was barren this evening. This may be due to the weather, Metra trains and last week being the end of the subscribers.

But the show was great. I brought my friend and she loved it.

I still believe there should be a better “musical comedy” ending. Something more extraordinary.

No rush for this show or a cheap way to get a ticket?

Call_me_jorge said: "It’s VERY easy to win the lottery. "

Digital ir in-person?

My only date in Chicago is exactly the last performance (October 14), If I dont win the lottery, whats the best seat around $60-70?