Review by Tim Garratt
Adapted from Sydney Pollack’s 1982 film, Tootsie premiered in Chicago in 2018 and arrived on Broadway the following year. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a Tony Award-winning book by Robert Horn, the show is now playing on an Australian stage for the first time in a production directed and choreographed by Cameron Mitchell at the recently opened Teatro at the Italian Forum.
This is the fifth production staged at the new 300-seat venue in Sydney’s Inner West and sets a standard that bodes well for the theatre’s future. Tootsie is a solid night of entertainment for longtime fans of the 1982 film and newcomers alike.
Tootsie centres on Michael Dorsey (Andrew Bevis), a self-absorbed actor whose reputation for bad behaviour has left him virtually unemployable. Having just turned 40 and working at a steakhouse, Michael is desperate to reverse his fortunes and decides to ‘reinvent’ himself. Disguised as a woman and calling himself ‘Dorothy Michaels’, he gatecrashes an audition attended by his ex-girlfriend (Alana Tranter) and lands the role she was hoping to secure.
Michael is finally enjoying the Broadway success he believes he deserves. But the circumstances surrounding that success force him to confront his behaviour, entitlement and shallow understanding of women.
Horn’s book doesn’t merely replicate the film’s screenplay; it makes several updates (including changing the focus of the story from a television soap opera to a Broadway show) but remains a story about a jerk discovering how much of a jerk he is. The book is packed with laugh-out loud moments, providing the cast plenty of opportunities to shine.
And Mitchell has a strong cast with which to work. Bevis has the challenge of portraying essentially two characters: the abrasive perfectionist in desperate pursuit of fame, and the far more personable Dorothy. It’s a role on which the show’s success largely rests, and Bevis handles it skilfully, leading the cast with assurance and convincingly inhabiting both guises.
Elenoa Rokobaro brings her powerful voice and confident stage presence to Julia, Michael’s talented love interest, a performer with ambition who’s also navigating personal challenges. As Michael’s sardonic, unsparing roommate, Jeff, Tyran Stig is ideally cast, earning some of opening night’s biggest laughs for his well-judged delivery of Horn’s gags.
Tranter relishes the role of Michael’s neurotic ex-girlfriend, while Brendan Irving extracts plenty of laughs as the charmingly oblivious reality star-turned-stage actor Max Van Horn. Lachlan O’Brien delights (and disgusts) as Ron Carlisle, a larger-than-life director lacking in patience, tact and respect for women.
Yazbek’s score may not send audiences home humming its melodies, but the songs are well integrated into the storytelling and brought to life with plenty of energy by a 12-piece orchestra under Nicholas Till’s musical direction. Dan Potra’s simple but versatile set facilitates seamless movement between New York City locations, and Peter Rubie’s lighting lends the show-within-a-show sequences a welcome sense of dynamism. Angela White’s costumes also serve the production well, the standout being her recreation of the red-sequinned dress worn by Hoffman in the 1982 film.
Tootsie is a lively and highly entertaining work of musical theatre from a promising new company beginning to establish its place in Sydney’s theatre scene. It delivers plenty of laughs, driven by a strong ensemble of comedic performances, alongside the fun of seeing a show not previously staged locally.
Tootsie is playing at Teatro at the Italian Forum until 21 June.
For more details and tickets: www.teatroitalianforum.com.au
