Comic musical 'Tootsie' comes to Tucson's Centennial Hall

If the reviews are any indication, there will be uproarious laughter coming from Centennial Hall this week as Broadway in Tucson brings the musical stage version of “Tootsie” to Tucson.

The storyline: Michael Dorsey is a difficult actor and no one wants to work with him. So he cleverly reinvents himself as a woman — Dorothy Michaels — and lands a role in a Broadway musical. (In the 1982 film version starring Dustin Hoffman on which the musical is based, Dorsey ends up on a soap opera.)

What people are saying: Rolling Stone called it a “fun-time musical for turbulent times” while the Buffalo News called it “wonderfully fun.” Variety’s take: “... old-fashioned and proud of it — and it’s a surefire crowd-pleaser.”

The road to the road show: The Tony-winning “Tootsie,” with the book by Robert Horn and music and lyrics by David Yazbek, premiered at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre in 2018 before opening on Broadway six months later in March 2019. The tour version of the show was supposed to kick off in Buffalo, New York, in fall 2020, but it was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It finally opened in Buffalo last October and arrives here following a run in Tempe last week.

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Times and dates: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24; 8 p.m. Friday, March 25; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 26; 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 27. (Visit broadwayintucson.com/shows/tootsie for the full schedule.)

Run time: 2 hours 30 minutes with one intermission

Tickets and COVID-19 protocols: $35 to $125 through ticketmaster.com; masks required, proof of vaccination or negative test recommended.