Ruth Leon recommends .. title song of Some Like It Hot
Ruth Leon recommendsWhen a new show opens everyone wants to know in advance “Is it going to be good? Worth seeing? Worth spending real money for?” And, of course, there’s almost no way to know in advance. One of the most anticipated openings of this Broadway season is Some Like It Hot, an upcoming musical based on the 1959 film Some Like It Hot, with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman & Shaiman, and a book by Matthew López & Amber Ruffin. The musical, like the film, follows the story of jazz age musicians struggling during Prohibition.
The producers are promising, “a fast-paced, sassy, brassy cross-country romp, as two best friends run for their lives – and find true love where they least expect it.” On the basis of what I’ve seen so far on Broadway this season, it would be great if the blurb turns out to be true. Here’s what I can tell you, it’s got a terrifically talented cast and a smasher of a title song which the producers have released ahead of time. See what you think.
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The same adaptation from screen to stage played on Broadway as Sugar.
When Tommy Steele produced and played the lead in London in 1992, it went out as Some Like it Hot. Despite Steele, the critics hailed it lukewarm rather than hot and it was pulled after 3 months when Steele faked an onstage motorbike accident to close the show…
Just saying….
Nope. This is a new adaptation, with a new book and new music and lyrics by Mark Shaiman
An incredibly catchy tune, with clever lyrics. I was glad to hear it.
The drummer looks a lot like Declan Donnelly (of Ant & Dec).
Out of curiosity, I went to the show’s website, as if ordering New York tickets for a random date in February. Orchestra (stalls) seats cost about US$300 per person (including “service” fees) in the center section, about $190 per person in the left and right sections. And that was on a Wednesday. Don’t expect I’ll be seeing this show anytime soon.
I saw it (still in previews) last week, with reasonably priced tickets from the TKTS booth on Time Square yielding excellent seats at the front of the balcony. The show is a delight, the cast superb, the staging of complex bits of farce flawless; the music is pleasant and tuneful. The story line, still set in the late Prohibition era, is slightly and updated with a generally light hand. It substantially exceeded my expectations.