‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’: Christian Borle & J. Harrison Ghee. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

SOME LIKE IT HOT
Book by Matthew Lopez & Amber Ruffin
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by March Shaiman & Scott Wittman
Directed & choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
Shubert Theatre
 225 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), https://somelikeithotmusical.com/

By David NouNou

If you want to thoroughly enjoy and be entertained by Some Like It Hot, the new musical, you have to completely divest yourself of any attachment or sentimental feelings you have for the classic 1959 Billy Wilder movie of the same name. Although Sugar, Joe/Josephine, and Jerry/Daphne still exist, do not expect to see imitations or impersonations of Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

The creators kept the framework and the names of the three lead characters as well as the title of the movie, for brand recognition, but wisely decided to take them on a different journey. Joe (Christian Borle) and Jerry (J. Harrison Ghee) still witness a gangland killing and are chased by the mob. In order to protect their identity, they disguise themselves in drag as Josephine and Daphne and join an all-female band, Sweet Sue (NaTasha Yvette Williams) and her Society Syncopators, and meet female singer Sugar Kane (Adrianna Hicks). No longer is the train taking the female band to Florida for their engagement and the possibility of meeting rich eligible gentlemen. The ladies are now headed to San Diego and Hollywood stardom.

The setup for the scenes is completely different. No longer is it a run from Chicago to Miami, but the trip is cross-country, with lots of stops along the way. Each stop presents a different problem for the boys running from the mob; their destination is San Diego and ultimately Mexico and freedom. Once in San Diego, freedom comes at a price. Along the way, Joe, now Josephine, has fallen for Sugar, and Daphne has captured the heart of Osgood Fielding III (Kevin Del Aguila). Complications arise even further once affairs of the heart fall into place.

Although the book lacks fresh material and jokes, and the score is unmemorable, the freshest and most memorable aspect of the show is J. Harrison Ghee as Jerry/Daphne. As portrayed in the movie by Jack Lemmon, and one of my favorite movie characters of all time, I never thought I could ever get Jack Lemmon out of my mind. Mr. Ghee has taken this role and redefined it as his own. He is handsome as Jerry, heartbreaking as the emerging Daphne, and breathtaking as the gorgeous triumphant Daphne.

Two-time Tony Award winner for Peter and the Starcatcher and Something Rotten, Christian Borle is a Broadway veteran and has livened up many a Broadway show. However, his Joe/Josephine lacks charm and charisma and falls short in the shadow of Mr. Ghee. Once he dons his wig as Josephine, he looks like the spitting image of veteran Broadway character actress Jackie Hoffman. What more can I say?

Adrianna Hicks, who was splendid as Catherine of Aragon in last year’s Six, has a tremendous voice—she is a crowd-pleaser on her solo numbers “At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee” and “Ride Out the Storm”—but her Sugar lacks vulnerability, thus making her one note with no dimension.

However, one should not focus too much on the show’s minor flaws. Amidst all the mayhem taking place on stage, director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw has worked his magic again, as he did for Aladdin, Book of Mormon, and Mean Girls, and sorts everything out replete with a Keystone Kops finale. He has turned Some Like It Hot into a sizzling, grand old-style Broadway extravaganza.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 14, 2022
Reviewed at December 13, 2022  press performance.

‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’: Adrianna Hicks. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’: Adrianna Hicks & cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’: NaTasha Yvette Williams & cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’: Kevin Del Aguila & cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

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‘THE BAND’S VISIT’: Katrina Lenk & Tony Shalhoub. Photo: Matthew Murphy

THE BAND’S VISIT
Music & lyrics by David Yazbek
Book by Itamar Moses
Based on the screenplay by Eran Kolirin
Directed by David Cromer
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
243 West 47th Street
(212-239-6200), www.TheBandsVisitMusical.com

By David NouNou

Music is a constant source of inspiration that brings people together and is a true healer. If properly done, it can create magic and bring sworn biblical enemies together, if only for a night. So it is with David Yazbek’s The Band’s Visit. Middle Eastern music (Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese) is among the most uplifting and joyous music in the world, and Mr. Yazbek has implemented the use of Middle Eastern instruments to create a score that is original and mesmerizing, a sound that Broadway has seldom heard. My only regret is he didn’t infuse it with a klezmer/Israeli sound that would have blown the roof off the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

Based on the 2007 Israeli indie film of the same name, it is set in 1996 when eight Egyptian musicians who comprise the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra have been booked by an Arab cultural center in Petah Tikva Israel, but through a language miscommunication end up in Bet Hatikva. It is a barren wasteland of a town in the Negev Desert. There are no hotels, restaurants or anything; the people there just survive. On this particular day and night, these two factions are brought together through their loneliness and desolation. They share their lives, love of music, food and tales.

This is basically the story of The Band’s Visit; however, it is the haunting score that adds humanity to this gentle story of misplaced people. Songs like “The Beat of Your Heart,” “Omar Sharif” both amusing and intoxicating, “Something Different” and “Answer Me” leave you wanting more, and of course “The Concert” at the end by the musicians and those wonderful sounds and instruments have you floating out of the theatre in delight.

The two people at the center of the story are Dina (Katrina Lenk), owner of a desolate restaurant and Tewfiq (Tony Shalhoub), the band’s orchestra leader. Ms. Lenk, who was in Indecent earlier this year is sensational and touching. Mr. Shalhoub, who was in Arthur Miller’s The Price also earlier this year, adds another brilliant character to his repertoire. Every time you think you have seen all the faces of Mr. Shalhoub, he manages to come up with yet another one, and this one is sheer joy. The scenes between him and Ms. Lenk discussing their lives and shortcomings are sheer perfection.  Everything and everyone in the show circles their orbit.

David Cromer keeps the proceedings moving at a beautifully nuanced pace. One thing I found interesting before the curtain went up was overhearing different people wondering if this show was going to be as uplifting as Come From Away or anything like it. Let me emphatically state they are nothing alike; they are two different shows but both touch on people’s humanity and need to connect to each other. A message that is so desperately needed in these turbulent times.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 17, 2017
Reviewed at November 16, 2017 press performance.

‘THE BAND’S VISIT’: The company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE BAND’S VISIT’: Tony Shalhoub & Katrina Lenk. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE BAND’S VISIT’: The company. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE BAND’S VISIT’: (left to right) Rachel Prather, Etai Benson & Ari’el Stachel. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘THE BAND’S VISIT’: (left to right) Kristen Sieh, John Cariani, Alok Tewani, Andrew Polk & George Abud. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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‘A BRONX TALE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

A BRONX TALE
Book by Chazz Palminteri
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
Directed by Robert DeNiro & Jerry Zaks
Choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.abronxtalethemusical.com

By David NouNou

I can honestly say A Bronx Tale is the first truly, thoroughly enjoyable show of the 2016 fall season and we are very close to the end of it. That should give you an idea of how exciting this fall season has been. This is not to undermine the show but to totally praise it. Who else could have written the book as well as Chazz Palminteri? After all, it is about his life and who should know it better? The music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater capture the mood, feel, and essence of the 1960s doo-wop and rock-and-roll sound to perfection. It distills the 1960s and transports us to the Bronx, Belmont Avenue and an Italian neighborhood where there was right from wrong and rules were still obeyed.

In 1960 young Calogero (Hudson Loverro) witnesses Sonny (Nick Cordero) kill a guy outside his building, but in a lineup, he refuses to rat Sonny out. A trust and bond develops between Calogero and Sonny; this undermines the bond Calogero has with his father, Lorenzo (Richard H. Blake). Lorenzo knows his son has talent and doesn’t want to see him waste it. Come 1968, Calogero (Bobby Conte Thornton) is grownup, almost a wastrel, and still is torn between his father’s values and Sonny’s flash. Thrown into the mix is Jane (the lovely Ariana DeBose) who is black and lives on Webster Avenue and the two inevitably fall for each other —which does not sit well with the two neighborhoods because races did not mix even if you lived in the same community. Each few blocks were an entity unto themselves.

Sure, the story seems familiar, but it is done in a fresh way, and that fresh thing is sincerity. There is a story here and it tells it from the heart with no artificial fillers. Robert DeNiro and Jerry Zaks have taken the story and directed it without any frills, just fine-tuned it to let the tale unfold in the most simplistic and realistic of ways.

The standout performance is Nick Cordero; he was a showstopper and Tony nominee in Bullets Over Broadway, the only good thing in that dreadful musical. He is sensational here as Sonny the gangster. It is a thrill to watch this man dominate and command a stage and watch his talent grow with each succeeding show. Richard H. Blake is admirable as Lorenzo. As the young Calogero, Hudson Loverro is an adorable child actor doing his job well without being cloying. Ariana DeBose—who just left Hamilton—as Jane is a joy to see and hear. Bobby Conte Thornton has a nice voice and tries to be sincere but lacks the stage presence to bring any dimension to the older Calogero; the role calls for a more seasoned actor to dominate the stage.

The show is a tribute to another time. It brings back to life a moving, stirring, delectable Americana morsel that preserves a period, time, place, sound, and people that is part of American history now.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 8, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on December 7, 2016

‘A BRONX TALE’: Nick Cordero & Richard H. Blake. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: (left to right) Rory Max Kaplan, Keith White, Dominic Nolfi, Joe Barbara, Hudson Loverro, Cary Tedder. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Bobby Conte Thornton & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Arianna DeBose (center) & Gilbert L. Bailey II & Bradley Gibson, Trista Dollison & Christiani Pitts (L-R). Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: (left to right) Hudson Loverro, Richard H. Blake, Lucia Giannetta. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: (left to right) Trista Dollison, Ariana DeBose & Christiani Pitts. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Nick Cordero & Hudson Loverro. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Hudson Loverro & Richard H. Blake. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘A BRONX TALE’: Bobby Conte Thornton & Nick Cordero. Photo: Joan Marcus

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