‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

TOOTSIE
Book by Robert Horn
Music & lyrics by David Yazbek
Directed by Scott Ellis
Choreographed by Denis Jones
Marquis Theatre
1535 Broadway at 45th Street
(877-250-2929), www.TootsieMusical.com

By David NouNou

Based on the brilliant 1982 movie starring Dustin Hoffman, I have to say Tootsie is one of the better adaptations of movies in recent memory. Credit must be given to Robert Horn for an intelligent, bright and imaginative book. It is fresh and to its credit veers slightly from the movie to enable it to have a different slant.

Michael Dorsey (Santino Fontana) can’t land an acting job because of his exacting and infuriating difficulty of doing a part without having to question the parts motivation. He gets fired from every audition. His former girlfriend, Sandy (Sarah Stiles) comes over one night with a script entitled Juliet’s Nurse. Michael is supposed to help her get a better understanding of the part. It is a musical based on Romeo and Juliet; this takes place after Romeo dies but, in this version, Juliet is still alive and the nurse helps her recover. Michael decides to audition for the part of the nurse, and enters as Dorothy Michaels. Of course the show is awful, but Dorothy not only lands the part of the nurse but, with sheer determination, steers the show to a resounding success.

Michael is so desperate to land an acting job that he never considers any of the complications that will arise. For one thing, he falls in love with Julie Nichols, the young lady who plays Juliet (Lilli Cooper). Further complications arise when Romeo’s brother, Chris (John Behlmann) falls madly in love with the nurse/Dorothy Michaels. Dorothy turns a flop to a huge success and has to sign a two-year contract and has to continue being a woman. Michael gets the part and the stardom that he always wanted, but he also comes to a breaking point with all the conflicts he created.

What Mr. Horn has cleverly done is taken the TV setting out, in which Michael auditions for a part in a soap opera; now Michael auditions for a Broadway show which makes it more relatable to the audience who are seeing a Broadway musical. The rest stays true to form, more or less. The book is abetted by a bouncy score from David Yazbek. Last year, Mr. Yazbek won a Tony for the score of The Band’s Visit. While that show’s score was rich and haunting, this is upbeat standard Broadway fare.

The cast, although not dynamic, is effective. Santino Fontana as Michael/Dorothy doesn’t have the luxury to develop these two characters the way Dustin Hoffman did in the movie. In the theater it becomes more of a quick-change artist rather than morphing from one character to the other. Since the audience is already in on the joke, his transitioning becomes easier and less demanding.

Lilli Cooper is charming as Julie Nichols but lacks the vulnerability of the character that draws her to Dorothy/Michael. She is too independent to be taken in. Sarah Stiles, as the neurotic Sandy in desperate need of a part and validation, comes across a tad too shrill in the beginning but is quite effective in the end. John Behlmann as Dorothy’s ardent suitor is perfect as the narcissistic brain-dead actor. Julie Halston as the show’s producer is a delight.

Credit has to be given to director Scott Ellis, as this is his second show this season, the first being the brilliant revival of Kiss Me, Kate currently at Studio 54. The man has taste and knows how to keep things moving at a quick pace. He has taken a familiar story and presented it in new terms as a musical that is worth visiting and enjoying.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 26, 2019
Reviewed at April 25, 2019 press performance.

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & Lilli Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & Lilli Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana (right) & company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: (left to right) Julie Halston, James Moye, Santino Fontana, Lilli Cooper & John Behlmann. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: (left to right) Leslie Donna Flesner, Shina Ann Morris, Santino Fontana & Julie Halston. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana & Andy Grotelueschen. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Lilli Cooper & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Reg Rogers (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Lilli Cooper. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Sarah Stiles & Andy Groteluesche. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘TOOTSIE’: Santino Fontana (center) with (left to right) Drew King, Leslie Donna Flesner, Sissy Bell & John Arthur Greene. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

The post ‘Tootsie’ transformed into triumphant musical appeared first on StageZine.

ACT ONE
Written and directed by James Lapine
From the Autobiography of Moss Hart
Through June 15, 2014
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
150 West 65th Street
(212-239-6200), www.ltc.org

By David NouNou

Adapting a legendary autobiography about the theatre is a risky and tricky matter, especially when the legend being discussed died in 1961, and writing about his early struggles of getting his foot in the theatrical door occurred in 1930. What makes it tricky is Act One came out in 1959, and it became a theatrical bible. People read books and didn’t go on Wikipedia to get instant summarization of a book or a man’s life. The man here is Moss Hart and he is legendary when you read his accomplishments as director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was a giant of his day. After all, he had just directed My Fair Lady, Broadway’s mega hit of 1956 and Camelot was to follow in 1960 just before his death. As a playwright, he co-wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning You Can’t Take It With You and The Man Who Came To Dinner, both with George S. Kaufman. His screenplays consist of 1947’s Oscar-winning best picture Gentlemen’s Agreement and 1954’s A Star is Born, among others. The man was a prolific genius in every sense of the word.

But Act One isn’t about any of those historic events; it’s about his early childhood growing in the Bronx and Brooklyn in total poverty. His parents were Jewish immigrants from England, leading a dreary life, and the theatre was his only outlet. His Aunt Kate took him to a play and the bug bit. His life and passion became the theatre. He worked as a theatrical office boy, actor in the Catskills, wrote horrible plays that flopped and then wrote Once In A Lifetime and started collaboration with the celebrated master of the day, George S. Kaufman. The second act is all about the trials and tribulations of getting this play on its feet and to the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.

As I said earlier, writing about the theatre is a tricky matter, so the biggest challenge here is: Do modern audiences remember Moss Hart? They barely remember Rex Harrison and he was the actor who starred in My Fair Lady on Broadway and the movies. James Lapine has adapted the book into the play and pays reverential homage to the source by not omitting nary a single semicolon, which can be a good thing. Unfortunately, James Lapine the director didn’t take notes from his subject matter George S. Kaufman and delete a lot of his own written pages. For what actor, playwright, director didn’t grow up having a dreary life, being poor and had to work hard to get in the business? Ultimately, if they pay their dues, maybe, just maybe some do end up having the rags-to-riches story. Mr. Lapine had an interesting subject matter to deal with (Moss Hart) but unfortunately the book doesn’t deal with the interesting and later timeframe of his life to which modern audiences could relate. Mr. Lapine needed a Mr. Kaufman to edit a lot of the early unnecessary scenes and repetitious dialogue from Act II.

Having said all that and getting the storyline out of the way, there are a couple of hosannas on their way. Not since 1966 when the Beaumont opened and as a school project we had to go and discover the wonders of Lincoln Center, and the shows they were presenting, Danton’s Death and The Condemned of Altona (yes, I was a drama major) both dreary and bleak, but what struck me the most was the vastness of its stage. The revival of South Pacific tried to fill some of the vastness, but nothing compares to the set designed by Beowulf Boritt. The set is a revolving masterpiece that fills the entire stage and is very reminiscent of Oliver Smith’s sets. Mr. Smith, the premier set designer of his day, did the sets for My Fair Lady, Camelot, Hello Dolly, among many others. To see a show with awe-inspiring sets that is absolutely breathtaking; consisting of tenements, theatres, hotel rooms, offices and posh suites all on a revolving turntable are a vision to behold. Students studying theatrical design should see this show if for no other reason but the sheer magnificence of what Mr. Boritt has designed.

My other kudo goes to Tony Shalhoub, giving what might be his best stage performance to date. He plays three different roles succinctly: the older Moss Hart (who oversees the proceedings and how it all started); Moss’ father; as well as George S. Kaufman. His largest part is that of George S. Kaufman and he plays him to the hilt. Santino Fontana as the struggling young Moss Hart does an admirable  and energetic job as the passionate and charming playwright. Then there is Andrea Martin, also playing three parts: Moss’ Aunt Kate with a cloying English accent; Frieda Fishbein, the agent, the name says it all; and finally Beatrice Kaufman, George’s socialite wife; that’s her best part, she plays her demurely and gives her a quiet touch of class.

The rest of the cast supported unevenly, the worst being Mimi Lieber as Moss’ mother, Lillie. At any given line, she had four accents going on in the same sentence: they consisted of an abominable English accent, Jewish, Bronx and Brooklynese. You never knew with which accent she would start, continue and then end the sentence. Where were Mr. Lapine, the director and the dialogue coach? Was the fake English accent really necessary? I don’t think the audience would have minded if Moss’ mother, father, and aunt, had spoken with a Jewish New York accent because at least that would have been relatable. There is a lot of good in Act One and Moss Hart was a provocative person to write about, but unfortunately it wasn’t the right time of his life that modern audiences could identify with and be riveted by in a long biographical stage drama. I still recommend seeing Act One for Beowulf Boritt’s astounding set and Tony Shalhoub’s remarkable performance.

THE THESPIAN LIFE: Santino Fontana & Andrea Martin. Photo: Joan Marcus

Five Tony Nominations, including: Best Play, Best Actor – Tony Shalhoub, Costumes, Sound

WINNER: Beowulf Boritt, Best Set Designer

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 23, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on April 22, 2014

The post ‘Act One’: Moss Hart’s memoirs on stage appeared first on StageZine.