06/27/2025
Maybe fame is a drag, after all?
by Gina Hamilton
“Tootsie”, a play based on a 1982 film of the same name, is an object lesson about what extremes some people go to get what they think they want in life.
There are a lot of similarities between Tootsie and the 1959 film, “Some Like It Hot” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon. The only real difference is that Curtis and Lemmon were forced into their situation, while Michael has only himself to blame for all of it.
Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels, played by Dan DeLuca, is an out of work actor who has a well-deserved reputation for being difficult to work with.
Having alienated every director in the city, as well as his own agent, and being constantly reminded of his shortcomings by his roommate and struggling writer friend, Jeff Slater (Nick Gaswirth), he decides to attempt to get a role coveted by his former girlfriend and chronic anxiety victim, Sandy Lester (Jen Cody) in a new play directed by one of his nemeses, Ron Carlisle (Nathan Cockroft). This is a real turkey called “Juliet’s Curse”, a sort of ‘what-if-Juliet-didn’t-die?’ fantasy.
Sandy predictably blows the audition, but Michael – now dressed as Dorothy Michaels -- makes an impact on the producer, Rita Marshall, played by long-time MSMT favorite Charis Leos, and she insists on casting “Dorothy” as Juliet’s nurse. Juliet, played by Julie Nichols (Kristina Leopold), is also in favor of Dorothy in the role, even when, predictably, Dorothy starts demanding that the script and setting and virtually everything about the play be changed.
Michael’s insistence on knowing his characters’ truth – the very thing that gets him canned and banned from the theatre generally, seems to desert him. He falls in love with Julie, but as Dorothy he cannot let her know; when he, as Michael, tries a pick-up line on her that Julie herself told Dorothy might work on her, she throws a drink on him and walks out. Julie has feelings for Dorothy, too, first as a big sister, but later as something else.
However, now Michael has a problem. He can’t confess that he’s a man; he can’t profess to being a le***an. Julie and Michael push through the show, with an ending pretty much what could be expected, blowing up the play and his possibility of a relationship with Julie seemingly out of the water.
There are wonderful things in the play – a kind of delightful Greek chorus that narrates the events along, excellent costume choices throughout, scenery to die for, and a real sense that the whole mess is playing out under the bright lights of Broadway. Or off-Broadway as the case may be.
DeLuca and Leopold are brilliant in the odd role they find themselves in, Gaswirth is marvelous as the Cassandra-like character who tries (but fails) to save Michael from himself, and Cody’s comedic timing is precise and wonderful.
A note to parents – this may not be the best option for younger children or sensitive adults, for that matter. There is a lot of adult language.
But there is also a lot of excellent tap dancing, glitter and sequins, and it’s nice to know that in the end, people are deserving of a second – or even 42nd – chance.
"Tootsie" plays through July 12 at the Pickard Theatre at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. For ticket information, visit msmt.org .
