NYC Theater Trip 2023: "Some Like It Hot" at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre

Show*: 4

Title: Some Like It Hot

Location: Sam S. Shubert Theatre

Written By: book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman

Summary: An adaptation of the 1959 movie, set in the prohibition era, about two musicians who don drag to escape from the mob.

Highlights: I wasn't expecting to love this one as much as I did; in fact, it might be my favorite of the six shows I saw on this trip. I've never seen the movie, but my friend assures me that this musical adaptation hues very close to the original (which she also tells me is regarded as one of the best movie comedies ever), with a few additions to make it more current that feel organic to the story, not forced to make a point. After Joe becomes Josephine and Jerry becomes Daphne, they join an all-women band led by Sweet Sue (the fabulous NaTasha Yvette Williams) traveling across the country to California. Serial dater Joe (there's a joke about him not remembering any woman's name) falls in love with the lead singer with Hollywood dreams, Sugar (SIX's Adrianna Hicks in a star turn). After befriending her as Josephine, Joe dons the disguise of a German screenwriter, allowing the uber talented Christian Borle to have lots of fun playing three different roles and accents. Unlike Joe, Jerry slowly discovers that he feels more like himself as Daphne than he ever has (an authentic performance by non-binary drag performer J. Harrison Ghee who wows as both versions of the character). The bad guys eventually catch up to our merry band of musicians, culminating in a tap-dancing chase scene that is simply the best thing ever. The fact that our characters are musicians allows for many fun show-within-the-show numbers, and this jazzy score by Hairspray writers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman is so great I immediately downloaded the cast recording. This is a show that is perfect for touring, a crowd-pleaser that's also really well written (by playwright Matthew Lopez and comedy writer/performer Amber Ruffin) and executed (director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw keeping things light and fun). It's based on a movie people love; it has an old fasioned musical comedy vibe, a fantastic score, and super fun dancing; and it's almost subversive in the way it works in issues of trans acceptance, feminism, and overcoming racism. And this is even without mentioning the gorgeous and versatile art deco set, the bright and lovely period costumes, and the awesome band - half of which is on stage for the entire show! This is movie adaption done right - a great score and book with slight tweaks to the original, making it feel current and relevant without changing what still works.

*Once again, I'm using an abbreviated Fringe-style summary for my NYC 2023 trip, since I am in the greatest city in the world with much more exciting things to do than write! Click here to see all of my Broadway-related blog posts.

"The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway

The new production of the Gerswhins' Porgy and Bess is one of those classic epic musical theater experiences, like I haven’t had since seeing South Pacific at Lincoln Center four years ago. The kind of show where from the opening bars of the orchestra to the last curtain call, you know this is something special, this is the real deal. A new and exciting interpretation of a classic piece of music-theater history that is still so resonant it feels fresh and new.

Everything about this production is top-notch – the gorgeous music by George Gershwin, the staging and choreography, the sparse but effective set (with working water pump!), and the cast. Oh the cast! Audra McDonald has long been one of my favorites, mostly because of the Ragtime soundtrack (not to mention her role on the pretty good TV show with the really good cast, Private Practice). She’s a four-time Tony winner, and will no doubt be nominated for her performance as Bess when the nominees are announced on May 1. So raw and real, tough and vulnerable. Not to mention her incredible voice singing these amazing (and difficult) songs. Matching her in excellence is the heretofore unknown to me Norm Lewis as Porgy. His body is painfully contorted, but his voice is easy and beautiful, and his presence strong. Surrounding the two main characters is a strong cast of supporting characters and ensemble. Joshua Henry (a Tony nominee for Scottsboro Boys, which played at the Guthrie before its Broadway run), brings his gorgeous voice and charismatic presence to the role of the doomed Jake. NaTasha Yvette Williams is great as the mother figure Myriah. David Allen Grier (who's more well known for his movie and TV roles, but is also a trained and experienced theater actor) is the comic relief as the smartly dressed drug dealer called Sporting Life, but he also has the musical and dramatic chops needed.

I'm not very familliar with the original opera Porgy and Bess, first produced in 1935, so I can’t talk about how this production reworked and reinterpreted the original. I hear they’ve tried bring more depth to the characters, to change what some saw as a racist portrayal of African American life. But I only know what I saw, which is wonderful. I was so unfamiliar with the story that when the show began with another actress singing the classic song “Summertime,” I thought we were seeing an understudy for Bess. Fortunately I was wrong, and Audra made her entrance a little bit later to my great relief. Bess and her man Crown are in the “bad” crowd of Catfish Row, SC – involved in drugs, violence, gambling. When Crown kills a man, he skips town, and agrees that Bess should find a “temporary” man to live with (I guess a woman living alone is out of the question). Porgy is available and willing, so he takes her in. He's beloved by the community, but they think he can never “keep” a woman because he’s a “cripple”    (his foot is turned completely in at a 90 degree angle and his whole body leans, but don’t worry, Norm told us he works with both a chiropractor and a physical therapist to prevent permanent damage to his body). For some reason Porgy loves Bess completely and unconditionally, and is the only person who can see the good in her. It’s a confidence and stability she’s never known, and it teaches her to begin to believe in herself. Until her past comes back to haunt her, and she falls back into old ways. The town turns on her, but Porgy refuses to give up on his Bess. I was frustrated at the open ending, but as Norm said when we met him after the show, it’s an ending of hope, and I have to believe that these two damaged people find each other again.



with Norm Lewis (Porgy)

The music is, of course, divine. The score includes several songs familiar to anyone who’s grown up in Western culture – in addition to “Summertime,” there’s “I Got Plenty of Nothin,” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” As much as I enjoy seeing a modern band on stage, I geek out over a full and luscious pit orchestra, as this is. The choreography is so evocative of the time and place, not too smooth and polished but organic to the people and the situation, from the carefree picnic scene to the tense fight scenes. The costumes are simple but also help to explain who these people are, with Bess changing from a form fitting red dress to a soft floral dress as she becomes an accepted part of the community.  Diane Paulus seems to have a knack for directing classic pieces of music-theater history and bringing them to modern audiences; she also directed the 2010 revival of HAIR that I loved so much.
  

with the great Audra McDonald (Bess)

It’s a tough year for revival of a musical, with the fabulous production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies last fall. But there’s something about this piece that’s so all-around satisfying, it’ll be hard to beat.