Stumptown Stages’ production of the 2019 musical Tootsie, co-directed by two of its stars (Emily Alexander and Steve Coker), offers myriad delights, not the least of which is a respite from real life. Welcome to a world where money-worshipping producers are a joke, male sexual harassers need therapy with sock puppets, and a woman is appreciated for being an excellent leader.

In this case, though, the woman is actually an obnoxious and out-of-work male actor named Michael Dorsey (Kirk Mouser, Stumptown’s artistic director) who’s masquerading as a female actor named Dorothy Michaels, an utterly enjoyable creation.

The show, which earned a Tony for Robert Horn’s book and is based on Sydney Pollack’s 1982 film starring Dustin Hoffman, is a mix of yesterday and today, glamorous gowns and basic ballcaps. Thanks to Jeff George’s snappy choreography, the entire cast’s vocal talents, and witty songs by David Yazbek, Tootsie has one foot firmly planted in classic 1940s musical territory such as On the Town. 

The other foot lightly stands in our post-#MeToo era, where a silly and self-involved director named Ron Carlisle (Sean Ryan Lamb) thinks that “no” merely means “another day.” With an added dose of ribald humor involving a codpiece and a hobby horse, Tootsie balances a number of dichotomies, including character development and snazzy musical numbers, current events and tongue-in-cheek comedy.

The musical begins with a cast of Broadway wannabes singing about NYC and its wealth of possibilities. Then Michael steps onstage, and he can’t help questioning everyone – and thing – in sight, including the song’s outdated peppy lyrics, making himself unemployable in the theater community.

I can’t say I liked him much myself, especially when he complained about the numbskulls who won’t hire him. Then he gets the bright idea to don a dress and wig, and suddenly Mouser turns the uptight Michael into a warmly playful Dorothy. As a reward, she quickly wins a role in a Shakespearean musical called Juliet’s Curse, where she endears herself to the cast with her funny, sassy suggestions … and with the way she tilts her head and really listens when her castmate Julie (Courtney Fero) talks.  

Dorothy is also a lot more fun to look at than Michael, who’s dressed in everyday jeans and black shirt. In contrast, his female alter ego is splendid in pearls and a navy dress with bright pink pleats that swing around her knees when she’s singing.

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Michael’s apartment, which he shares with Jeff (Steve Coker), a would-be writer who works at a steakhouse mischievously called On the Bone, could use a makeover, too, considering its rust-stained wall and a shelf loaded with Pringles, Ritz Crackers, and Cornflakes. Despite the dumpy décor, Coker, with precise comic timing, adds spark to the scenes that take place there, especially as he gleefully watches Michael face the music for his deception.

I was really a sucker, though, for the Broadway scenes, thanks in part to the snazzy supporting characters, one of whom is the tough-talking Rita Marshall (Landy Lamb), who’s producing the play within the play. Using a bold, gruff voice and fabulously dressed in an array of bright costumes designed by Mary Hobson, including a feathery white hat and a suit with a broad lemon colored-collar, Rita adds some old-musical dazzle every time she takes the stage.

At the same time, her character contributes to the play’s comedy as she sings about how Dorothy’s suggestions for the awful Juliet’s Curse will “polish this turd/into treasure somehow.” Other supporting characters do the same. Michael’s neurotic friend Sandy (Emily Alexander) delights as she races through a hyperclever list/song, which references Eckhart Tolle, Buddhist bowls, a cup of tea and colonoscopies.

One especially welcome update to the musical is the dashing but grounded Julie. In the film, the character was an insecure single mother who drifted into a relationship with her creepy director, then dulled her pain by drinking too much. Here, Julie is happy she chose a career over children and is in no need of Dorothy’s help in thwarting the sleazy advances of the black beret-wearing Ron.

Stumptown’s all-hands-on-deck approach to theater serves the production well. Besides co-directing and performing in the show, Alexander is the properties head and Coker designed the set. My only quibble with Tootsie is the length of the play. Maybe it feels just right for others, but I thought the show’s two-and-a-halfish-hours (including intermission) could use a little trimming, especially towards the end, when Michael wallows in his angst about losing Julie and calls on Dorothy to help him be a better man.  

Perhaps that’s Mouser’s fault, though, for making his Dorothy so appealing. I enjoyed her scenes so much that if I had written the show, I would have been tempted to have Michael eschew his sneakers and jeans altogether and permanently embrace his newfound glitzy femininity.

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Tootsie continues at Portland’5’s Winningstad Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway in Portland, through April 13. Find tickets and schedules here or call 1-800-915-4698.