TOOTSIE Partners With New School's College Of Performing Arts For National Author's Day

In honor of National Author's Day today, November 1, Tootsie has partnered with The New School's College of Performing Arts to launch a playwriting contest for its students. Participants must submit a new, original 5-minute comedic play with the title "Who Are You?" based off a Tootsie song of the same title. The winner of the contest will receive a private writing consultation with Tony Award-winning book writer Robert Horn.

"It's such an exciting opportunity for me to interact and engage with this next generation of playwrights, to be able to pass along what I have learned about comedy and theater to the artists who will be shaping this artform in new and exciting ways, (and eventually, taking away my jobs!)," said Robert Horn.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with the award-winning musical team behind Tootsie on this exciting writing competition for our students," said Dean of the School of Drama Pippin Parker. "At School of Drama, we regularly collaborate with industry leaders on new initiatives that challenge our students to learn, create, and grow, and we are eager to see the results of this project."

TOOTSIE tells the story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime - as the star of a new Broadway musical.

The Broadway company is led by Tony Award winner Santino Fontana as Michael Dorsey, Tony Award nominee Lilli Cooper as Julie Nichols, Tony Award nominee Sarah Stiles as Sandy Lester, John Behlmann as Max Van Horn, Tony Award nominee Andy Grotelueschen as Jeff Slater, Julie Halston as Rita Marshall, Tony Award winner Michael McGrath as Stan Fields, and Tony Award nominee Reg Rogers as Ron Carlisle.

The company also includes Sissy Bell, Barry Busby, Paula Leggett Chase, Britney Coleman, Leslie Donna Flesner, Jenifer Foote, John Arthur Greene, Drew King, Jeff Kready, Harris Milgrim, Adam Monley, Shina Ann Morris, James Moye, Kevin Munhall, Katerina Papacostas, Nick Spangler, Diana Vaden, and Anthony Wayne.

TOOTSIE opened on Broadway on April 23, 2019. Featuring an original score by Tony Award winner David Yazbek (The Band's Visit, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn (13; Dame Edna, Back with a Vengeance), choreography by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, Honeymoon in Vegas), music direction by Andrea Grody (The Band's Visit), and directed by nine-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner Scott Ellis (She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century), Tootsie plays at Broadway's Marquis Theatre (210 W 46th St).

The design team for Tootsie includes scenic designer David Rockwell, costume designer William Ivey Long, lighting designer Donald Holder, sound designer Brian Ronan, hair and wig design by Paul Huntley, make-up design by Angelina Avallone. Casting is by Jim Carnahan C.S.A. Music supervision is by Andrea Grody & Dean Sharenow, vocal & incidental arrangements by Andrea Grody, dance arrangements by David Chase, orchestrations by Simon Hale, and music coordination by Dean Sharenow.

TOOTSIE received two 2019 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical; four 2019 Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Book of a Musical; two 2019 Outer Critic's Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Outstanding Book of a Musical; and the 2019 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical. Tootsie was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.