Tootsie: The Film vs. the Musical

I knew of the movie Tootsie, and while I had never seen it, I understood the premise: Dustin Hoffman is an unemployed actor, but when he dresses as a woman, he is hired and must continue to charade. When I learned that a musical version of Tootsie was coming to the Manatee Performing Arts Center, I invited some friends to see the show with me. And just a few days later, I watched the movie on Amazon Prime so I could compare the two. Here's what I found:

Similarities:

• Lines: Some of the lines are verbatim. When the main character, Michael Dorsey, is auditioning for a role, he's told that he's too tall, too short, that they're looking for something different, that they're looking for someone else. That's the same in both! He also complains to his agent that there shouldn't be as much focus on California because "New York is a coast, too," and his agent is working on a show that "needs a name." The men argue about Dorsey being too obstinate to work with, highlighting a commercial in which he was supposed to play a sitting tomato, and he refused to sit because it wasn't logical for a vegetable to sit. So it was funny to see those definite parallels between the two media. And while not a verbal line, Julie does splash water in his face in both versions (we'll get to Julie later). 
• Sandy: In the play, Melanie Bierweiler is Dorsey's friend who is also an actor, but her nervous energy, low self-esteem, and emotional instability keep her from getting work. Teri Garr, also a pretty blonde, plays the same role in the movie, and both actresses play the role the same way. I liked that the musical was true to the original. (This song from the musical really sums up the character!)

• The set: With a play, the set is usually a backdrop with furniture to make the space come to life. I liked how in this musical, there were big photos blown up to be the background (although they weren't high res...), like outside of a restaurant, etc. And in Dorsey's apartment, the front door was to the left of the kitchen set-up which led into the living room, and that's just how the movie was, too (except of course the space can be bigger in the film). 

Differences:

• Careers: In the musical, Dorsey works at a restaurant with his friend to make money. While we do see one scene with him working in a restaurant in the film, we also see him teaching acting classes, which is not part of the play version. And in the movie Dorsey has gotten a role on a soap opera, while in the musical he's acting in a stage performance.
• Love interests: While Dorsey is in love with Julie in both versions (played by Paige Alter in the musical and Jessica Lange in the film), in the movie she is willingly in a relationship with the director Ron Carlisle (Daniel Pelissier in the play (so good!) and Dabney Coleman in the movie (I guess he was typecast from 9 to 5)), but in the musical she is always pushing away his advances.
• Julie's family: Speaking of Julie, in the film she has a 14-month-old daughter, and she and Dorsey (while he's pretending to be Dorothy Michaels, his female alter-ego) visit her father in upstate New York; her father falls for Dorothy and even asks her (him?) to marry him! But her family never makes an appearance in the musical. 
• Divulging the secret: In the movie, Dorsey tells his agent right away that he has gotten a job as a woman, but in the play, his agent doesn't find out until he comes over to Dorsey's house unannounced. (By the way, Craig Engle, who plays the agent in the play, was the only actor who seemed to forget this lines. Too bad!) 
• Van Horn: In both versions, there is another actor, Van Dorn (George Gaynes in the film, Anthony Hoskins in the musical) who has a crush on Dorothy. But they are played so differently! Gaynes is an older man who needs cue cards to remember his lines, while Hoskins is a much younger man who talks like a Valley girl and goes so far as to get Dorothy's face tattooed on his stomach! I think I like the musical's casting of this character better; he's even more absurd!

Just a side note: I didn't know other well-known actors like Bill Murray and Geena Davis were in the movie! 

I liked both! You can rent and stream the film on several platforms (Amazon, Apple TV, etc.), and you can still see the musical in Bradenton! Get your tickets here.