The first national tour of the Tony-nominated musical Tootsie launches October 10 at Shea's Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. Dave Solomon directs the non-Equity tour with Broadway choreography by Denis Jones and associate choreography by Chip Abbott.
The cast is headed by Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey, Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols, Payton Reilly as Sandy Lester, Lukas James Miller as Max Von Horn, Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater, Kathy Halenda as Rita Marshall, Steve Brustien as Stan Fields, and Adam du Plessis as Ron Carlisle.
The ensemble includes Leyla Ali, Connor Allston, Darius Aushay, Lexi Baldachino, Michael Bingham, Kyra Christopher, Delaney Gold, Danielle J.S. Gordon, Maverick Hiu, Dominique Kempf, Ashton Lambert, Marquez Linder, Lucy Panush, and Alec Ruiz.
Tootsie, based on the 1982 film starring Dustin Hoffman, has a Tony-winning book by Robert Horn and a score by Tony winner David Yazbek (The Band's Visit).
The design team includes original scenic designer David Rockwell, tour scenic designer Christine Peters, costume designer William Ivey Long, associate costume designer Christopher Vergara, lighting designer Donald Holder, associate lighting designers Vivien Leone and Coby Chasman-Beck, assistant lighting designer Colleen Doherty, sound designer Brian Ronan, associate sound designer Cody Spencer, hair and wig designer Paul Huntley, assistant hair and wig designer Loryn Pretorius, and make-up designer Angelina Avallone with casting by Chad Murnane of Binder Casting.
The music supervisors are Andrea Grody and Dean Sharenow with vocal and incidental arrangements by Andrea Grody, dance arrangements by David Chase, orchestrations by Simon Hale, and music coordination by Talitha Fehr.
Directed by Scott Ellis, Tootsie opened on Broadway April 23, 2019, with a cast headed by Santino Fontana, who won a Tony for his performance, and Tony nominee Lilli Cooper. The production closed January 5, 2020, after 25 previews and 293 regular performances at the Marquis Theatre. The musical earned 11 Tony nominations, also winning Best Book for Horn.
The tour is produced and managed by TROIKA Entertainment. For the current itinerary, visit TootsieMusical.com.
(Updated October 10, 2021)