Review: SOME LIKE IT HOT is tap-tastic at Broadway San Diego

“Some Like It Hot,” now playing at Broadway San Diego, brings an updated classic film to the stage in a high-energy, tap-tastic show with big Broadway staging.  ‘Some Like it Hot” is playing at Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre through Sunday, February 2nd.

As the curtain rises, it’s prohibition, and we find a speakeasy filled with music and rivalry led by Sweet Sue (Tarra Conner Jones) as she asks ‘What Are You Thirsty For?” Amongst all this dancing and drinking, Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell) are two performers trying to get their next gig.  When they take a job at a club run by a mobster, they soon find their lives in danger after witnessing something they shouldn’t.  The only thing they can think of to do to get out of town quickly is don disguises as “Josephine” and “Daphne”, respectively, and join Sweet Sue’s California-bound all-female group, “Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators” and then leave them and head to Mexico for safety.

The group travels by train across the country as they are bound for their sold-out performance in San Diego at the Hotel del Coronado. Joe, a lady's man, finds that living as one is harder than he thought, especially as he starts to fall for Sugar (Leandra Ellis-Gaston), the group's singer.  Meanwhile, as Daphne, Jerry finds that this life offers friendship and an opportunity to find something that has been missing until now.

As they arrive at the Hotel Del Coronado, the millionaire owner Osgood (Edward Juvier) is instantly smitten with Daphne, and complications arise as the cops and mobsters alike are looking for Joe and Jerry.

Loehr, as Joe/Josephine, is a charming cad who is good with the ladies but bad with sincerity. He is an excellent dancer with precision and effortless grace, which is wonderful to watch. Kordell, as Jerry/Daphne, is the more level-headed problem solver to Loehr’s fast-talking Joe. As they live as Daphne, they have a sweet journey as they realize some fundamental truths about how they want to live their lives fully moving forward.

Jones as Sweet Sue is sassy and no-nonsense, throwing out zingers and having fun with the innuendos in many songs.  Ellis-Gaston’s Sugar has some lovely solo numbers, and her character is confident and charismatic with more nuance and vulnerability than Marilyn’s movie character.

Juvier’s Osgood is a delightfully sweet and zany character with some hidden depths and wisdom. A “Poor Little Millionaire” who can’t seem to find love until Cupid's arrow hits him when he sees Daphne. 

The production fills the stage with color and energy, with lovely costumes by Gregg Barnes and both Sweet Sue and Sugar have wonderful looks one after another. Josephine has the more dowdy looks of the two, which provides a nice running gag about the character's age and appearance. Daphne's costumes are lovely and showcase their growing sense of self as they become more comfortable with who they are. 

 The music by Marc Shaiman and clever lyrics by Shaiman and Scot Whittman are bold, bouncy, and bright. Directed and choreographed by San Diego’s Casey Nicholaw, the pacing is fast. Like most farces, it sometimes gets a bit frenetic towards the climax, but everything moves along smoothly thanks to the fantastic tap dancing, production numbers, and sweeping partner dancing that propel the show. The final “chase” scene had the audience cheering by the end.

How To Get Tickets

“Some Like It Hot” is playing 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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