Some Like It Hot

A-

How brave the creative team of this musical adaptation of the classic Billy Wilder film were to tinker with a movie that enjoys cult status, especially since it had already been adapted as Sugar, a musical that ran on Broadway for over a year 50 years ago. Luckily for us, Mark Shaiman (music and lyrics; Hairspray), Scott Whitman (lyrics; Hairspray), Matthew Lopez (book; The Inheritance, Amber Ruffin (book), Casey Nicholaw (director/choreographer; The Prom), Scott Pask (scenic design; The Book of Mormon)) and Gregg Barnes (costume design; Mean Girls) have assembled a show that is not only relentlessly entertaining but adds a few interesting new twists to the story. The casting is superb: the ever enjoyable Christian Borle (Something Rotten!) hits all the right notes as Joe; J. Harrison Ghee (Mrs. Doubtfire) perfectly captures the duality of Jerry/Daphne; Adrianna Hicks (Six) makes the most of the less-developed role of Sugar; Kevin Del Aguila (Frozen) is hilarious in the expanded role of Osgood, and Natasha Yvette Williams (Tina) is a force of nature as Sweet Sue. The music is catchy, the choreography which includes lots of tap dancing is terrific, the deco sets are wonderful and the period costumes are splendid. By portraying Sweet Sue, Jerry/Daphne and Sugar as black, the authors have added a new dimension to the plot. By giving Osgood a back story, they strengthen the theme of identity fluidity personified by Jerry/Daphne. By not slavishly following the details of the film, they have created something that both honors the original and opens new doors. The result is a sure crowd-pleaser that should have a very long run. My only complaint is that the sound level at times became uncomfortably loud. Running time: two hours 35 minutes including intermission. 

The Prom

A-

Director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw once again demonstrates the Midas touch in choosing material. To the three hits (Mean Girls, Aladdin and The Book of Mormon) he already has on Broadway, he has now added a fourth with this delightful, cannily-crafted show that puts the comedy back in musical comedy. It may recall Bye, Bye, Birdie in depicting the invasion of Middle America by show biz celebrities and also Hairspray in its theme of righting an injustice, but the end result is totally original. It is hilarious, generous and touching. When two “aging narcissists,” as the Times review calls them, Dee Dee Allen (Beth Leavel; The Drowsy Chaperone) and Barry Glickman (Brooks Ashmanskas; Something Rotten!, Bullets over Broadway), are brutally panned for their performances as Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR in the hiphop musical Eleanor, they search for a way to burnish their reputations by becoming celebrity activists. When they read on Twitter about Emma (Caitlin Kinnunen; The Bridges of Madison County), a lesbian high school student whose wish to bring her girlfriend to the prom led to the prom’s cancellation, they find their cause. Joined by their friends Angie (Angie Schworer; The Producers), a chorus girl in Chicago for 20 years, Trent Oliver (Christopher Sieber; Shrek, Spamalot), a Juilliard-trained actor/waiter who is between jobs, and their rotund PR man Sheldon Saperstein (Josh Lamon; Groundhog Day), they hitch a ride to Edgewater, Indiana with a non-Equity Godspell bus tour to lend their help to Emma, whether she wants it or not. The campaign against an inclusive prom is led by the adamant Mrs. Greene (Courtenay Collins; Eating Raoul), whose daughter Alyssa (Isabelle McCalla; Aladdin), unbeknownst to her mother, is Emma’s secret girlfriend. The school principal Mr. Hawkins (David Josefsberg; Altar Boyz, u/s for Michael Potts; Jitney) is sympathetic to Emma and is on the verge of finding a solution when the Broadway Five barge into the PTA meeting, thereby managing to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. There is a cruel trick played on Emma that leads to her breakup with Alyssa. A side plot is that Mr. Hawkins is a big fan of Dee Dee’s and they hit it off. I won’t go into details of the further mayhem that follows. Suffice it to say there is a terrific song for each character, the dance numbers are wonderfully energetic and the ending is touching. The sturdy book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Chad Beguelin (Aladdin, The Wedding Singer) includes a slew of insider Broadway musical jokes to make the audience feel smart. The music by Matthew Sklar (Elf, The Wedding Singer) is catchy and the lyrics by Bequelin are often clever. Scott Pask’s (The Book of Mormon, The Band’s Visit) sets are both functional and attractive. The costumes by Ann Roth (The Nance) and Matthew Pachtman (The Book of Mormon) are wonderful. The show has been brilliantly cast. Normally I would be offended at the swishy queen stereotype represented by Barry, but Ashmanskas plays him so well that I didn’t really mind. My only complaint is that, as so often happens these days, the music was overamplified, making the lyrics occasionally hard to hear. The season gets a welcome boost from this thoroughly enjoyable show. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

A note about color-blind (or alternative) casting: Once again I am puzzled by whether the race of an actor is meant to be significant or not. The actor who normally plays Mr. Hawkins, the school principal, is black. The night I attended, the role was played by his understudy, who is white. If the choice of a black actor was meant to be significant, it would put a certain spin on events in the play. The citizens of Edgewater could not be completely intolerant if they chose someone black as high school principal. Would it then be meaningful that the only one in town who is trying to build bridges is black? It would also add another dimension to the romance between Dee Dee and Mr. Hawkins. On the other hand, if race was not a consideration in the casting and the actor chosen was simply the best actor auditioned, then all my speculation is irrelevant. I wish I knew which. Comments, as always, are welcome.

Something Rotten! ***

Emerging out of the blue late in the season comes this dark horse of a musical that is clearly destined for lots of awards and a long run. The creators are an unlikely combo —  Karey Kirkpatrick, a Hollywood based screenwriter/director/songwriter with no theatrical credits; his brother Wayne Kirkpatrick, a Nashville-based songwriter; and John O’Farrell, a British satirist. The brothers are jointly credited with the music, lyrics and concept, while Karey and O’Farrell wrote the book. The only person on the creative side with name recognition is award-winning director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw  The topic and setting are equally unlikely — the invention of the musical in 1595 London. The Bottom brothers, Nick (Brian d’Arcy James) and Nigel (John Cariani) are struggling to keep their theatrical company afloat. To his regret, Nick had previously urged a certain actor whose initials are W.S. to leave the troupe and take up playwriting. Christian Borle plays The Bard as the rock star of his age with a nasty habit of stealing material. Nick, unable to come up with a plot that Shakespeare didn’t get to first, consults soothsayer Nostradamus (Brad Oscar) to find out what will be the “next big thing” and what will be Shakespeare’s best play. Unfortunately Nostradamus never gets things quite right, with the result that Nick sets out to write the world’s first musical — “Omelet.” Nick’s wife Bea (Heidi Blickenstaff) is a proto-feminist.  Nigel falls in love with Portia (Kate Reinders), daughter of leading Puritan Brother Jeremiah (Brad Ashmanskas) who thinks theater and music are the devil’s work. An uncharacteristically restrained Peter Bartlett appears in the dual roles of Lord Clapham and the Minister of Justice. The more familiar you are with the Shakespearean canon and the musicals of the last 60 years, the more you will enjoy the show. Running through the show are snippets from the bard and signature lines from virtually every musical you can think of, each received with delighted recognition by the audience. The music, in a variety of styles, works well within the context of the show. Midway through the first act there’s a show-stopping number (“A Musical”) that brought the loudest, longest applause I have ever witnessed in a theater. The uniformly strong cast seemed to be enjoying themselves.The scenic design by Scott Pask and the costumes by Gregg Barnes are top-notch. The show is entertaining, relentlessly so. I sometimes felt that it was trying too hard to amuse. For me, its clever conceits were stretched beyond their potential. As so often happens, the second act did not live up to the promise of the first. The dance numbers, while lively, were monotonously alike. Despite these reservations, I had a good time. The wildly enthusiastic audience portends a successful run. Running time: 2 hours 25 minutes including intermission.

The Book of Mormon ****

The critical praise heaped upon "The Book of Mormon" was so lavish that I was afraid that my expectations might be too high. I needn't have worried -- it really does live up to all the hype. This clever musical by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone describes what happens when two mismatched young Mormons (Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, both outstanding) are sent on a mission to an impoverished, AIDS-ridden village in Uganda. Much has been made about the show's naughty language and ridicule of religion, but its heart is sweet and pure. It is the model of a well-made Broadway musical with hummable songs, terrific production numbers, and a satisfying narrative arc. The ensemble is the best I have seen since "The Scottsboro Boys" and Casey Nicholaw's lively choreography puts them through their paces. Scott Pask's sets and Ann Roth's costumes are excellent. The direction, shared by Nicholaw and Parker, keeps things moving without slack. It's one of the rare shows where the best is yet to come after intermission. All in all, a very satisfying experience.