A Q&A with TOOTSIE’s Tony Award Winning Book Writer Robert Horn

Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater, Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey,
and Payton Reilly as Sandy Lester
Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

 

by Arianna Reyna 

Adapted from the 1982 Oscar nominated film, the musical comedy Tootsie tells the story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until an audacious, desperate stunt lands him the role of a lifetime.

With the show winning the Tony for Best Book of a Musical and a total of 11 Tony Award Nominations, book writer Robert Horn, describes how humor is used to tell the story of Tootsie in both a modern and theatrical way.

How did the idea to adapt Tootsie for theater come about, and what excited you about this idea?

Robert Horn: "Everything about theater excites me... and also gives me heartburn. The idea came from our prolific and wonderful producer, Scott Sanders, who had the rights to the movie. Scott went on a desperate search to find someone to fill Larry’s comedic shoes. Somehow his GPS pointed towards me and I am forever grateful. 

When he approached me about it, I got very nervous. I mean, it’s an iconic movie and comic masterpiece, but it also has content and plot points that I knew did not age well. I was terrified to take it on at first and passed on the offer. But then I sat down with the composer, David Yazbek, and we talked out all the ways we could make it our own, update it, go back to just the DNA of the story and rebuild it out from there. Use humor to tell the story in a theatrical and modern way."

Tootsie is such an iconic film. What was your process of adapting this for the stage, and what were the greatest challenges you faced?

"Again, I knew from the beginning I didn’t want to just adapt the movie for stage. The movie had been done already, and incredibly well. This assignment was about creating rather than recreating. 

For David and I, it was about starting over and making a new musical with the bones that were already there. Adapting it for an ever-changing social zeitgeist, creating a piece of work that sang, but also building it as something theatrical rather than cinematic. We took our time with it, made choices, studied every beat. Asked questions. Talked to greater minds than ours. It took 2 years just to get a first draft done. Then, from there, we started."

What are biggest differences between the film and the Broadway musical, and would you like to explain why you made some of these choices?

"There were a number of large shifts, obviously the main one was taking it out of the world of Soap Opera, for a number of reasons. That artform felt dated and didn’t have the social reach it did in 1982 when the movie was released, which changed the story a lot. We decided to put it in the world of musical theater because it felt organic to it becoming a musical ... a reason for them to sing. As well, theater is such an insular community. To have the story take place in that world raised the stakes for the other characters. It all just felt like a natural shift in how we wanted to present our version of this.

Another shift that needed to happen was the POV of the female characters in the story. It was important they reflect the impact and progress women have made in society and art since the days of the original film. There is both a strength and vulnerability to the women portrayed in the musical that I think, sadly, might not have resonated back in the early 80’s... but again, as we progress culturally, so must our art. When a future society looks back at a certain time in history, it will be able to define that moment in time by the art that was created. In our show, Julie does not grow by virtue of being around Michael, Michael changes and grows because of his experience of being with Julie–a woman who navigates her own obstacles with determination and confidence."

What is the intended impact of Michael Dorsey disguising himself to act in a Broadway show (rather than a soap opera), and how did it feel writing that from the perspective of a member of the theater industry?

"Again, I like a story where the protagonist isn’t always a great character at first, but you relate to their journey, their desperation, their desires and wants, so you follow them to watch them grow and change.

We are living in ever shifting times and there is a social responsibility on all of us to adapt to changes and learn to grow from what we might not have understood just a short time ago. Also, I relate to Michael’s reasons for being desperate, and the mistakes he makes on his journey to enlightenment... though I try not to emotionally injure people along the way as he does.

Thankfully, his life is probably a much better drama than mine. And most of all, I loved the idea of writing a musical that celebrates musical theater, its quirks and flaws and stunning comradery. The sacrifices we make just for the opportunity to do what we love most. The family we create along the way. Theater is a unique culture that brings people together in a way very few others do."

Why do you think the story of Tootsie remains so beloved worldwide, decades after the film came out?

"I think comedies have a longer shelf life than certain other genres of film. And I think the film was masterful and so even though it becomes problematic as we shift culturally, there’s no denying its craft.

I also think somewhere in us all there is desperation, and also hope–hope that we can be better, that we can change, that we can walk in someone else’s shoes and be part of a community. This is a story of community–of a group of people who love each other and just want to do what they love most, even if the world might have other plans for them."

See Tootsie at ASU Gammage from March 15-20, 2022. For more info visit:

https://www.asugammage.com/