Drag yourself into the New Year with Tootsie at the Erie Playhouse

Contributed

The hit musical based on the 1982 Oscar-nominated film will be taking the LECOM stage at the Erie Playhouse at the end of the month with a cast packed full of local talent. This show will provide the perfect opportunity to shake off the winter blues.

PREMIERING FRIDAY, JAN. 26

When a difficult actor finds himself unhirable and decides to disguise himself as a woman to land the part of a lifetime, hilarity ensues. The hit musical Tootsie, based on the Sydney Pollack Oscar-nominated film of the same name, will be the first Erie Playhouse show of 2024. Playhouse artistic director Richard Davis is directing.

Davis has been a part of the Erie theater scene for 45 years; 35 of those with the Playhouse. He has directed over 100 productions for the Erie Playhouse, Roadhouse, Director's Circle, and PACA, as well as at local high schools. He says what he loves about Tootsie is that it "is such a fun show but with great heart…I'm sure Erie audiences are going to love it."

During its Broadway run, Tootsie was nominated for 10 Tony awards, winning Best Book of a Musical. It also won four Drama Circle awards, including Best Musical. According to Davis "the show also features a dynamic score with music and lyrics by David Yazbek." Theater fans may be familiar with Yazbek's work on other Broadway musicals including The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

The playhouse production will feature Jordan Wolfe as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in the role made famous on the big screen by Dustin Hoffman. This will be Wolfe's Erie Playhouse debut. Julie will be played by Natalya Myers who was recently in the Playhouse production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical in the role of Cynthia Weil. The cast also features Melina Walters as Sandy Lester, Ryan Dawley as Jeff Slater, Dan Bainbridge as Ron Carlisle, and newcomer Nathan Irwin as Max Van Horn, the character who is in romantic pursuit of Dorothy Michaels. Davis adds, "Tootsie is extremely clever and funny… and is going to be the perfect show to shake off the winter blues."

Fridays and Saturdays through Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.// Sundays Feb. 4 and 11 at 2 p.m. // $18.49-$29.40 // For info and tickets: erieplayhouse.org