Tootsie as the 5 Best Comedy. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: A stage musical of the movie premiered at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago from September 11 to October 14, 2018 before opening on Broadway in the spring of 2019. The musical has music and lyrics by David Yazbek; Robert Horn wrote the book; Denis Jones choreographed and Scott Ellis directed. Santino Fontana starred as Michael Dorsey. He is joined by Lilli Cooper as Julie Nichols, Sarah Stiles as Sandy Lester, John Behlmann as Max Van Horn, Andy Grotelueschen as Jeff Slater, Julie Halston
Tootsie (musical) Ellis said "This...is one hundred percent not your grandfather’s ‘Tootsie.’" Critic Chris Jones praised the musical in its Chicago premiere for getting many things right, while giving notes for the future Broadway production. In particular, he praised the talent of its lead Santino Fontana. While Michael Phillips commented on the difficulty of translating the early 1980s movie to stage − especially in an era of more gender fluidity – Phillips noted the reviews have ranged "from so-so to very good", while also observing the "opening night laughs were plentiful and the performances savvy". Tootsie (musical) Tootsie is a musical comedy