TOOTSIE Reviews- Page 10

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 9:33pm

I ended up winning the lottery last minute yesterday so I saw this again last night. House seemed like it was full. There were several understudies on including for Sarah Stiles. Leslie Flesner was on as Sandy. I thought she did a great job but seeing someone else in the role made me realize just how much Sarah Stiles steals the show. Finally got to meet Santino at the stage door as well so it was a good night overall.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 1:47am

Friday was the final night of my tripl and I saw Tootsie. What I great show to cap 8 days of shows and concerts. The audience was eating it up. People were talking about how much better it was an expected as they were walking out the door. I don’t think I’ve laughed that much at a musical since BoM. I’m actually looking forward to going back and listen to the cast recording again. I’m not sure I understand why people feel like the cast recording is so weak. I do agree that the book is really funny. Also it seems that I can call people saying that Michael doesn’t have any emotional growth throughout the show and I would disagree with that. I’m really, really glad I saw this. I feel good musical if there ever was one 

Only replacement in the cast was John Arthur Greene as Max Van Horn. He was excellent as was the rest of the cast, including Fontana. 

I bought a magnet, program and the Friends of Dorothy mug.  

As far as stage door goes, it appeared a lot of people were going backstage through the stage door so only John Arthur Greene, Lilli Cooper ahh Sarah Stiles came out and all were lovely. I guess this is JAG’s first week in the role and he was impressive. Is Stiles in a comic book? Two young ladies waited only for her to hand her things and then have her sign some printed out graphics of a cartoon character and it’ sounded like they had seen her at comicon earlier in the day. 

I’m still operating on two hours sleep so I think I’m gonna call tonight. I should be packing but I’m too tired and my town car doesn’t come in until 2 PM. 

Updated On: 10/5/19 at 01:47 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 9:06am

Wishing you a safe flight home!

[inception]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 11:12am

Sarah Stiles voiced Spinel in the Steven Universe movie.

From google:
Spinel is the main antagonist of the 2019 Cartoon Network animated television film Steven Universe: The Movie. She is Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz's former best friend of the Homeworld Gems, who was abandoned by Pink in order to turn Earth into a colony for Homeworld.

[inception]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 11:16am

Also glad to hear this is good. Listening to the CD I really like the song "There Was John." Seeing this Boxing Day, & evercsince I bought tickets all the bad talk on here has made me worried I wasted my money.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 3:04pm

It’s an excellent show. The bad word of mouth stems from a group of people who somehow convinced themselves that the show is “transphobic.” Many of them likely have not actually seen the show.

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 4:01pm

It's delightful and funny, you have nothing to worry about. 99% of haters have never even seen it. Enjoy!

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 4:07pm

I do know people who didn’t find transphobic, but still didn’t like it. I just happened to not find it either transphobic or a bad night at the theater.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 4:25pm

Oh yeah, there’s nothing wrong with simply not enjoying the show. But the “woke” crowd who tried desperately to be relevant by bashing the show really sucked.

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 4:40pm

ljay889 said: "Oh yeah, there’s nothing wrong with simply not enjoying the show. But the “woke” crowd who tried desperately to be relevant by bashing the show really sucked. "

Agreed.  I found their wishing for the demise and celebrating bad box office weeks distasteful that I now don't feel compelled to support their cause. 

[Joe Mayo]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 7:00pm

ModernMillie3 said: "It's delightful and funny, you have nothing to worry about. 99% of haters have never even seen it. Enjoy!"

Yeah, the show is fantastic.

If the show was in walter kerr, eugene O'Neill, schoenfeld or music box, the narrative changes entirely.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 7:36pm

It was entertaining, funny and a fun evening at the theater. And sometimes that's more than enough.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/5/19 at 10:56pm

ljay889 said: "It’s an excellent show. The bad word of mouth stems from a group of people who somehow convinced themselves that the show is “transphobic.” Many of them likely have not actually seen the show."

That is not true in my case.  My problem with the show is attributable to four things:  ROTTEN SCORE, mediocre direction, mediocre choreography (but I do assume that it must be very difficult to choreograph to such lousy music), and cheesy sets.  I loved the book scenes and would have preferred a straight play to what we got.  I absolved the performances, although I have to admit that I found Michael's character even more annoying than the movie Michael.

I have no issue with the premise and personally feel that someone needs to get a life if they are not enjoying a light musical comedy because of some transphobic issue.  It is based on a classic movie that was a monster hit in its day.  End of discussion for me.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 12:03am

💯 agree! Great material but bad production.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 3:27am

Joe Mayo said: "ModernMillie3 said: "It's delightful and funny, you have nothing to worry about. 99% of haters have never even seen it. Enjoy!"

Yeah, the show is fantastic.

If the show was in walter kerr, eugene O'Neill, schoenfeld or music box, the narrative changes entirely.

I'd recommend it to anyone."

the book is laugh out loud funny (very rare these days) and the music is serviceable at best. but the real issue is size: this would have been a GREAT play, or probably a much better small, simple musical. Bloating it the way they did- with big horrible sets/dances for mediocre songs- killed it. A small, quiet, scaled down version at the Music Box would have probably been bliss. (And they'd be selling at a more respectable clip.)

As patently ridiculous as the woke transphobia warriors were, i dont think we can pretend they hurt the show. the tiny sliver of extremists on twitter rarely move the financial or political needle. its doing poorly because word of mouth is mixed and its in a barn.

 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 9:48am

" As patently ridiculous as the woke transphobia warriors were, i dont think we can pretend they hurt the show. the tiny sliver of extremists on twitter rarely move the financial or political needle. its doing poorly because word of mouth is mixed and its in a barn "

Everybody admits it is quite funny and the knock has been on the music which is kind of important for a musical -lol. I think your point of it would have been a great play is 100% correct.

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 2:55pm

Jarethan said: "ljay889 said: "It’s an excellent show. The bad word of mouth stems from a group of people who somehow convinced themselves that the show is “transphobic.” Many of them likely have not actually seen the show."

That is not true in my case. My problem with the show is attributable to four things: ROTTEN SCORE, mediocre direction, mediocre choreography (but I do assume that it must be very difficult to choreograph to such lousy music), and cheesy sets. I loved the book scenes and would have preferred a straight play to what we got. I absolved the performances, although I have to admit that I found Michael's charactereven more annoying than the movie Michael.

I have no issue with the premise and personally feel that someone needs to get a life if they are not enjoying a light musical comedy because of some transphobic issue. It is based on a classic movie that was a monster hit in its day. End of discussionfor me."

I like the score.  I've listened to it many times now on Spotify.  I think it works within the context and as a function of the show.  And there are some wonderful moments "what's going to happen" "there was john" "unstoppable," and "the most important night."   Also "whaddya do" is a wonderful anti "I want" song.  The score structure is very traditional and the songs are subtle.  Not sure your specific complaint, but it grew on me after multiple listens.  

Also, the cheesy choreography is intentional because it is supposed to based on a hack director/choreographer who is the main foil to Michael.  Same for the cheesy "opening number" song that Michael stops because he has created a preposterous character arc as "man who walks by."  I thought that was clear.  I think you missed the point.

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 9:27pm

i dont think we missed the point of the uninspired choreography and staging. the opening number is SUPPOSED to be awkward and bad. we get it. the rest of the show....

 

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 11:31pm

So between the first number and the numbers that were part of "Juliet's Curse," which is almost every number with choreography,suddenly the director/choreographer character was supposed to be good?

You didn't get the show at all.

[cryan71]

Posted: 10/6/19 at 11:31pm

So between the first number and the numbers that were part of "Juliet's Curse," which is almost every number with choreography,suddenly the director/choreographer character was supposed to be good?

You didn't get the show at all.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/7/19 at 11:03am

cryan71 said: "Jarethan said: "ljay889 said: "It’s an excellent show. The bad word of mouth stems from a group of people who somehow convinced themselves that the show is “transphobic.” Many of them likely have not actually seen the show."

That is not true in my case. My problem with the show is attributable to four things: ROTTEN SCORE, mediocre direction, mediocre choreography (but I do assume that it must be very difficult to choreograph to such lousy music), and cheesy sets. I loved the book scenes and would have preferred a straight play to what we got. I absolved the performances, although I have to admit that I found Michael's charactereven more annoying than the movie Michael.

I have no issue with the premise and personally feel that someone needs to get a life if they are not enjoying a light musical comedy because of some transphobic issue. It is based on a classic movie that was a monster hit in its day. End of discussionfor me."

I like the score. I've listened to it many times now on Spotify. I think it works within the context and as a function of the show. And there are some wonderful moments "what's going to happen" "there was john" "unstoppable," and "the most important night." Also "whaddya do" is a wonderful anti "I want" song. The score structure is very traditional and the songs are subtle. Not sure your specific complaint, but it grew on me after multiple listens.

Also, the cheesy choreography is intentional because it is supposed to based on a hack director/choreographer who is the main foil to Michael. Same for the cheesy "opening number" song that Michael stops because he has created a preposterous character arc as "man who walks by." I thought that was clear. I think you missed the point.

 

Why do I want to pay hard-earned money to see multiple production numbers with intentionally cheesy choreography.  I have to ask what it the difference between intentionally cheesy and unintentionally cheesy from the perspective of the audience?  It is still cheesy.  A two-minute bit making fun of bad shows is one thing; every number is another.  The music part of the show made me long for the mediocre 1960's musicals...at least you detect a pleasant melody.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 10/8/19 at 9:13am

Jarethan said: "cryan71 said: "Jarethan said: "ljay889 said: "It’s an excellent show. The bad word of mouth stems from a group of people who somehow convinced themselves that the show is “transphobic.” Many of them likely have not actually seen the show."

That is not true in my case. My problem with the show is attributable to four things: ROTTEN SCORE, mediocre direction, mediocre choreography (but I do assume that it must be very difficult to choreograph to such lousy music), and cheesy sets. I loved the book scenes and would have preferred a straight play to what we got. I absolved the performances, although I have to admit that I found Michael's charactereven more annoying than the movie Michael.

I have no issue with the premise and personally feel that someone needs to get a life if they are not enjoying a light musical comedy because of some transphobic issue. It is based on a classic movie that was a monster hit in its day. End of discussionfor me."

I like the score. I've listened to it many times now on Spotify. I think it works within the context and as a function of the show. And there are some wonderful moments "what's going to happen" "there was john" "unstoppable," and "the most important night." Also "whaddya do" is a wonderful anti "I want" song. The score structure is very traditional and the songs are subtle. Not sure your specific complaint, but it grew on me after multiple listens.

Also, the cheesy choreography is intentional because it is supposed to based on a hack director/choreographer who is the main foil to Michael. Same for the cheesy "opening number" song that Michael stops because he has created a preposterous character arc as "man who walks by." I thought that was clear. I think you missed the point.



Why do I want to pay hard-earned money to see multiple production numbers with intentionally cheesy choreography. I have to ask what it the difference between intentionally cheesy and unintentionally cheesy from the perspective of the audience? It is still cheesy. A two-minute bit making fun of bad shows is one thing; every number is another. The music part of the show made me long for the mediocre 1960's musicals...at least you detect a pleasant melody."

 

what Jarethan said. i think i was able to follow Tootsie just fine (i love how the new response to criticism of preferred shows is "oh you just didnt get it...", and the repeated big tuneless numbers were a slog when i saw it (admittedly, early in previews). Was that number Lilli Cooper sings in that random performance in a bar meant to be making fun of a bad show? There were just a few too many speedbumps during an otherwise funny evening.

Overall i LIKED this show- writing is by far the most important, in my opinion, the book was fantastic especially for an adaptation of a classic. I said then, and I say again now, that a simplified, edited version (or even a straight play) in the Booth or Golden would have made all the difference, esp from a ticket sales perspective. To grab the Marquis the producers clearly thought they had a bigger hit than what materialized.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/8/19 at 10:33am

Not sure I understand your point, but I would say that the Lilli Cooper song you referred to (started in the subway) was IMO one of two good songs in the show. The other was the comedy number by Sarah Stiles, but it was played one too many people times for me. I dint think Tootsie had one good song.

I would have loved a straight comedy in an 800 - 1,000 seat theatre.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/9/19 at 10:03am

loved this show and highly recommend it - The Marquis and The Broadway are my least favorite theaters but make an exception to see this.  It's funny, warm and a genius book.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 10/9/19 at 1:33pm

well Boys Don't Cry now joins the list of things transgender activists are offended about:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/movies/boys-dont-cry-anniversary.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Farts&action=click&contentCollection=arts&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront