Complete cast announced for Broadway-bound Tootsie

Lilli Cooper and more have been cast to join Santino Fontana in the new musical comedy Tootsie.

Complete casting has been announced for the Broadway-bound musical comedy Tootsie which will stage its world premiere at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre from September 11 through to October 14, 2018, before landing on Broadway in spring 2019 at a yet-to-be-named venue.

Joining previously announced Tony Award nominee Santino Fontana as Michael Dorsey and alter ego Dorothy Michaels (the dual role made famous on screen by two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman), will be Lilli Cooper (as Julie Nichols), Sarah Stiles (as Sandy Lester), John Behlmann (as Max Von Horn), Andy Grotelueschen (as Jeff Slater), Julie Halston (as Rita Mallory), Michael McGrath (as Stan Fields), and Reg Rogers (as Ron Carlisle).

Ensemble members include 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, Katerina Papacostas, Diana Vaden and Anthony Wayne.

Based on the story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart and Columbia Pictures' 1982 Motion Picture, Tootsie features a book by Robert Horn, with music & lyrics by Tony Award nominee David Yazbek (who is also currently represented on the Great White Way by the new hit musical The Band's Visit).

Synopsis: "Tootsie tells the story of a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until an audacious, desperate stunt lands him the role of a lifetime."

The stage musical is directed by eight-time Tony Award nominee and Olivier Award winner Scott Ellis, with choreography by Tony Award nominee Denis Jones. The creative team also features musical direction by Andrea Grody, scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Donald Holder, and sound design by Brian Ronan.

Tootsie is produced by Scott Sanders Productions and co-produced by James L. Nederlander and Sally Horchow.

Released in 1982, the movie "Tootsie" became the second-highest-grossing film of the year (behind "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial") and went on to claim a staggering 10 Academy Award nominations. It also won the Golden Globe in the category of "Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy". Alongside Dustin Hoffman, it also starred Jessica Lange (who won an Oscar for her performance), Terri Garr, Dabney Coleman, and Charles Durning.

Santino Fontana is perhaps best known as the voice of Prince Hans in Disney's animated classic "Frozen" - as well as his TV role as Greg Serrano on "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend". He earned a Tony Award nomination in 2013 for his performance as Topher in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella and won a Drama Desk Award in 2010 for his portrayal of Stanley Jerome in Brighton Beach Memoirs. His other Broadway credits include the roles of Moss Hart in Act One (2014), Algernon Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest (2011), Rodolpho in A View From the Bridge (2009-10), Tony in Billy Elliot - The Musical (2008-9), and his Broadway debut in the 2008 revival of Sunday in the Park with George.