San Diego is the destination for the national tour of “Some Like It Hot” this weekend, bringing a sparkling musical full of laughter to the Civic Center. The Tony-winning musical is a love letter to the tap-dancing musicals of old with modern sensibilities. Based on the classic comedy, the adaptation balances on a knife’s edge: It has heart but is not overly saccharin. It is funny without being shtick-y. It acknowledges discrimination without falling into pity. Instead, it seems to achieve the impossible balance of being thoroughly contemporary while embracing the beauty of old Hollywood.
Two former San Diegans can be credited with some of this. Director Casey Nicholaw’s tap-dancing choreography was a feat of precision and story-telling. A chase scene full of costume changes, rolling doors, and mistaken identity through the Hotel del Coronado was a delightful hijinks while being impressively complex which veteran actor Devon Goffman who played the Al Capone-esque mobster Spats described as the most fun he has ever had on stage. Costume designer Gregg Barnes has an unmatched grasp of color. Even dresses worn by the ensemble dancers in a single scene could have been the show-stopping pieces in another musical that cared less about nailing every detail.
A chat back after the show also revealed the cast cares as deeply as the creative team about the musical. The performers are hungry to be in the show. Some are excited by the opportunity for professional reasons like ensemble cast members Emily Kelly and Michael Skrzek, who are on their first national tour. Others connected with the material like debut star Tavis Kordell and the three Black actresses who perform as or understudy as Sugar Kane.
“In the movie, it’s Marilyn Monroe — the bombshell, the beautiful porcelain skin, or the blonde hair. I love that we were gifted the opportunity to flip that beauty on its head and show what Black women were in that time, how they carried themselves, and the beauty of it,” said ensemble cast member Nissi Shalome. Sugar Kane, in the breathtaking vocals of Leandra Ellis-Gaston, sings a ballad about seeing the likes of Monroe in the old majestic nickel matinee, from the segregated balcony, and wanting that starring role for herself. Shalome, who has had the opportunity to play Sugar at times, said the role is “then using the opportunity to give the Black women in the audience watching the ability to see themselves in this light.”
Another Sugar Kane understudy, Ranease Ryann, had a similar experience to Kordell, in that she saw the musical as a college student living outside of New York and got so excited for the role, she auditioned. Non-binary North Carolinan Kordell, who stars as Jerry/Daphne, connected to the character whose attempt to hide from the mob in an all-girls band leads to self-discovery. “I saw it on a whim, and I was like, ‘I need to play this role,’” they recalled. “Jerry is more so reserved and quiet at the beginning, but as Jerry becomes Daphne, you begin to see Jerry’s heart burst wide open. Which I’m really appreciative for this show is that it’s not based in the trope of men in dresses, but the trope of someone finding themselves and finding freedom.”
The tight script shows each of the cast members, well perhaps minus Spats, coming into their power without losing the humor of the original. The character’s triumph is only possible through the triumph of the cast and creative teams who brought it to the stage. “Some Like It Hot” delighted the audience and deserved every ounce of praise it has gotten from critics, audiences and the Tonys if not more.
Entradas en broadwaysd.com.
