Tootsie

Based on my completely unofficial survey, there are two movies that probably every crossdresser has seen, Some Like It Hot and Tootsie. Include me in that group.

A few years ago, Tootsie was made into a musical comedy, and it recently made a tour stop in St. Louis.

St. Louis is the home of the Municipal Opera, a/k/a, “The Muny”. It’s a large outdoor amphitheater located in Forest Park, and every year hosts weekly musicals during the summer months. As a kid, I used to often go at least once a summer with my mom, my aunt, and my brother and sister. As such, I’ve always enjoyed musicals. 

Now I get to enjoy them with my friend Karla. Karla and I met in 2016 when I emerged from my cocoon and started going out dressed. She was working in the dress department at Nordstrom and we’ve been friends since. She’s still at Nordstrom, although the dress department no longer is.

Last year we saw Hairspray. This year, the timing and topic was right for Tootsie. We have dinner and then the play at the Fabulous Fox, a 1920’s era former movie theater which now shows plays, musicals, and concerts. We both enjoy the play and the night out together.

Karla was working the day of Tootsie so I came early and did some shopping at Nordstrom (mostly just “trying on”, as I didn’t buy anything). In the days gone by, Karla and I would gather in a change room and we would talk and I would try things–mostly dresses–on. Karla liked having a real life model to see how things looked on something other than a mannequin, and I liked the audience and the feedback. 

These days, most shopping is via the web. Karla’s most recent job at Nordstrom was web fulfillment–finding items in the store to fill online orders, and the dressing rooms are empty, more often than not (and the stores are only slightly more populated than ghost towns). The day I visited she was actually working in the lingerie area, so I gathered some swimsuits and gave them a go. I like swimsuits, but I’m not sure they like me.

I wore a polka dot dress, one I had bought the weekend before during my visit with Renee in Durham. Of the four dresses I bought in Durham, it was by far the most conservative; more business professional than the other three dresses I bought. But I still like the polka dot look.

There is a scene in the movie where Dorothy (the Dustin Hoffman character) appears in a sequin dress. Having bought–and then worn on New Year’s Eve–a very cute sequin dress, I knew what I was going to wear to see Tootsie. After doing the trying on, I returned to my car, and retrieved the sequin dress and sparkly heels, and returned to the changing rooms. After all, that’s what changing rooms are for, right?

Karla, and one of her co-workers, really liked the dress–as did our waitress at the Cheesecake Factory. As I have written before, I’ve found the staff at the Cheesecake Factory to be very TG friendly, although their meals are not very friendly if you are trying to squeeze into slinky dresses.

The musical itself was light hearted fun. The plot was similar to the movie, but abridged to eliminate some characters. The songs for the most part weren’t that memorable, but the actor portraying Michael/Dorothy was excellent and had a singing voice and look that suited both the male and female roles. If you have a chance, I certainly recommend seeing it–and if you do, I hope you go dressed.

I’ll let Karla have the final words, from her Facebook post.

Another fabulous night of dinner and a show at the Fabulous Fox, courtesy of my dear friend. Dee always gets a seat on the aisle for me so I don’t have to look around someone in front of me, since I’m so short. The talent on stage is unbelievable! Everyone should see a live performance at the theatre!

Thanks, Karla!