REVIEW: Some Like It Hot (Broadway)
Preview: Some do be liking it hot. Some, including the New York theatregoing coalition, like it lukewarm as well, if the reception to the current Broadway darling Kimberly Akimbo is any indicator. To be frank, this season was looking a little sparse in the new musical department. In fact, my lack of strong desire to go to New York and see like six shows is part of why I even started this blog! DC has been churning out show after show, so I haven’t needed to go up there. But I was there for a friend’s birthday, and decided I wouldn’t squander the opportunity. I lost nearly every lottery I applied for (save for Leopoldstadt, which while I am sure is great, was not the energy I wanted going into a party that evening). I decided to splurge a bit anyway and see this, based off of the titular 1950s film. I recall the New York Times having dropped the Critic’s Pick on this bad boy, which surprised me given it looked like a very run-of-the-mill touristy big band musical with not much effort put into it (think A Bronx Tale, etc), plus the fact it was a pre-existing beloved film. I feel like the trend up there nowadays in our collective COVID fatigue is to throw a critical thumb-up at everything, whether it is deserved (A Strange Loop) or not (Akimbo) — of course, there are exceptions. But critics be damned: I’m the critic now, and I’ll see for myself what the hubbub was all about.
Acting: Beyond the commanding performance of Natasha Yvette Williams as the bandleader Sweet Sue, the chemistry of our main trio is absurd. Sugar Cane (the delightful Adrianna Hicks) plays into naïve innocence, longing for big city Hollywood dreams. KJ Hippensteel, who I saw filling in for regular Christian Borle, was so fun to watch both as the sax player Joe and in drag as Josephine (I know for a fact her accent is Bawlmerese, you can’t prove me wrong). A surprise to me was Osgood, the bubbly hotel owner introduced in Act II, by the affable Kevin del Aguila. For comic relief, which can be hit or miss on Broadway, he was a hoot. I especially loved his burgeoning relationship with Daphne; that became a plotline I really ended up liking. And speaking of Daphne…there’s a lot of Tony buzz surrounding J. Harrison Ghee in this role. Consider myself apart of it. He’s the absolute star of this show. and watching his character’s ascent from regular background character to his friend’s antics to a strong, confident individual is something to behold — something truly amazing is happening eight times a week at the Shubert. Tony szn now. 8/10
Production: Those bastards at the Shubert Theatre have done it again. They put a damn train on the stage. Multiple times, this time around. While this would be enough to drop a 10 for this section alone, I must say more about how exquisite this show is technically. Firstly: not a screen in sight. Easy points right there. Costumes are gorgeous and colorful, shapely and flowy. The set pieces are fun and dynamic, with appropriately jovial lighting that frames each scene flawlessly, from the the moody purples of the jazz clubs to the rainbow lanterns of Tijuana. The walls and stairs are patterned with gorgeous, angular 1930s decor that stops just shy of being kitschy. Going back to the train, it’s more than that there is one at all, but multiple scenes take place in and around it. It becomes a symbolic staging device for the plot in motion, and does not feel like a gimmick like it was in Hello, Dolly!, the last show (to my knowledge) to do so. The staging review would not be complete without a semi-spoiler-y mention of a certain Scooby-Doo chase scene in Act II; that was an absolute riot. Overall, this stage was built perfectly for director Casey Nicholaw’s sublime tap-dance choreography. I’ve seen some detractors mention how there’s too much of it, but honestly, I couldn’t get enough. It was so fun to see everyone have the time of their lives tap-tap-tappin’ away. Fosse who? 8/10
Book/Music The premise alone is pretty funny off the bat: two musicians witness a gang murder and hide in drag amongst an all-female traveling band to escape their pursuit. What changes in this edition of the Hayes Code-killing classic is the subtle addition of race dynamics. Sugar Cane, originally played by Marilyn Monroe in one of her most iconic roles, is particularly played by a Black actress (the absolutely delightful Adrianna Hicks), which further extends her Hollywood Dreams from reach in a new context. It’s believable and tragic, but avoids the pitfalls of many “““progressive””” shows by not focusing every piece of dialog around it. By the plot’s resolution, the audience and characters are reasonably optimistic about their futures even as we know the struggle for racial equality continues. I know a lot of people had concerns about the handling of gender politics in this, but I can proudly say they are handled really well. I won’t spoil things, but the “reveal” that is teased throughout the show and ultimately revealed with great confidence during the 11 o’clock number does a great job of asserting the character’s real identity in a wholesome, bombastic way. It was extremely memorable in similar vain to when Lola first hit the scene in Kinky Boots. Of course, as for the music, I expected something good from the creative team behind Hairspray. The score is jazz at critical mass. Big band orchestrations and sultry ballads are plentiful in this piece, and give great opportunities for everyone to show off their talent. “What Are You Thirsty For?” shows off Natasha Yvette Williams’ power right from the beginning, and it keeps a consistent level all the way to “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With A Feather” which brings down the house with Ghee’s powerhouse vocals. It does tip-toe the line of sameness to an unfortunate degree, basically following a pattern of jazz-jazz-jazz-ballad-jazz-jazz-jazz. There is the one Latin-influenced number, which was actually quite good; I was hoping for more of this sort of thing from Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman. Despite this, I definitely did not leave disappointed, but I can’t see myself sticking with this album like I would with other shows. 6/10
VisDev: For the first time in my entire theatergoing career, they nailed it. Everything about this show is marketed exactly like it should be. The pre-show staging is an angular, deep coral blue curtain, the art deco stage peeking from underneath. The playbill cover is an engaging piece of art, showing a strong use of one-point perspective while keeping true to the flat, geometric style the era was known for. The colors are lush and bright, keeping with a primary color triad of red/blue/yellow. The elements, shapely caricatures of Joe and Jerry with their instruments flanking Sugar in the center, perfectly show the viewer the type of story they’re about to get. The background even includes a train moving from the skyline of Chicago to the palm trees of San Diego. All of this, of course, is reflected in their online presence and plastered all over the Shubert Theatre. I need to single out praise to Charlie Davis’s illustrative design work here. Absolutely stunning branding art that I literally might print out and hang on my wall. 10/10
Verdict: Some Like It Hot is a surprisingly great piece with the potential to be a Broadway staple, with plenty of enjoyable moments and strong characters that’ll leave you full of joy.
