“Some Like It Hot” Over Time: Classic 1950s Film to Broadway Sensation
An intimidating squad of gangsters bearing rifles. Dressed in striped and plaid three-piece suits embellished with busy ties, crisp handkerchiefs, fedoras, and spatterdashes. A band of peppy, airheaded women. Dripping in satin, sequins, and lace. They play good old-fashioned hot jazz. Two life-long buddies– also musicians– willing to go to extraordinary lengths to save their lives. Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond have entertained audiences from 1959 to today with their outrageous film Some Like It Hot.
The film takes place in 1920s Prohibition Chicago. Between mob violence, giggly blonde-bobbed women, highly aroused men, and lots of booze, Wilder and Diamond took what we knew about American culture in the 20s and amplified it for our enjoyment. The two buddies, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), who just so happen to be playing in a band in a sort of speakeasy that’s masquerading as Mozzarella’s Funeral Parlor, are witness to the film’s version of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Spats Colombo (George Raft), based heavily on Al Capone, runs the joint. When he realizes that Joe and Jerry saw the murder– and because Spats doesn’t appreciate a good witness– he begins a classic farce-style man-hunt.
When the ridiculous coincidence presents itself that an all-girl jazz band is in need of the exact sort of musicians Joe and Jerry happen to be, without a moment of hesitation, Joe and Jerry do what they need to do to save their lives: they disguise themselves as women and join the band to get out of Chicago. The camera cuts to a shot of the men’s legs tripping and stumbling along a train station platform trying to figure out how to walk in pumps. The men have miraculously decorated themselves in marcel-wave bobbed wigs and ridiculously heavy makeup. Who knows how? And, honestly, who really cares? Because it’s just fun to see Jerry in a fuzzy leopard print coat and matching hat while Joe dons a coat with a fur collar so large it touches his ears. Joe walks proudly in all his womanly glory with his chest out to the world and his lips puckered three inches off his face. The men actually look pretty great and hold it together until they spot a real woman, Sugar Kane– lead singer of the jazz band– who is portrayed by the striking Marilyn Monroe. Sugar passes by in her form-fitting black coat and tall pumps that accentuate her every bend and curve, leaving the men in a state of lust. Dressed as women, Joe and Jerry quickly shake off these temptations and walk to the train where Sugar and the other members of “Sweet Sue And Her Society of Syncopators” are gathered. In the most absurd, high pitched, feathery voices the men can produce, they introduce themselves to the band as Josephine and… Daphne! And, even though Sue might be a little suspicious, everyone believes that Joe and Jerry are who they say they are. And, the games begin.
The film pokes fun at men and women by caricaturing the stereotypical behavior of both genders. We watch Josephine and Daphne navigate some of the difficulties of womanhood, like being relentlessly hunted by the male species at the hotel. For instance, the hotel’s bellhop expresses an uncontrollable desire for Daphne and tells her “[she’s just the way [he] likes ‘em. Big and sassy.” Ironically, Daphne lashes out about this objectifying treatment he..she..he is receiving, and Josephine consoles him by reminding him that men “just don’t care, so long as you’re wearing a skirt,” and that “it’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull.” Wilder and Diamond exaggerate these classic stereotypes of what men and women are, and it amused its 1950s audiences as much as it amuses us today.
During the film we come to find out that Joe has fallen profoundly in love with Sugar, a seemingly helpless young woman whose hopes and dreams consist of marrying a nice, rich man. To make even more of a mess of his situation, Joe takes on yet another outrageous personality to win Sugar over; Shell Oil Junior, third generation billionaire owner of the Shell Oil Company. At the same time, another sex-farce ruckus goes on between Daphne and hotel resident Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown). Wealthy and philandering Osgood is head over heels from the moment he lays eyes on Daphne. He attempts to win her over through offerings like a secluded night on his yacht and a thick diamond bracelet. But to everybody’s (and nobody’s) surprise, ultimately lands her with a proposal after a long night of tango dancing.
Beyond its madcap silliness, what gives the film its depth and impact is the time and conditions under which it was made. Between 1934 and 1968 in Hollywood there existed a Motion Picture Production Code known as the Hays Code which banned “depictions of sexual perversion.” At the time, that included any depictions of same sex couples or transgenderism in any form. Wilder and Diamond were among many creators of this film era that produced work that went against the industry guidelines in an effort to disband the code. Because Wilder and Diamond couched their resistant work in the tradition of farce, they were able to play around with absurd ideas like mistaken identities, and audiences ate it up.
In the end, Joe and Jerry have a run-in with the gangsters at the hotel and need to escape. In a fast and dramatic final scene, Joesephine kisses Sugar goodbye, revealing his true identity to her, and she follows him and Jerry as they make a run for Osgood’s boat that is going to take them to safety. Much of the film community credits this scene for being a catalyst in eliminating the repressive Hays Code. In the back of the boat Joe removes his disguise and tells Sugar: “You don’t want me. I’m a liar. One of those no-goodniks you keep running away from. Do yourself a favor and go back to where the millionaires are– the sweet end of the lollipop, not the coleslaw in the face, the old socks, and the squeezed out tub of toothpaste.” Joe’s laughable speech actually won Sugar over; she says to him: “That’s right. Pour it on. Talk me out of it.” Joe tosses his wig off the boat and the two proceed to lock lips. Meanwhile in the front of the boat, Osgood and Daphne have a ludicrous back and forth where Daphne provides the most absurd reasons as to why Osgood wouldn’t want to marry her until he finally says “You don’t understand, Osgood. I’m a man.” And Osgood simply responds, “Well, nobody’s perfect!” These words were a big leap in film history and still resonate with viewers today.
The film portrays the lengths that people go to get what they want so well that in 1972, it was turned into a musical called Sugar. Flashforward to 2022, the goofy story got another fresh update in the new musical adaptation, Some Like It Hot. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, and music by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, this brilliant team took Wilder and Diamond’s legendary work to the next level with contemporized story updates in the form of a stunning piece of classic musical theater.
In this version, the Syncopators get completely reimagined. Instead of being a giggly group of dimwitted broads, they become a group of racially diverse, driven women who exude a sense of unity and strength. This is exemplified in the band’s new song “Zee Bap,” a fantastic scat jazz song that I happily had stuck in my head for many days after hearing it. The song is about the “magic phrase” they use to shut up unpleasant and disrespectful men. Together, the girls sing “Zee-Bap, Zee-Booly, a-da-fee-bam-bam” because it’s “the code to make him hit the road!” At the end of their fabulous dance number, the women come together and sing: “Ladies, we have got to stick together ‘till the battle is won!” This empowerment in the Syncopators is inspired by the musical’s version of Sweet Sue, played by Black Broadway actress NaTasha Yvette Williams, who brings a new, tough, and strong meaning to her role as the band leader. William’s broad vocal range and powerful voice runs the theater.
The notoriously sweet and unknowing Sugar Kane also gets herself a new spin in the musical adaptation. Sugar is played by Black actress Adrianna Hicks. Hicks’ Sugar is different from Monroe’s Sugar in almost every way possible; she is a modest, hopeful, ambitious young woman who is aware of her talents. Sugar comes out of the gates swinging with her new song “Take It Up A Step,” in which she reminds herself and her bandmates that success takes hard work and determination. She tells them, “The devil’s right behind ya’ girls, this is no place to stop. Ladies, take it up a step so we can take it to the top.” And instead of pining away for a rich man to make her happy, Sugar now has big dreams of becoming a Hollywood movie star. Remaining true to slapstick style, Joe’s new second alternate persona is an established Hollywood director who agrees to help Sugar achieve her professional ambitions.
The biggest and most important change made to the musical version is Jerry’s character. Jerry’s arc deals with the concept known as “cross-gender acting,” that dates back to Ancient Greek and English Renaissance theater. Artists of this time regarded gender as something that can change and be moved between; this idea was made widely known by many of Shakespeare’s comedies. It is also still very prevalent in modern theater as we’ve seen recently in Billy Porter’s role in Kinky Boots, Santino Fontana’s role in Tootsie, and many recent revivals with new gender assignments like Katrina Lenk’s role in the revival of Company.
Perfectly cast, Jerry is now played by Black nonbinary actor J. Harrison Ghee. As a fluid individual themselves, Ghee brings an authentic embodiment to the newly liberated Daphne. And, they look darn good in Daphne’s stunning dresses, jewels, and headpieces designed by Gregg Barnes. With that, López and Ruffin make it clear to audiences that the wheels are turning within Jerry as soon as he dresses up in his female disguise; it is very obvious that Jerry is not “dressing up” as a woman in the same way that Joe (Christian Borle) is. In act two, Jerry sings a terrific Broadway tune, “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather,” where they open up to Joe about the night they understood their true identity, being both Jerry and Daphne. In the song, Daphne explains to Joe that “[they] have tried to love many ladies back when [they] sang in a much lower key,” but now there is “no more living in the past cause Daphne is free.” Another important distinction between the film and the show: Joe accepts Daphne’s gender identity.
Osgood is hysterically portrayed by the undeniably sweet and bubbly Kevin Del Aguila. Osgood also receives more of a background story; we learn that he is a Mexican-American who has struggled to understand his place in the world. Selfless and caring, Osgood is now the person who supports Daphne along their identity journey. Osgood’s genuineness and kindness shine through, especially when he sings Daphne the song “Fly, Mariposa, Fly,” which his mother used to sing to him. The song is about discovering and embracing the person you are meant to be, exactly what Daphne needed to hear. He tells Daphne, “Other men will see the colors that define you. Every day they try to catch you for a bride. So fly above, the one you love will never need a net, and they won’t forget that wings like yours were meant to fire up the sky.” He provides the love, support, and assurance that Daphne never got the first time around.
Despite these changes, the musical remains true to the film’s slapstick nature. Joe and Jerry still exhibit the same buffoonery and cause the same ruckus and chaos that they do in the film. Shaiman and Wittman wrote an outstanding and witty song titled “Vamp!” in which, unlike the film, audiences get to watch the hilarious process of Joe and Jerry turning into Josephine and Daphne. In the song, Joe proposes that all they have to do is act like a jazz song, and just vamp..stall..until they find their new groove. Live on stage, Ghee and Borale strip out of their suits and into their girdles, nylons and dress, and do their best attempts at full hair and makeup, singing and dancing around the whole entire time. It’s certainly a sight to behold.
Another one of the show’s standout comedic moments is the reimagined version of the gangster’s farcical hunt and chase of Joe and Jerry in the hotel. Nicholaw perfectly crafted one of the most hectic, chaotic, fast, and ridiculous numbers I’ve ever seen on stage. In classic farce slamming door style, the entire cast performs an impressive sequence of danced entrances and exits. It is meant to look like a crazy chase around the hotel, in and out of every hotel room that involves gangsters, band members, innocent hotel residents, hotel staff, and of course at the heart of it all, Joe and Jerry staying impossibly one step ahead of the gangsters who chase them. In the number, the entire hotel gets flipped upside down; Joe and Jerry keep flipping genders, a bell boy loses his pants, the girls come out with giant instruments, people are stealing each others luggage, lovers and enemies are having physical encounters– it is a perfectly crafted disaster and the cast hits every single beat, note, move, and cue of the chaos.
Seeing the musical Some Like It Hot was the most fun, intriguing, and inspirational experience I’ve had in a theater in a while. The show reminds us with a lighthearted touch that freedom and self-expression are essential to understanding ourselves and the world around us. With so much polarization and division on the rise, the story has been brought back to us yet again in such a timely manner to demonstrate all the beautiful things that can come from supporting and celebrating one another and sharing in a good laugh. In Sue’s words, “We’ve been bad for so long, let’s see if we can remember how to be good.”
