Interview: As Sweet Sue, Tarra Conner Jones knows that SOME LIKE IT HOT at Broadway San Diego

The new musical “Some Like it Hot’, a new take on the classic movie of the same name, arrives at Broadway San Diego this week in all its madcap and tap dancing glory.  Tarra Conner Jones plays “Sweet Sue” the loving but no-nonsense lead of an all-girls band who unknowingly has two people in disguise traveling with her as they hide from the mob. Tarra took time between shows to talk about this show and how exciting it is to bring it to San Diego.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, when Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell), two performers in prohibition-era Chicago, accidentally witness some mob business, they quickly flee town to stay alive.  So they don disguises and join the California-bound all-female group, “Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators,” as Josephine and Daphne, respectively.  Tarra Conner Jones plays Sweet Sue, the sassy and strict leader of the group who tries to keep all of her girls in line and make great music with one rule: “No men allowed.”

Tarra says that part of the fun of this show is that it is a people-pleasing, toe-tapping good time for the audience.

“It's a classic Broadway show full of tap dancing, high spirits, singing, and big numbers with a message that will melt your heart about acceptance, love,  friendship, and family.

It's such a joyful show; when audiences leave, they are smiling, and  we've had audience members come up to us saying, ‘Thank you for making me laugh.”

The audience isn’t the only ones having a good time at the show; Tarra says that this cast is having just as much fun with them.

“This show is fun, and we crack ourselves up. The amount of fun we have doing it is insane.”

Sweet Sue is an audience favorite, and Tarra says she is lucky to call NaTasha Yvette Williams, who originated the role on Broadway, a friend and an inspiration.  Williams was even the first person Tarra called when she got the job.

“I told her, “I'm going to do my best to fill your shoes.” Then Natasha said something to me that I'll always remember and that I have even started sharing with other people like my understudy.

Natasha told me, “I don't want you to feel my shoes. I want you to create your own shoes. I expect you to make it better than I did it. “ It melted me, and I want it to be something that she can look at and feel proud of as she sees how it has grown and developed into other things.”

Along with Williams's influence, Jones says she also took inspiration from other women like Ma Rainey,  Bessie Smith, women from church, and even some of Jones’ mother.

“I felt like I'd seen Sweet Sue in church before, you know, she's a lady who looks at you with the evil eye but will give you a piece of cake and a hug at the end of the service, and also my mother.  All of them are wrapped up in preparation for playing Sweet Sue.

I wanted to make sure she was a character that was just as firm as she was loving. I like the audience to see all facets of her and that she is not a one-dimensional woman because no woman is.  We are multi-faceted, and I want all parts of her to be seen throughout the arc of my performance.”

This show, directed and choreographed by San Diegan Casey Nicholaw and featuring music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, is not only a good time but also features toe-tapping music and a lot of tap dancing. The show culminates in a complicated tap number that is not to be missed, and the songs are crowd-pleasers. Tarra says that learning and working with these creatives was a dream come true.

“We have an incredible choreographer and associate choreographer, and the patience that they had, by the time we got it, the joy that erupted in that room from us was mind-blowing.

It is a joy to learn and sing this music! “What Are You Thirsty For?” is probably over six minutes long and involves a couple of scenes, but it is fun.

“Some Like it Hot” is one of my favorite songs because it’s sexy and fun. It's just so beautifully written. I love that I get to sing it every night.”

A former teacher, Tarra finds herself in a bit of a life-imitates-art situation as Sweet Sue, as she plays a woman on tour with a group of performers, as she is on tour with a group of performers, which only adds to the experience. She can’t praise them and their hard work enough.

“The funny thing is, I am the mother of the group in a sort of a way, like in real life.  I'm older than my cast mates, but I think even if I wasn't, it is just within me. I'm a former teacher; I taught for 22 years. The teacher in me naturally mothers and hovers.

My castmates are fantastic, they are fierce, they are fabulous, and I want to celebrate them because they are truly making this thing go all across the country. They are incredible human beings!”

How To Get Tickets

See Tarra Conner Jones and the rest of the cast of ‘Some Like It Hot” at the Civic Theatre from Broadway San Diego through Sunday, February 2nd.  For ticket and showtime information, go to www.broadwaysd.com

 

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