By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN?: Sunday 10 September (150 minutes no interval), booking through 8 October 2023

The theatrical version of beloved 1982 film Tootsie won Tonys for Best Book and Best Leading Actor In A Musical in 2019 and has long been rumoured for a West End transfer but would it be vamos Tootsie vamos?

• Read on for reasons including how Tootsie would need work if it is to transfer to London

So we were intrigued to see it in Buenos Aires, Argentina during our visit and listened to the soundtrack album in preparation although most of the songs in this version have been cut following criticism that the tunes were largely forgettable.

Leading man Vázquez is an Argentinian TV star and acting powerhouse who also directs here and has been allowed to run riot with plenty of jokes landing with this Buenos Aires audience although the humour centring on subjects such as unwanted erections and dog mess feeling a little unsophisticated for our tastes.

More problematic is the original material which we loved as a 12-year-old watching the film starring Dustin Hoffman but here, despite tweaks, feels dated.

Vázquez plays struggling actor Michael Dorsey whose brilliance is outdone by his difficulty to work with and so when he accompanies his girlfriend to a theatre audition he dresses up as a woman (Dorita Sanchez) behind his squeeze’s back and is cast as the nurse in a production of Romeo and Juliet rather than the hospital TV soap of the original film.

At a time when the Greta Gerwig co-written and directed film Barbie is so popular, it seems a little incongruous to be watching a man passing as a woman teaching the leading actress to stand up for herself but it’s an attitude to women perhaps exemplified by the ‘widows’ boxes’ of the city’s theatres where grieving women were supposed to watch theatre for a period in seclusion while widowers were allowed to rejoin society immediately.

Tootsie has many similarities to Mrs Doubtfire, a recent comedy musical transfer to London’s West End with a largely forgettable score, but because the creepy ‘romance’ at its heart remains here with a leading lady contemplating a same sex relationship it also feels difficult.

This was our 1st visit to an Argentinian theatre and the venue reminded us of our recent trips to the beautiful Teatre Tivoli in Barcelona, Spain with a design inspired but bettered by the acoustic-friendly horseshoe of the Old Vic in London.

Theatre staff used green lasers to point out and discourage audience members who were using phones when they should not have been and there was no alcohol served or interval offered at this two-and-a-half hour show.

The Argentinian economic crisis means the price of the theatre tickets was the equivalent of a cinema ticket in the UK and the near full house here is testament to the pulling power of its talented leading man and director.

There is also a touching moment when Vázquez addresses the audience at the end of the 50th show (a point recognised in the production) and speaks to a 94-year-old grandmother in the front row who shares his own grandmother’s name.

Tootsie is playing on a street equivalent to New York’s Broadway in Buenos Aires and we were surprised that its cast exited the venue afterwards from its front doors to be mobbed by enthusiastic fans and we were even joined by some of the actors in a restaurant nearby after the show for a meal.

Tootsie was originally a theatrical musical comedy with music and lyrics by David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit, Donmar) and we were disappointed that so many of the tunes had been cut from this version.

What it does offer in its Buenos Aires form is a fantastic if stretching leading role for a UK comedian although we still think the material would need a little work if it was to transfer to the West End and be received favourably.

The original Broadway production ran from March 2019 and closed in January 2020 ahead of Covid-19. That year it was announced that a West End version would open in 2021 but it has yet to materialise.

Overall the Buenos Aires theatre experience has been a fascinating 1 and we have 1 more show to see before our return home to London so look out for it on this site.

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Tootsie Tickets
• Have you seen Tootsie the musical or the film on which it is based? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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