Broadway’s Tootsie musical is hitting the road and going global: In addition to a just-announced national North American tour, producers confirmed plans for London, Australia and a Japanese-language production to premiere in Tokyo.
The North American tour will kick off at Shea’s Buffalo Theater in Buffalo, New York in fall 2020, announced Tootsie lead producers Scott Sanders and Carol Fineman. Casting, dates and additional tour cities will be announced later.
A planned London production will hit the West End in 2021, with Scott Sanders Productions and Fineman partnering with Michael Harrison and David Ian. A separate Australian production, in partnership with Benjamin Lowy Productions, also will tour New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Japanese-language production, produced by TOHO Co., Ltd., will debut in Tokyo and tour to several other major cities across Japan. Timing will be announced in the coming months.
Tootsie, nominated for 11 2019 Tony Awards, features an original score by David Yazbek, book by Robert Horn, choreography by Denis Jones, and direction by Scott Ellis.
In a statement announcing the upcoming productions, Sanders and Fineman said, “We are thrilled that audiences and critics alike have fallen in love with Tootsie – from our world premiere engagement in Chicago to Broadway – and we are very excited to share the laughs with audiences across the country and globe.”
Based on the 1982 movie starring Dustin Hoffman about an out-of-work actor who pretends to be a woman to land a big role, Tootsie on Broadway stars Santino Fontana (in the Hoffman role), Lilli Cooper, Sarah Stiles, John Behlmann, Andy Grotelueschen, Julie Halston, Michael McGrath and Reg Rogers.
To read Deadline’s recent interview with Fontana, go here