Theater review: ‘Some Like It Hot’ impresses on stage, held back by audio issues
“Some Like It Hot,” the all-new Broadway musical tour, brightly tap-danced its way onto the Dr. Phillips Center stage in Orlando, Fla., and Attractions Magazine was invited to come check it out.
Based on the 1959 movie of the same name starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemon, and Marilyn Monroe, “Some Like It Hot” tells the story of two down-on-their-luck musicians in prohibition-era Chicago who witness a gangland murder and must go on the run. Seizing their opportunity, the two dress in drag and join an all-girl band to flee across the country, and zaniness ensues. But the question is, how well does the nearly 70-year-old story hold up in today’s world and did this production do it justice?
I would be remiss to not start with, unfortunately, the most glaring issue with the performance we saw: poorly mixed audio. Actors’ mics were kept at a normal level through both dialogue and singing, but the music was turned up way too loud. I wondered aloud to my theater companion if maybe one of the singers had wronged the audio technician in some way. Whatever the case, the result was that in every song the singers were buried under the music and we could only make out half or less of the lyrics at any given time. Thankfully, several loud brassy belters (shout out to Tarra Conner Jones for putting in the work and taking us to church!) managed to put themselves back up above the music, but the show could definitely serve with better sound mixing. Hopefully, this is just a result of opening night in a new venue and will get better as the run continues.
That out of the way, there is still a lot to like about “Some Like It Hot.” Many of the musical numbers have the delightfully crazed energy of a classic movie musical farce. This culminates in “Tip Tap Trouble,” a manic musical number featuring characters running in from every direction with moving door choreography (door-reography?) reminiscent of an episode of “Scooby-Doo.” It’s incredibly fun and energetic; I just wish we could have made out the lyrics.
The show is led admirably by the leads, Matt Loehr as Joe/Josephine and Tavis Kordell as Jerry/Daphne, who maintain the pace and push the energy throughout the production. The rest of the cast more than holds their own, with special recognition going to Leandra Ellis-Gaston’s take on the character Sugar, made famous by Marilyn Monroe in the movie. She manages to capture Marilyn’s sweet naïveté that endeared her to millions while also making the character her own. I also want to mention Edward Juvier as Osgood, a millionaire who falls in love with Daphne (Jerry in drag). What could have been a mincing dolt instead becomes a sweet and endearing hopeless romantic who is just seeking love and open to it in whatever form it presents itself. His song “Fly, Mariposa, Fly,” which tells the story of a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, hints at his understanding of the reality of the situation and how he’s focused on what really matters.
“Some Like It Hot” joins the curious recent trend of old movies featuring men disguising themselves in drag being adapted in modern Broadway musicals, following “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Tootsie,” both of which previously visited Orlando. But “Some Like It Hot” succeeds in ways those other musicals don’t by not trying to reset the story in modern times. Sentiments that could be written off as a “product of their times” have difficulty translating to the modern era when the original stories stay the same but the time period is all that changes. Sticking to the gin-soaked 1930s avoids the questions of why the characters have such backward attitudes toward gender and identity (though “Some Like It Hot” doesn’t necessarily shy away from those subjects). I liked that the show still finds a way to respectfully add to the conversations about transgender rights without it overwhelming the show itself or feeling too heavy-handed.
“Some Like It Hot” is a bright and fun musical that should appeal to both modern audiences and fans of the original movie. The entire show works well knowing exactly what it is and what its purpose is and delivers on the classic fun, laughs, and good times while also finding an opportunity to appeal to modern sensibilities. The only thing that brought this production down were the terrible unfortunate (but hopefully fixable) sound issues but, I guess, as they say … nobody’s perfect.
“Some Like It Hot” runs now through Dec. 22, 2024 in Orlando, Fla. before continuing its tour across America. Check dates and get tickets here.
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