Tootsie Tour

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 10:51pm

I looked and looked and could not find this thread.  I know Broadwayphreak recently posted about it.  A search brought up nothing.  So I did try before making a new thread.  I saw the matinee today in Orlando.  This was ATROCIUS.  It now ranks as my least favorite show.  I seriously considered leaving at intermission.  The score is unmemorable.  The book stupid.  The acting was very weak.  The sets were basic.  Santino MUST have done something out of this world to earn a Tony for this.  I saw absolutely nothing award winning in how the part is written.  All I could think of was Rob McClure's performance in Mrs. Doubtfire.  And how HE better win a Tony.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:00pm

This tour is non-Equity, which may be one of the main reasons you disliked this production... having seen this show on Broadway, I quite liked it (I agree with you on the subpar sets and score, though). The acting - especially Fontana and the hilarious supporting cast - was top-notch and Robert Horn's book one of the funniest in recent memory. Yes, Fontana was indeed out of this world and very much deserved his Tony. 

The overall quality of a show tends to dip quite noticeably in a non-Equity tour compared to an Equity production. I'm sorry you had such a brutal experience.

Updated On: 11/7/21 at 11:00 PM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:15pm

Jordan, thanks for the quick response.  However, I don't agree that just because it is nonequity the quality will be less.  I saw the Fiddler On The Roof nonequity tour Friday night in Jacksonville.  Although there were a few duds in the acting department, overall the show was really good.  The main leads were very good and they sag the hell out of those classic songs.  Even though I have seen the show or heard the songs multiple times, I was never bored.  Tootsie, on the other hand, was just torture for me.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:22pm

apples and oranges. One of the top shows of our collective lifetimes vs. a minor blip on the radar screen under the most charitable perspective.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/7/21 at 11:39pm

I’m sorry you didn’t like it. I enjoyed it immensely. The tour reviews so far have been quite good, some even raves. I think the leads are all very good. 
 

I think the book is very sharp and funny. I didn’t love how raunchy it was. The original Tootsie isn’t raunchy. However, I laughed a ton and was grateful for the laughs. 
 

Lots of sets look cheaper these days. I just saw the Bands Visit tour and they have cheapened those sets. The tour sets were nicer pre-pandemic. 
 

 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 12:05am

A Broadway production with a great set and top actors who are absolutely hilarious and are much more successful than any non equity actors out there. That is the difference between what you saw and what Broadway audiences (who loved it) saw. Not a lot of us, HA, but it was such an enjoyable evening, I'll always remember it fondly. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 1:06am

I don’t think Santino did anything that any number of actors couldn’t do. I actually didn’t really buy him as this smarmy, douche guys. And I didn’t think his woman character (I forget the name) was quite the powerhouse the book made her out to be. Also the sets were awful on Broadway too. And the score isn’t good. 

That said, the book is hilarious and I laughed a lot. Curious to see the tour now even though it’s awful. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 9:45am

SouthernCakes said: "I don’t think Santino did anything that any number of actors couldn’t do. I actually didn’t really buy him as this smarmy, douche guys. And I didn’t think his woman character (I forget the name) was quite the powerhouse the book made her out to be. Also the sets were awful on Broadway too. And the score isn’t good.

That said, the book is hilarious and I laughed a lot. Curious to see the tour now even though it’s awful."

I know several people who saw the show in NYC and said the young man on tour was more successful in creating a believable Dorothy. Lots of folks on Broadway started non-Equity so there’s no need to dog non-Equity performers as some sort of also-rans. Actors want to act. They have to start somewhere. The way the original Equity cast for this tour was betrayed is unacceptable but the current cast has nothing to do with that. 
 

The tour isn’t awful. The published reviews have been great. 

 

Updated On: 11/8/21 at 09:45 AM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 10:58am

Their website is very bare. No clips, pictures, cast list or bios, just the tour dates.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 11:26am

I know several people who saw the show in NYC and said the young man on tour was more successful in creating a believable Dorothy. Lots of folks on Broadway started non-Equity so there’s no need to dog non-Equity performers as some sort of also-rans. Actors want to act. They have to start somewhere.

I wasn't dogging on them. I'm stating a fact that the Broadway production was simply better than some random non equity tour due to better talent and more money. Actors have to "start somewhere" but it's usually not Broadway. The best of the best are on Broadway stages, not touring in Florida. In America. 

Updated On: 11/8/21 at 11:26 AM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 11:57am

Just out of curiosity, I did a search on the Orlando reviews. They are not favorable.  One stated to "show up and support Broadway reopening, but leave at intermission".  Each their own.  I loved Gettin The Band  Back Together.  Most on here hated it.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 1:37pm

I saw TOOTSIE on Broadway when Nick Spangler went on for Santino Fontana. He was beyond wonderful in the role and the rest of the cast was fine. My gripes were a lackluster score, ugly sets and choreography that was little more than what you'd find in an aerobics class.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 2:34pm

Sutton Ross said: "I know several people who saw the show in NYC and said the young man on tour was more successful in creating a believable Dorothy. Lots of folks on Broadway started non-Equity so there’s no need to dog non-Equity performers as some sort of also-rans. Actors want to act. They have to start somewhere.

I wasn't dogging on them. I'm stating a fact that the Broadway production was simply better than some random non equity tour due to better talent and more money. Actors have to "start somewhere" but it's usually not Broadway. The best of the best are on Broadway stages, not touring in Florida. In America."

You’ve not a clue what you’re talking about. Broadway isn’t the only place talented musical theater actors exist. And this isn’t some “random” tour. It’s a first national tour of a Tony winning show. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 2:37pm

ArtMan said: "Just out of curiosity, I did a search on the Orlando reviews. They are not favorable. One stated to "show up and support Broadway reopening, but leave at intermission". Each their own. I loved Gettin The Band Back Together. Most on here hated it."

Just coming here to say I loved GTBBT too!!! Such a fun show!! 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 5:26pm

Sutton Ross said: "I know several people who saw the show in NYC and said the young man on tour was more successful in creating a believable Dorothy. Lots of folks on Broadway started non-Equity so there’s no need to dog non-Equity performers as some sort of also-rans. Actors want to act. They have to start somewhere.

I wasn't dogging on them. I'm stating a fact that the Broadway production was simply better than some random non equity tour due to better talent and more money. Actors have to "start somewhere" but it's usually not Broadway. The best of the best are on Broadway stages, not touring in Florida. In America."

FWIW, having seen both the Broadway production and the national tour, I enjoyed the tour as much as the Broadway production. While the Broadway set looked better (though I will admit I hated the design on Broadway - it couldn't decide if it wanted to be cartoony or realistic, but I digress), I thought that the touring cast was excellent. I enjoyed Drew Becker's Dorothy Michaels way more than Santino Fontana's. As for the set for the tour... the less said the better...

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 5:30pm

Is the set for the tour redesigned or just scaled back?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 5:51pm

CATSNYrevival said: "Is the set for the tour redesigned or just scaled back?"

It is a completely new design.

 

[morosco]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 9:40pm

Is this the tour set in the linked video (below) that's being used the current non-equity tour? If it is it doesn't look as bad as I expected after reading this thread. And it doesn't look to me like a "completely new design". I just watched the Broadway production before I watched this montage and they are very similar, just a little reimagined and rethought but the same style. 

Tootsie - National Tour - Montage

Updated On: 11/8/21 at 09:40 PM

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 10:20pm

Yes, those are the sets.  They look fairly good there.  I was sitting in the balcony of a huge theater.  From a distance they didn't look that great.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/8/21 at 11:54pm

ArtMan said: "Yes, those are the sets. They look fairly good there. I was sitting in the balcony of a huge theater. From a distance they didn't look that great."

The quick edits in that video don’t show how truly cheap they look. We were the first stop on the tour and wondered how long the sets would hold out for. To me, they seemed the type you expect from a local theatre company-when a door slammed the walls shook, when someone got on a piece other pieces shook. Much of it was moved by cast members. For a first National Tour, the big stage our touring house has had to be sized down with scrims to frame the tiny set. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 11/9/21 at 2:33am

Yeah it does suck this is playing the same stage that hosts the Oscars here in LA. And people will be paying money for it. 

[maxd]

Posted: 11/9/21 at 12:37pm

Broadwayworld Buffalo, NY Review

Review: TOOTSIE at Shea's Buffalo (broadwayworld.com)

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 11/9/21 at 12:42pm

I loved this show on Broadway and would grab a cheap ticket for this tour if it were in or near my area. Right now, it's not. Some Orlando friends of mine saw it and loved it too.

I saw the new non-equity tour of Anastasia a couple weeks ago and thought it was comparable to the previous national tour, both in talent and set design.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/9/21 at 12:47pm

morosco said: "Is this the tour set in the linked video (below) that's being used the current non-equity tour? If it is it doesn't look as bad as I expected after reading this thread. And it doesn't look to me like a "completely new design". I just watched the Broadway production before I watched this montage and they are very similar, just a little reimagined and rethought but the same style.

Tootsie - National Tour - Montage"

Not gonna lie, even had this tour went out equity they probably would’ve used that same exact set. The equity tour or pretty woman is also similarly scaled back. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/9/21 at 1:05pm

Are there any new songs or significant changes made for the tour or are they sticking to the Broadway script?