David and Hannah Mirvish & Jennifer Costello and Associates/Some Like It Hot, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin, based on the MGM motion picture, choreographed and directed by Casey Nicholaw, CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, closes Mar. 15. Tickets here.
For those who hold sacred memories of Billy Wilder’s 1959 film Some Like It Hot, do not worry.
The 2022 stage musical is a glorious, splashy, old-fashioned Broadway entertainment that honours its source while confidently reinventing it for a contemporary audience.
The original screenplay by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond was itself inspired by a 1935 French film, later remade in Germany in 1951, but it was Wilder who added the gangster element and shaped the film into the classic we know and love.
The Plot
The musical retains the bare bones plot of the film.
Two musicians, saxophonist Joe (Matt Loehr) and bass player Jerry (Travis Kordell), witness a mob hit and must flee Chicago after being spotted by the gangster Spats (Devon Goffman). In order to escape, they disguise themselves as women and join an all-girls band led by Sweet Sue (Dequina Moore) and her assistant Minnie (Devon Hadsell).
Along the way, Joe, now “Josephine,” falls for the band’s singer, Sugar (Leandra Ellis-Gaston), while Jerry, newly christened “Daphne,” finds himself courted by the eccentric millionaire Osgood Fielding III (Edward Juvier).
They all meet up in California including Detective Mulligan (Matt Allan) who has followed mob boss Spats, and is in pursuit of Joe and Jerry.
Where It Differs
Where the musical differs most intriguingly from the film is in its treatment of Jerry/Daphne.
In Wilder’s version, drag is a comic necessity. In the musical, Daphne discovers a genuine comfort in living as a woman and bonds deeply with the female musicians in the band. What was once farce becomes something more exploratory, and at times unexpectedly touching.
The relationship with Osgood is similarly reimagined.
Audiences familiar with the film wait for that immortal final line voiced by Osgood — “Nobody’s perfect” — one of the great punchlines in cinema history – when Jerry, in desperation, finally tells the amorous Osgood that he, Daphne, is a man.
The musical chooses another path. It reframes the ending within Daphne’s evolving sense of self, and while I confess a small pang at the loss of that perfectly timed comic button, the broader reworking is thoughtful and in keeping with the show’s contemporary sensibility.
The Production
The score, by Marc Shaiman with lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman, is an absolute delight. It captures the brassy energy of late-1920s jazz while delivering genuinely clever lyrics and buoyant ensemble numbers.
Nominated for 13 Tony Awards and winning four — including Best Choreography and Best Costume Design — the musical is a feast for the senses.
Gregg Barnes’s costumes evoke 1929 glamour with wit and elegance, and the entire production looks superb. Scenic design by Scott Pask allows the show to move swiftly from train to hotel with floating set pieces and fluid transitions that keep the momentum high.
This touring production is no pared-down road version but a faithful recreation of the Broadway staging, and gone are the days when touring companies felt like secondary editions.
The Ensemble and the Choreography
The choreography by director Casey Nicholaw is the show’s crowning achievement.
Tap dance, the lingua franca of early Broadway and Hollywood musicals, drives much of the movement vocabulary. The ensemble taps with astonishing precision and stamina, and the principal players are all triple threats. There is not a weak link in the cast.
This company can sing and tap up a storm. If a performer is not dancing, they are belting.
Sweet Sue anchors the band with a powerhouse voice, while Joe, Jerry/Daphne, Sugar, Osgood, and the supporting ensemble combine athletic dance technique with bright comic timing.
The Chase Sequence
The pièce de résistance arrives in a dazzling extended chase sequence near the end of the show. Pursued by mobsters who in turn are followed by Det. Mulligan, the characters weave through a dizzying succession of doors in a bravura display of choreographic invention.
The entire sequence unfolds in dance, intricate and exhilarating, building to a sustained ovation. It is among the most thrilling pieces of stage choreography I have seen in years and more than justifies Nicholaw’s Tony Award.
A Banner Year
It is also worth noting what an extraordinary Tony season 2022–23 proved to be for musicals.
Some Like It Hot lost Best Musical to Kimberly Akimbo, which has already charmed Toronto audiences. & Juliet, another nominee, is currently drawing packed houses here, and Shucked is on its way. Only New York, New York has yet to make its Toronto appearance.
That four of the five nominees have either played, are playing, or will soon play in this city speaks to the strength of that Broadway year.
Finale
Some Like It Hot is a big, generous, expertly crafted musical comedy.
It respects the beloved film while embracing contemporary themes and delivering wall-to-wall entertainment.
In a season already rich with musical theatre, this one arrives as pure pleasure — stylish, fleet-footed, and irresistibly fun.
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