‘Some Like It Hot’ Review: Broadway Hums With A Musical Scotch

Next to the jukebox musical, the Broadway genre that commands the least respect and usually deserves Woo Frankenstein to start life on the big screen only to mix up the pieces and put them back together for the stage. The failure rate of such attempts should keep any sensible director as far away from a cinema as possible.

We’re all lucky Casey Nicholaw ignored such warnings and put together a delicious new one instead Some love it when it’s hota tap-dancing, glamorous embrace of all there is to love in classic American musical theater, Hollywood’s Golden Age and Broadway talent at its best, all with a 21-day wisdom refresher. Some love it when it’s hot fun from start to finish.

Choreographing and directing, Nicholaw seems to be having the time of his life – at least since the equally compelling one The ball few years ago – do both. With a new book by Matthew López (The Legacy) and Amber Ruffin (The Amber Ruffin Show) close to the main plot of the classic 1959 Billy Wilder film comedy, the stage musical sparkles with renewed energy and perspective – López is a gay man and Latino (the first to win a play as Best Tony) and Ruffin is a black woman and essential force in the world of late-night comedy writing, and they can’t help but bring this mid-century modern comedy into a brand new century, just not quite mid-century.

You know the plot: Chicago in the 1930s, Prohibition, gangsters, fast talkers who are always on the hunt, and two hapless musician friends. That would be saxophonist Joe (Christian Borle) and Jerry on double bass (J. Harrisonn Ghee), a tap dance duo who not only grew up together but will tell everyone they are indeed brothers, despite the insurmountable fact that Joe white is white and Jerry is black. Wait, did I say insurmountable? Nothing in the magical world of this musical is insurmountable, so conquer.

JOE: You and I, we’ll go straight to the Cheetah Club and demand a job.
JERRY: The Cheetah Club?! Everyone knows they are proud of their all white belt.
JOE: Don’t be ridiculous, a band can’t sound white

To which Jerry dryly, tiredly and wisely replies, “Yes, you can.”

Two magical things are going on here: ghee can induce belly laughs while reading this hard-learned line, and Some love it when it’s hot can do wonders to get Joe and Jerry right where they need to be and playing in a club where they shouldn’t be. There they see a gang boss shoot three traitors and start the road show.

Forced to participate in their own made-up witness protection program, Jerry and Joe suit up and join an all-female jazz band under the strict but loving direction of Sweet Sue (the scene-stealing NaTasha Yvette Williams). They board the passenger train to California and escape the Chicago mob. Joe becomes Josephine and Jerry, who mistakes overbearing Joe for Geraldine, chooses instead…Daphne, a name and a big, happy clue of what lies ahead for this kind-hearted, lost man trying to find his truth.

In great Shakespearean fashion, the mistaken identities lead to endless confusion, deception and disclosure. Josephine falls head over heels in love with Sugar Cane (the radiant Adrianna Hicks, late six, and here it looks less Marilyn Monroe than Josephine Baker, so much the better). Sugar, who has some secrets of her own, has fallen for her new best friend Josephine, but has a true crush on the traveling Viennese screenwriter Kiplinger Von Der Plotz. Does it really need to be pointed out that Kip is to Joe what Josephine is? (Incidentally, the film’s Cary Grant impersonation that Tony Curtis uses is AWOL, replaced with a Teutonic cartoon that works well).

Meanwhile, Daphne is gently hounded by San Diego resort magnate Osgood Fielding III (Kevin Del Aguila) – yes, they’ve all made it to California’s sunny Art Deco Eden – as have the mobsters, but more on that later – and while Daphne initially defies the seemingly insane Osgood, upon closer examination and heart to heart the two seem to be drifting towards each other.

In fact, Daphne gets one of the musical’s standout numbers in the middle of Act Two: With “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With A Feature,” Ghee as Daphne lays claim to the musical’s “I Am What I Am” moment. . . Here and elsewhere Some like HoIt achieves what hasn’t updated Broadway tootsie still is Mrs. Doubtfire could: It convincingly transforms the theatrical character of a man masquerading as a woman into something about pride and honesty. In fact, Daphne’s revelation shows that Joe’s Josephine disguise is the fraud that it is.

No more spoilers as of now, except to note that there won’t be any other major departures from the film, unless you want to count a great final scene resolution that doesn’t have deus ex machina in shoe slams, quick changes, and all which slammed doors that farce could wish for.

Of course, we were completely blown away by this payoff with over two hours of truly beautiful score courtesy of these musical wizards Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who delved into the biggest musical genres of the mid-20th century, from jump blues, jazz vamps , Big- Band swing, sultry flare, lonely 53rd Street blues, MGM scores and the East Coast art song, all filtered through a modern sensibility that knows what it likes and what it wants to do.

And among the things he likes is Cole Porter. Consider these lyrics from the title track and try not to hum “Always true to you in my fashion.”

NOW, ON A SWEET SUMMER DAY
SOME CONSUMERS WITH CONSOMMÉ
YES, IT USUALLY KEEPS YOU COOL, LIKE MOUNTAIN AIR
AND ALTHOUGH THE POSTMAN CALLS TWICE
SOMETIMES LIKE THE MAN WHO BRINGS THE ICE CREAM
HE COMES WITH HIS BLOCK TO GET MY FRIDAY
HEATING THE BOILERS OF THEIR HEARTS
PARTY LOVES A FRESH YOUNG APPLE PART
BUT IT NEVER GETS HOT IN A STORM
BUT IF YOU HAVE A YEN FOR EGG FOO YUNG
THE I’M GUARANTEED TO BURN YOUR TONGUE
SOME LIKE IT WHEN IT’S HOT
AND HOT IS WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU

Whether the songs are performed in ensemble or solo, each of the main actors gets at least a moment in the spotlight and no one disappoints, especially the powerhouse Hicks.

Plays one of the most beautifully lit and beautifully designed sets on Broadway today, with its Deco Hotel columns and draped folds lit in purples, blues and reds that scream nightlife when it counts (Scott Pask did the sets, Natasha Katz the lights , Gregg Barnes the costumes perfect down to the last sequin, and Brian Ronan the sound system, missing not a whispered sweet nothing or the thinnest blast of a horn).

The cast doesn’t lack a bar, musical or comedy either. Borle, like any theatergoer who has been paying attention for years, is a darling, while relative newcomer Ghee is so personable you’d think they sang and danced together before vaudeville died. There’s no slacking on the leads, and the supporting cast is impressive too: check out Angie Schworer, so good at Nicholaw The ball, who here takes on the small role of Sweet Sue’s assistant Millie, making every line and part of Eve Arden’s business stand out. Or Casey Garvin, a gangster no. 2, who seems to be guided by the spirit of Damon Runyon in everything he says.

Nicholaw’s choreography, like the score, borrows here and there, now and then – mostly then – without coming across as pastiche or rip-off. You’ll see all the pre-war dance fashions you want and they look so fresh, like they’ve never been done, like they’ve been waiting all along Some love it when it’s hot.