Friday, June 5, 2020

Tootsie



Tootsie didn't work for me. The 1982 film was about a cis man who disguises himself as a woman to get a role on a television soap opera. The musical had him win a role in a Broadway musical in 2018, yet the characters seemed to have learned nothing more about gender, sexuality or hiring practices since 1982. Putting it in a contemporary setting only made the sexual politics seem more retro.

The leading man's arc was also lost. He claims that his time as Dorothy has taught him humility and compassion but nothing in the libretto allows us to see that. At the performance I saw he didn't seem to grow or change one bit.

No comments:

Post a Comment