Tony-Winning Musical TOOTSIE Now Available for Licensing At Music Theatre International

Music Theatre International has announced that Tootsie, the award-winning musical is now available for licensing.

Based on the hit film starring Dustin Hoffman and ranked as one of the best comedies of all-time on American Film Institute's list of "100 Years…100 Laughs," Tootsie features music and lyrics by Tony Award-winner David Yazbek (The Band's Visit, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and a laugh-out-loud book by Tony Award-winner Robert Horn (13 the Musical, Shucked). Tootsie was nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2019 winning Best Book of a Musical and Santino Fontana took home the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Tootsie is also a winner of the Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. 

Tootsie tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a skilled actor with a talent for not keeping a job. Desperate and out-of-work, Michael makes a last-ditch effort at making his dreams come true...by disguising himself as actress Dorothy Michaels. In a meteoric rise to Broadway stardom, Dorothy soon has audiences falling at her feet while Michael (disguised as Dorothy) is falling for his co-star, Julie. It isn't long before Michael realizes that maintaining his greatest acting success is going to be much harder than he expected.

Tootsie recently completed a successful National Tour and a professional production of the show took place at The Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine this fall which received critical acclaim and delighted audiences.

Brad Kenney, Ogunquit's Executive Artistic Director remarked, “Tootsie was an incredible experience to produce at Ogunquit Playhouse. The thoughtful yet hysterical book was handled so well by Robert Horn and the creative team - the audience got so much more than they bargained for! Absolutely side-splitting laughter, an outstanding score for a strong ensemble, wonderful opportunities for great choreography and a contemporary and very human journey for the characters and audience. It was a HUGE hit at the box office! Very strong word of mouth led to outstanding sales with many audience members seeing the show two and three times. DO THIS SHOW!”

In January of 2024, Tootsie will begin a run at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo, Japan which will be produced by Toho Co., Ltd. 

"What a thrill to represent Tootsie and release this hilarious musical for licensing,” stated Drew Cohen, President and CEO of MTI Worldwide. “The film is regarded as one of the funniest of all time and with the benefit of Robert Horn's Tony Award-winning adaptation and David Yazbek's pitch-perfect score, Tootsie the musical is winning over audiences here and around the world. The phenomenal commercial success of the initial regional productions proves that what the world needs now is laughter and heart. Tootsie delivers big on both counts.”

Composer David Yazbek and Book Writer Robert Horn added, “We are delighted that MTI will be shepherding Tootsie domestically, abroad, and wherever there are shepherds.  From the beginning, we set out to craft a heartfelt and funny musical that could galvanize audiences through the universal languages of music and laughter. Each one of us thinks it's the funniest show he's written so if you add that together, it equals the funniest show anyone has ever written in the history of the world. That said, who else would we let handle it but MTI, who has artistically and successfully licensed five of David's previous shows, and three of Robert's.”

An original Broadway cast recording preserves David Yazbek's Tony-nominated score and features performances of the original Broadway cast, led by Tony winner Santino Fontana. 

Licensing and additional information can be found here. International restrictions may apply.

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI's Broadway Junior shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI's School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.