SOME LIKE IT HOT- Starts at the Shubert November 1- Page 2

[Lunalaaaaaaaa]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 1:08pm

Amazing artwork!! I hope Devil Wears Prada takes note. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 1:24pm

I don’t think it’s going to do any good to bend over backwards to try to appeal to the ultra-woke with this or any show. Those are a tiny minority of ticket buyers. Twitter chatter will not make or break this show. That’s not saying to disrespect or alienate your audience — but this show’s target audience is going to be affluent New Yorkers, tourists, and musical comedy fans. And Tony voters.

No show is for everyone, and that is okay. If you try to be hypercautious, it will leave a narrative that’s lifeless and oversanitized (one of the problems with Mrs. Doubtfire).

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 1:44pm

BritCrit said: "I love the old-fashioned poster that has just been revealed, but it's interesting that it seems to hide the "Drag" aspects of the story entirely.

P.S. With the exception of J.Harrison Ghee, which other members of the ensemble or creative team are queer, trans or non-binary?"

 

Unless they choose to make that information public, what business is it of yours?

 

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 1:50pm

JSquared2 said: "BritCrit said: "I love the old-fashioned poster that has just been revealed, but it's interesting that it seems to hide the "Drag" aspects of the story entirely.

P.S. With the exception of J.Harrison Ghee, which other members of the ensemble or creative team are queer, trans or non-binary?"



Unless they choose to make that information public, what business is it of yours?

"

Because it would be a wise decision to emphasize the gender diversity in order to win over everyone who has already expressed displeasure at the premise. I also feel like highlighting the diversity of gender-fluid/trans/non-binary creatives on Broadway is helpful in a variety of ways. With all due respect, Christian Lewis should not be treated as the only non-binary figure whose opinions on the topic matter...

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 2:16pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "I guess Anita is now headlining the Tropicana in Havana, Cuba circa 1958? I guess it’s safe to assume part of the reinterpretation is moving the timeline from the late 1920s to tropical late 1950s:

"

LMAO!!! Ugh @ that artwork. I had no idea that Microsoft Paint was back! 

[dented146]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 2:46pm

The show has top flight creative team. I like it's chances of being a fun and popular show. It looks like the fall openings have real potential.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 2:59pm

Considering none of the "men in drag" shows have been successful we shall see.

And they've not written a great score since Hairspray. 

And with Casey at the helm how much tap dancing will we get? Will the gay/queer character be the sole tape dancer?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 3:19pm

RippedMan said: "Considering none of the "men in drag" shows have been successful we shall see.

And they've not written a great score since Hairspray.

And with Casey at the helm how much tap dancing will we get? Will the gay/queer character be the sole tape dancer?"

True, but Shaiman and Wittman have written some good songs since (albeit in flawed scores). Who can ever forget “A Big Black Lady Stops the Show”? I somehow have hope the duo can write another solid score. 

As for Nicholaw, there was no tapping in sight for his previous Broadway show The Prom, so I’m sure he’ll make up for that big-time right here. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 3:31pm

Casey N is just an interesting director. On one hand he'll be fine here and in his wheelhouse, but he's also a less exciting choice. I imagine this will be a very paint by numbers type production. 

But then he throws up stuff like Tuck Everlasting which - by all accounts wasn't great - but the ending ballet was quite beautiful. 

I don't have faith that the score will be any good. Maybe one good melody.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 4:10pm

Casey's work is hit and miss, but he hits more than he misses (especially in terms of box office). Of the book musicals he's directed on Broadway:

The Prom –– good work by him hurt by a low budget.

Mean Girls –– awful writing, awful design. Really needed a Jerry Mitchell type instead. Recouped.

Tuck Everlasting –– stellar work from him on a bad piece of writing.

Something Rotten –– this feels like the ideal Casey show. Recouped on tour.

Aladdin –– Not his best work, but he figured out how to make it work as a stage property. Recouped.

Mormon –– His showmanship saved the show. Recouped.

(never saw Elf)

Drowsy –– perfection. Recouped.

Also stellar ENCORES productions of Follies and Most Happy Fella (MHF being especially impressive because it opened just weeks after Aladdin). And according to the Mark Harris book, he directed more of Spamalot than Mike Nichols did. The direction & choreo made that show work.

He's got a $17.5 mil budget for this, which aside from Aladdin is the most expensive show he's directed.

Updated On: 4/20/22 at 04:10 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 4:32pm

Oh hey budget! Well that's exciting. Curious why they didn't take it out of town but hey who knows. I still stand by, ya can't fix a bad score. Or if it's overly woke.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 4:40pm

Doubtfire and Tootsie triggering backlash is a case of correlation but not causation. As Ermengarde mentioned, the backlash to both was confined to a niche segment of theater people on social media. Tootsie was flailing from the get-go; its score was Yazbek cashing a check and Santino Fontana was never able to gather momentum as a star, must-see performance. Doubtfire is pretty much in the same place- mixed reviews, humdrum material, and no "must see" chatter around Rob McClure. Both of those properties are based on films with beloved star turns from recent memory- the musical adaptations lacked them entirely, and lived in the shadows of their source material. If anything, the two shows demonstrate that the "put a recognizable title onstage" school of producing is the failure here, not the content of the material.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 5:05pm

Okay that budget frankly gets me more intrigued lol. 
 

Mind you it’s also premiering in a premiere house on Broadway, with great top tier Broadway actors participating. 

 

To be fair I enjoyed Tootsie, but I feel this bit is getting dry so this needs to be good to really sell. I’m sure it’ll do well though, assuming it’s not hot garbage. 

[DaveyG]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 5:13pm

No one knows a thing until they've seen the damn show. Maybe they're handling these issues with great care. 

Every single person on the SLIH creative team has been a part of at least one show that I found transcendent. Let's see what they come up with. 

 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 5:15pm

CarlosAlberto said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "I guess Anita is now headlining the Tropicana in Havana, Cuba circa 1958? I guess it’s safe to assume part of the reinterpretation is moving the timeline from the late 1920s to tropical late 1950s:

"

LMAO!!! Ugh @ that artwork. I had no idea that Microsoft Paint was back!"

LOL. Totally agree. Was amazed at how generic and uncreative this art is. Tells you absolutely nothing about the show other than apparently there will be musicians involved which I gathered from the words "A New Musical Comedy". Anyone who thinks this artwork is amazing and creative has never put together a powerpoint presentation that incorporates pictures and graphics.

Updated On: 4/20/22 at 05:15 PM

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 5:31pm

UncleCharlie said: "CarlosAlberto said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "I guess Anita is now headlining the Tropicana in Havana, Cuba circa 1958? I guess it’s safe to assume part of the reinterpretation is moving the timeline from the late 1920s to tropical late 1950s:

"

LMAO!!! Ugh @ that artwork. I had no idea that Microsoft Paint was back!"

LOL. Totally agree. Was amazed at how generic and uncreative this art is. Tells you absolutely nothing about the show other than apparently there will be musicians involved which I gathered from the words "A New Musical Comedy". Anyone who thinks this artwork is amazing and creative has never put together a powerpoint presentation that incorporates pictures and graphics."

I personally feel it does a good job of establishing tone and style (plus I personally like that sort of "Roaring Twenties" vibe), but why do a poster that completely omits the drag element? It's like Doubtfire dropping the Mrs. from the title - anyone with even the vaguest knowledge of either film can tell you these are stories about men disguising themselves as women, so it doesn't do a lick of good to pretend otherwise...

Updated On: 4/20/22 at 05:31 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 5:34pm

RippedMan said: "Oh hey budget! Well that's exciting. Curious why they didn't take it out of town but hey who knows. I still stand by, ya can't fix a bad score. Or if it's overly woke."

It was supposed to play a Chicago engagement in Spring 2021 but they scrapped it because of COVID. This could be for several reasons: they felt the material was good enough that it didn't need a full production out of town, or they felt they could get the necessary feedback with a large-scale NYC workshop/backers audition (which they produced last month, choreographed and with a band).

I would always advocate for a show going out of town, but it's hugely expensive to do a commercial tryout and sometimes the results aren't worthwhile. They've got more than a month of previews in NYC, and the workshop was probably enough of an indication for how the material plays in front of a crowd. Now they can make edits to the show based on that.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/20/22 at 6:07pm

Two other things:

1) Anyone complaining about the artwork obviously hasn't seen the "art" for Funny Girl or 2nd Stage or American Buffalo or Mr. Saturday Night... Seems like this is trying to evoke an old travel ad, which makes sense for the show.

2) Glad to see the very talented Charlie Rosen continuing to get high-profile work as an orchestrator.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 1:12am

The artwork made me think back fondly on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I don't think that's what we're going to be getting with a Prohibition-era story but maybe there'll be some Drowsy Chaperone influence. That sounds okay...

[CableCableCable]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 1:20am

I am not Trans

I am friends with and love a lot of Trans people

They say there should not be a show about: a man dressing as a woman to trick people. 

We should believe Trans people. 

Broadway should be about the best of us. 

 

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 1:57am

I'd say I'd agree with you, honestly. I think we're better than that and that we can mine more comedy from other aspects, and maybe that's why theater audiences (mostly liberal) haven't really embraced Tootsie and Doubtfire. Although, they both were/are vey "ho-hum" productions. Nothing exciting about either. Mediocre scores, designs, direction, etc. So maybe this will be different, maybe it won't? It's not my money. 

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 2:13am

Personally, I am excited to see what Adrianna Hicks does with that iconic role.  I think she shines in Six and can’t wait to see her have more to do.  

[inception]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 3:57am

I always thought the main appeal of the film was foremost Marilyn Monroe, next the chemistry between Jack Lemmon & Tony Curtis - really one of Jack Lemmon's early signature roles with his anxious energy playing off of Curtis' more sly con man dragging Lemmon into his schemes.   The chemistry of that cast makes the kind of dumb plot work. 

Without a charismatic cast, the dumb plot becomes the focus.  

Borle is fine. Something Rotten played almost two years. This could have similar success.

It could be like when I saw Mrs. Doubtfire in Seattle in 2019 and the audience all turned to each other at intermission and said, "This isn't as awful as I was expecting."

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 5:00am

inception said: "Without a charismatic cast, the dumb plot becomes the focus.

It could be like when I saw Mrs. Doubtfire in Seattle in 2019 and the audience all turned to each other at intermission and said, "This isn't as awful as I was expecting.""

Part A sums up the problem with these adaptations - why are we adapting Tootsie, Doubtfire or SLIH? Because of their status as popular American comedies and why do they have that status? Because of the excellent casts - casual viewers are willing to forgive the issues with the "Cishet in Drag" plot device in order to see Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams at the peak of their comedic powers (And that's just focusing on the grand lead roles, ignoring the numerous icons in the supporting casts of Tootsie and Doubtfire - people like Jessica Lange, Bill Murray, Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan) But Santino Fontana is no Dustin Hoffman, and Rob McClure is no Robin Williams. 

The "This Isn't as Awful as I Was Expecting" comment is a big reason why the backlash to SLIH is so aggressive and so dismissive of the nuances to that particular story. At the very least, adapting all three of the most notable "cishet in drag" comedies in a five year period is a sign of some sort of lazinesss. I believe it's problematic to dismiss a work on premise alone, but maybe musicals of all genres can do more than try to climb a little bit over low expectations?

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 7:11am

CableCableCable said: "They say there should not be a show about: a man dressing as a woman to trick people."

Genuine question. Is this the line or is the problem that they've been comedies? Would Yentl be acceptable? The Breadwinner? Mulan? And is there a specific distaste for a "man in a dress" rather than a woman?

I don't think we should be telling stories where the primary humor comes from a man looking ridiculous dressed as a woman (or a woman looking ridiculous dressed as a man). But it does seem like with Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire, part of the problem is that the cishet characters aren't overcoming structural boundaries or claiming opportunities denied to them but stomping personal boundaries and taking opportunities they don't deserve. Arguably, Victor/Victoria is more similar to Tootsie/Doubtfire in the nature of the deception while La Cage aux Folles would get a pass.