Some Like It Hot, the national tour presented by Broadway in Boston at Citizens Opera House, runs through February 8. BroadwayinBoston.com
Many of the best musical adaptations bring new vision to their inspired sources even as they respect their origins. For instance, The Full Monty cleverly moved its setting from Sheffield, England, to Pittsburgh, both steel cities, while keeping the focus on the title event and deepening its characters beyond the film. So it goes for the 2022 adaptation of the masterful 1959 comedy classic Some Like It Hot.
In this case, Chicago musicians Joe, a saxophonist, and Jerry, a bass player, flee toward San Diego rather than Miami after witnessing a 1933 gang killing. At the same time, the co-authors of the musical's book expand the exploration of Jerry's identity, reflecting 21st-century openness to his gender awakening. The result is a high-stepping show, vocally and visually strong, that sizzles in its own way while honoring its Billy Wilder predecessor.
That heat arrives immediately in the opening number of the Marc Shaiman, composer, and Scott Wittman, co-lyricist with Shaiman, Tony Award—winning score. The lively ensemble piece "What Are You Thirsty For?" introduces dynamic conductor Sweet Sue and her all-women band. As in the film, Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women to escape aboard the train carrying the band to gigs en route to their major performance destination in San Diego. Joe befriends lead singer Sugar and eventually romances her when not in disguise.
A major development in the musical involves Jerry's relationship with a flamboyant wealthy tycoon, here reimagined as a root beer mogul named Osgood. Tony Award—winning playwright Matthew Lopez (The Inheritance) and co-author Amber Ruffin smartly portray Jerry as comfortable with his gender-bending appearance and identity, as well as his growing intimacy with Osgood. Joe and Jerry's very different fortunes, alternately hilarious and thoughtful, entertain longtime fans of the film and newcomers alike.
Under director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw's sharp guidance, Matt Loehr as Joe and Tavis Kordell as Jerry, known respectively as Josephine and Daphne while in disguise, fully inhabit their characters' strengths and vulnerabilities as they journey west. Loehr brings a Donald O'Connor—like ease to his soft-shoe moments, while Kordell delivers a terrific high kick. Together, the two actor-dancers are entirely convincing as friends and fugitives from their gangster pursuers.
Leandra Ellis-Gaston captures Sugar's wistful charm in the lyrically vivid "At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee" and her fierce determination in the stirring "Ride Out the Storm." Dequina Moore commands the stage as Sweet Sue, bringing authority with her musicians and a powerful belt to the first-act-closing title number. Edward Juvier is a scene-stealing delight as Osgood, especially during the richly metaphorical "Fly, Mariposa, Fly."
At the performance attended by this critic, audience members cheered during a moment when Joe and Jerry share a poignant insight about the importance of accepting people, and their names, with love and respect. For seasoned theatergoers, the moment may recall the impassioned anthem "I Am What I Am" from La Cage aux Folles. At a time when authoritarian voices question the integrity and belonging of many Americans, Some Like It Hot resonates as a high-energy, joyful call for acceptance and understanding.