A thoroughly delightful matinee of the musical Tootsie far and away exceed expectations—particularly the Tony winning lead performance of Santino Fontana. It is intriguing to see him slip from guy to girl and sometimes get trapped and outed in between. Getting nowhere as the aspiring actor Michael, he is banned and cursed for life by a prominent hack director. Backed by a woman producer, in utter desperation, he lands a role as Tootsie by that very same director. What’s rare in the current mode of paper-thin jukebox musicals is that Tootsie has a great and compelling book by Robert Horn. We really care about the other characters in this adaption from the hit Dustin Hoffman movie. As Michael’s fellow thespian and on-and-off girlfriend Sandy, Sarah Stiles is a showstopper. The plot point is that Michael gets the leading lady role that she aspired to. We get involved with Andy Grotelueschen as the frizzy haired, nerdy roommate Jeff. The songs and production numbers are simply fabulous. However, while many critics loved this show, it has been fading at the box office. The production plays its final performance—after 293 regular and 25 preview performances—on Sunday, January 5.
