Interview: Kathy Halenda of TOOTSIE at Saenger Theatre

TOOTSIE, the comedy musical based on the Oscar-nominated film is coming to the New Orleans Saenger Theatre Nov. 9-14. This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime. Featuring a hilarious Tony-winning book by Robert Horn and an outrageously clever score by 2018 Tony winner David Yazbek, TOOTSIE is the comedy masterpiece that we so desperately need right now. BroadwayWorld.com sat down with Kathy Halenda who plays Rita Marshall about the show, how it differs from the film, and the staying power of the theatrical arts.

BroadwayWorld.com: What attracted you to audition for the show?

Halenda: It's actually an interesting story. My mother had just passed away. She was 93 and it was an hour after she had passed, and I got a call from Bender Casting in New York that they wanted me to send in an audition tape for TOOTSIE. And I loved the movie, I remembered the movie, I knew there was a musical out, but I had not seen it, and I said, you're going to have to wait my mother just passed. And I answered the phone because I'm an actor, you answer the phone. And so, I thought it was my mama. I think she wanted me to get on this...But I also enjoy touring and I had been off the road for a while and I thought it was time, it was a great chance to see friends and family across the country and visit some old cities that I really enjoy. And TOOTSIE is a great show. I just enjoy the show, it's incredibly written, brilliantly choreographed. It's an ice cream cone, it's really just an ice cream cone and right now we need an ice cream cone.

BroadwayWorld.com: We certainly do.

Halenda: You can't beat it. It's comedy, very poignant at times, with lots of beautiful dancing and singing. The principal player and lead in this show is superb. I was so impressed with everybody that was cast in this show. There is not one weak link. It's really a great cast and high energy. I think everyone who loves theatre will love this show because it goes into the backstage of theatre and what happens behind the scenes. The original movie was based on a soap opera set but nowadays soap operas are not really relevant anymore, so I think it was smart of Robert Horn to set it in a Shakespeare musical. It's a musical based on Romeo & Juliet, and Juliet lives, and Romeo dies. It's a very interesting little take. It's based on the movie but it's very different and it's very new. It's really brilliantly done.

BroadwayWorld.com: Are they any other significant changes from the film?

Halenda: The movie wasn't a musical. This has got incredible songs. David Yazbek was the lyricist, and he did some beautiful arrangements, and they're really sassy, and edgy and fresh, and fun. So that is the biggest difference. But the characters are all the same. My character Rita Marshall is a Broadway producer. In the movie, there really wasn't a Rita Marshall...Rita is a new character, so I enjoyed finding her, and what she is because she is new. The characters that people love from the movie are still there, Jeff, the best friend, Michael Dorsey as the lead. Julie is the lead of the Shakespeare musical; she is playing Juliet. And Michael Dorsey makes the huge mistake and decides out of desperation to get in the show because he needs work, auditions for the role of the Nurse. Because he's a straight man who is difficult to work with so he can't get a job as a man, and he makes a really stupid decision to try and get a role as a woman. It's very funny, Robert Horn is brilliant. Every line is a laugh-out-loud line, and audiences are eating it up. I haven't heard laughs like this in a long time and I've done a lot of theatre. I think part of that is that people are so happy to be out of their homes and in a theatrical environment watching live entertainment again. For a year and a half, none of us had work and there was no entertainment around, so I think people are just blossoming into the sunlight and coming out of the darkness we've been in.

BroadwayWorld.com: It attests to the staying power of the art that is theatre.

Halenda: To me, it does showcase the fact that society needs the arts. Art is how people escape. They escape the horror of everyday life. So, entertainment, live entertainment, in particular, is such an escape for people and we need that. When the arts were shut down, basically all the arts had to shut down, it was devastating to people. Not being able to go out and see a show or listen to music was damaging. So, I think people now are like I miss the live arts so much and they are coming out in droves.

BroadwayWorld.com: So, tell me about Rita.

Halenda: She's a tough old New York producer. She knows the ropes of theatre and she's tough. But she has a heart there somewhere and I think she has a real fondness and respect for Dorothy Michaels. Because Dorothy Michaels is smart and savvy and very intelligent and ambitious and brave, so Rita respects all of that. Because Rita is a female in the theatre world too as a producer, she's had to fight her own battles with men. So, she's tough, she's strong but she's fair...I think she has a personal fondness for Dorothy Michaels, but she has no clue that Dorothy Michaels is actually a man.

BroadwayWorld.com: Since the movie came out in the 80's the scope of gender politics has changed since then. How would you say the musical approaches this cultural change?

Halenda: You have to go into this musical realizing that there's nothing about gender. It's about a straight man who's just desperate and stupidly decides the only way he can get a job is as a woman because as a man he can't get work. He's hard to work with. So there is nothing in this show that is any kind of gender bias. It's a tribute to women and the power of women in general. I think it's a great tribute to women. So there is nothing in this show that I think is offensive to anyone cisgender or transgender because the show is not about that. It's about a man trying desperately to get a job and he makes the wrong decision, and he does realize it was a bad decision later on.

BroadwayWorld.com: Are there any moments in the show that stand out to you or have a special meaning?

Halenda: Well, I think my favorite song is "Unstoppable." I am not in it, but it's an incredible piece with the ensemble and with Michael Dorsey. "The Most Important Night of My Life" is about opening night and we all have little moments in that, and it weaves a real interesting story about what happens to actors on opening night and what we go through. The end of the show is very poignant where he realizes what he's done and the people he's hurt and how selfish his decision actually was. So, there's a poignancy, there's humor, there are moments of depth but overall, it's a love letter to theatre and an ice cream cone of fun.

BroadwayWorld.com: What do you hope audiences take home with them?

Halenda: That it's great to be back in the theatre. That people are people even though we make bad decisions and for the most part, people are good. I hope they leave the theatre feeling uplifted and boosted with a little bit of hope about life and love. We all make stupid decisions; we might make them for wrong reasons or personal reasons or good reasons but oftentimes we make bad decisions but there is still hope in that and choices you can make and things you can learn.

BroadwayWorld.com: Anything else you'd like to add?

Halenda: It's so worth seeing. You will leave the theatre feeling so good about theatre and life and hope. I think you will the theatre feeling very happy.

For tickets to TOOTSIE, please visit http://saengernola.com.

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