Five Reasons you can’t miss “Some Like It Hot” on Broadway

Okay, we all know some super fun musicals have been inspired by some pretty good Hollywood movies. But why not start with the best? The creators of Some Like It Hot had the genius idea to begin with the finest source material there is, a genuine classic. Billy Wilder’s 1959 MGM film is not only regarded as one of the greatest Hollywood comedies EVER, but it broke boundaries as well. A couple of jazz-era speakeasy musicians witness a mob hit, and their only chance of escape is to get dolled up as (what they have always regarded as) the opposite sex, to join an all-girl band headed for the coast. The possibilities are endless, and this show mines them adeptly. And beyond the sure-fire comedy premise, at its heart, this is a story that begs to be a musical, with hot jazz and slinky blues in its DNA. Which brings us to…

It’s not enough to have a story that sings, if you don’t have great songs. Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, having conquered Broadway, movies and TV with hits like Hairspray, Sister Act and Smash, are acknowledged masters of this art. If you love musicals, you will know how truly refreshing it is to come out of a new show humming the tunes, and not merely because you knew them going in. Nothing against jukebox shows, but how great is it to have an original, instantly classic Broadway musical score to love? The tunes will put a smile on your face, and so will the lyrics. If there’s any doubt, find your way to the official videos of some of the songs online, especially the title song, and you’ll be ordering tickets before you know it.

If you don’t know exactly what is meant by a “triple threat” performer, you’ll see more examples than you can count at Some Like It Hot. Every performer on that stage is operating at the top of their game, and their game is as good as anything on Broadway. To note a few knock-outs among many: Adrianna Hicks, having left her mark on history as a fierce Catherine of Aragon in Six, accomplishes a miracle, making Sugar (the role played by Marilyn Monroe in the movie) entirely her own, especially in a silken ballad, “A Darker Shade of Blue.” And the great tradition of the song-and-dance duo gets a brilliant makeover in the combustible pairing of Christian Borle and J. Harrison Ghee. Imagine a mashup of the Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor—with a liberal helping of Ginger, Cyd, Lena and Judy—and you’ll have some idea of the magic these two make. Ghee’s Tony win as Lead Actor in a Musical is no surprise, with a performance that people will recall and talk about for decades. Check out their “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather,” and you’ll understand.

Casey Nicholaw has given his spectacularly gifted dancers the exuberant, stylish, razor-sharp choreography that the show’s terrific music deserves, taking home the Tony for Best Choreography in the process. Doing double duty as director, he weaves the dancing and the action-packed story together seamlessly, with nightclub numbers, chase scenes and shoot-outs hurtling along. One inspired choice was to make Joe and Jerry not just musicians, but a duo dance act. When Christian Borle and J. Harrison Ghee perform together as Joe/Josephine and Jerry/Daphne, it is a pairing (quadrupling?) to rival the great song-and-dance duos of legend. And when Daphne crosses the border (in a variety of ways) at the top of Act II, it is one of the most wildly goofy, joyous dance breaks you will ever see on a stage. Ultimately, the spirit of that moment is why…

After choosing brilliant source material, the second genius idea of this show’s creators was to widen the perspective of this wacky comedy to explore what Some Like It Hot can reveal—in the warmest, funniest way—about issues and divisions we are grappling with right now. Beneath all the sequins and Art Deco scenery (yes, the costumes and sets are gorgeous), this is a show with heart, about people in the process of becoming newer, better, truer versions of themselves. Without ever taking itself too seriously, it answers the question cleverly posed (or belted, rather) by Sweet Sue in the rousing opening number, “What Are You Thirsty For?”. With characters scrambling gleefully after more money, stiff drinks, and good times, the answers that are deftly proposed here are love, acceptance and respect. Who knows? Maybe musicals CAN save the world.

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