Pauline Adamek
Dazzling choreography, high-energy jazz score, and a thoughtful reworking of gender themes – Some Like it Hot is the multi Tony award-winning musical that’s now playing at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. With performances through August 17, 2025, the show features the national touring cast led by Matt Loehr, Tavis Kordell, Leandra Ellis‑Gaston, Edward Juvier, Tarra Conner Jones, Jamie LaVerdiere, Devon Goffman, and Devon Hadsell.
This lively and hilarious stageshow is not to be missed. Ticket prices start at $49.00. Purchase tickets here.
(Pictured above – Tarra Conner Jones (Sweet Sue) and the First National Touring Company of Some Like it Hot. Photo by Matthew Murphy.)
Adapted from the beloved Hollywood movie directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon opposite Marilyn Monroe (in one of her finest performances), the story has been tweaked and slightly altered for the stage, successfully bringing the acclaimed classic comedy into a new era while honoring its farcical roots.
Billy Wilder’s legendary 1959 film is widely regarded as one of the greatest American comedies of all time. The film was based on the 1935 French movie Fanfare of Love (Fanfaren der Liebe) and written by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond.
The plot follows two down-on-their-luck musicians who witness a gangland assassination and flee Chicago by disguising themselves as women in an all-female jazz band, sparking romantic chaos and gender-bending comedy. The movie’s unexpected final line – “Nobody’s perfect” – is one of the most iconic in cinema history.
The stage musical’s setting is still prohibition-era Chicago and many of the slight changes in the storyline are necessary for smooth staging. For example, in the film our hapless heroes witness the infamous St Valentine’s Massacre in a parking garage, while on stage the men witness a less-storied mob hit. None of the songs heard in the movie are repeated in the stage musical, with all-original songs and lyrics created by by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
The story’s structure follows the main 10 or so scenes across two acts, each anchored by its key musical numbers and primary characters, capturing the transformation journey of Joe, Jerry/Daphne, Sugar, Osgood, and Sweet Sue within the 1933‑setting.
Above all, it’s the sharp direction and tap-dancing choreography from by Casey Nicholaw that really impresses. Nothing feels overplayed or overly exaggerated. For a story about two guys in drag, the show miraculously never tips into campy territory. Best of all is a grace note towards the end where Jerry embraces his inner drag queen, as does his beau.
Like most Broadway musicals the staging is swift and fluid, with scene changes happening seamlessly. One minute the characters are standing in front of the train – the next minute they’re on the train – that sort of thing. But what makes this production especially thrilling is the lightning speed at which the changes keep happening. Characters glide on rapidly accompanied by a café table and chairs on caster wheels and suddenly we’re in a nightclub. The same characters zip off stage with equal alacrity. It’s impressive.
The performances are all first rate. Tarra Conner Jones is great as sweet Sue The band leader for this ensemble of female jazz musicians. She dominates the stage with a larger-than-life sassy and brassy persona, but I found her voice to be reminiscent, at times, of the nasal vocal style of Ethel Merman. Playing Sugar Leandra Ellis‑Gaston is endearing and lovely but again her voice was unremarkable and her diction was a little too emphatic at times.
Playing Joe & Josephine Matt Loehr brings a lot of wit to his superb performance. The highlight of the whole production for me was Tavis Kordell as Jerry & Daphne. With their pitch-perfect funny reactions and hilarious expressions, as well as an excellent command of comic timing, the pair displayed great chemistry as our two musicians in a bind.
The musical’s climax is farce on steroids: not only do we get the madcap chase through multiple slamming doors, but the doors themselves are on wheels, allowing for a dynamic ballet of shifting exits and entrances. It’s breathtakingly original and an absolute delight.
Some Like It Hot premiered on Broadway in December 2022 at the Shubert Theatre. With a book by Matthew López (of The Inheritance) and Amber Ruffin, music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Smash), direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Aladdin) and starring Christian Borle, J. Harrison Ghee, and Adrianna Hicks.
The Broadway revival earned 13 Tony Award nominations in 2023—the most of any show that year—and won 4 Tony Awards, including Best Leading Actor in a Musical (J. Harrison Ghee, making history as one of the first openly nonbinary performers to win in a leading category); Best Costume Design, Best Orchestrations and Best Choreography. The show also won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding New Musical.
Some Like It Hot – Pantages Theatre, Hollywood
Run Dates: through Sunday, August 17, 2025
Ticket prices start at $49.00. Purchase tickets here.
Week 1
-
Tuesday, July 29 – 8:00 PM
-
Wednesday, July 30 – 8:00 PM
-
Thursday, July 31 – 8:00 PM
-
Friday, August 1 – 8:00 PM
-
Saturday, August 2 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
-
Sunday, August 3 – 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM
Week 2
-
Tuesday, August 5 – 8:00 PM
-
Wednesday, August 6 – 8:00 PM
-
Thursday, August 7 – 8:00 PM
-
Friday, August 8 – 8:00 PM
-
Saturday, August 9 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
-
Sunday, August 10 – 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM
Week 3
-
Tuesday, August 12 – 8:00 PM
-
Wednesday, August 13 – 8:00 PM
-
Thursday, August 14 – 8:00 PM
-
Friday, August 15 – 8:00 PM
-
Saturday, August 16 – 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
-
Sunday, August 17 – 1:00 PM & 6:30 PM
Terry Morgan