Posts Tagged ‘amber ruffin’

Thoughtfully Reinvented “Some Like It Hot” Entertains in Style at the Fox

Posted in St Louis Theatre, USA Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on February 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Some Like It Hot
Book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin
Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture “Some Like It Hot”
Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
The Fox Theatre
February 26, 2025

Tavis Kordell, Matt Loehr
Photo by Matt Murphy
Some Like It Hot North American Tour

Some Like It Hot is a classic American film that has the unusual distinction of having been adapted into two different Broadway musicals. While 1972’s Sugar  was a more straightforward adaptation (which I have seen because my high school performed it in the 1980s), the newer, Tony-winning Some Like It Hot is more of a thoughtful reinvention and recontextualization of the source material, with some clever homages to the original film and a catchy, jazz-influenced score. With a great cast and fantastic production design, this production is a lively, entertaining show with energy, style and a whole lot of heart. 

Taking place at the tail-end of Prohibition in 1933, the action starts in Chicago, as does the film. This time, however, Sweet Sue (Tarra Connor Jones) starts her “all-girl” band after having been arrested in a police raid at a speakeasy, and their tour leads them to California rather than Miami, in an entirely logical change (explained in the show) that also pays tribute to the real filming location of the movie, the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego. The main characters, Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell), are musicians but also song-and-dance performers who grew up together and are looking for a new job. When they accidentally witness a mob hit by new boss, nightclub owner and gangster Spats (Devon Goffman), they go on the run, taking Joe’s idea to disguise themselves as women in order to join Sweet Sue’s band and flee to California and, eventually, Mexico. While on tour, however, “Josephine” and “Daphne” get to know their fellow band members, with Joe becoming attracted to singer Sugar Kane (Leandra Ellis-Gaston), and Jerry/Daphne starting to feel more accepted and at home as Daphne than as Jerry. The situation gets more complicated when they arrive in California and prepare for their performance at the Hotel Del Coronado, where Joe assumes an “alter ego” in order to woo Sugar and the band meets hotel owner Osgood (Edward Juvier), who is instantly smitten with Daphne. Meanwhile, Spats has also arrived in California hoping to silence the witnesses to his crime, and various characters face moments of truth about who they are and what they want to do with their lives. 

The adaptation, while making some clear changes to the original film, is impressively well thought-through, with every change making sense and adding much in the way of character development and advancing the theme of self-discovery and expression. It also recontextualizes the source material to allow for a diverse cast, adding layers of complexity to the story. Also, making the central characters singers and dancers as well as musicians makes sense in the context of a stage musical and lends a level of pizzazz to production numbers featuring some excellent tap-heavy choreography by director Casey Nicholaw. The show also explores issues of racism and prejudice, gender roles, individual identity and expression, and more while maintaining a lively, musical comedy atmosphere and featuring overall upbeat atmosphere and glitzy, glamorous Broadway and 1930s Hollywood style. 

The cast is excellent, led by strong, charismatic and athletically dancing performances by Loehr as Joe/”Josephine”/”Kip” and Kordell as Jerry/Daphne. These two form the emotional core of the show, supported well by fantastic work from Ellis-Gaston as the talented, Hollywood-aspiring Sugar, Jones as the tough-talking Sweet Sue, and Juvier as the kindly, enthusiastic Osgood, who has a secret of his own. There are also strong turns from Goffman as the shady Spats and Jame LaVerdiere as the persistent FBI Agent Mulligan. There’s also a top-notch ensemble who lend much energy and comic timing to the story as well as terrific singing and dancing.

In a technical sense, the show featuring eye-catching scenic design by Scott Pask and colorful, detailed costumes by Gregg Barnes that are in keeping with the era and tone of the production. There’s also dazzling lighting by Natasha Katz and stylish hair design by Josh Marquette. The sound by Brian Ronan is fine for the most part, although there are some issues with volume and clarity on some of the songs. 

Ultimately, this show does what it sets out to do–entertain in style. It’s more of a reimagining of the film than a straightforward adaptation, but that had already been done. Here, Some Like It Hot dazzles with songs, dances, and laughs, but also thoughtfully recontextualizes the source material in a way that makes sense without  changing the overall tone of the story. It’s a lively tribute to the film while also managing to be its own unique thing. It’s a lot of fun, and well worth checking out.

Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Center) and Cast
Photo by Matthew Murphy
Some Like It Hot North American Tour

The North American Tour of Some Like It Hot is running at the Fox Theatre until March 9, 2025

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A Wonderful “Wiz” at the Muny

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

The Wiz
Adapted from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Book by William F. Brown with addtional material by Tina Tippit
Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls
Additional Material for The Muny production by Amber Ruffin
Directed by Denis Jones
Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
The Muny

June 19, 2018

Darius de Haas, Nathan Lee Graham, Danyel Fulton, Jared Grimes, James T. Lane
Photo: The Muny

As part of their 100th season, the Muny is presenting a show they haven’t produced since 1982: The Wiz. The well-known adaptation of the Wizard of Oz story by African-American writers and featuring an all black cast, The Wiz at the Muny has been updated and given a lavish, stylish, superbly cast production that–in reflection of its story–brings a great deal of brains, heart, and courage to the Muny stage.

Based more on the original book, L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz than the popular and perhaps even more well-known 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, this production of The Wiz contains elements taken more from the book while also occasionally acknowledging both the 1939 Wizard of Oz film and the 1978 film version of The Wiz. With a score influenced by R&B, soul, gospel, disco and pop, the show tells this story in its own unique, distinctive way. The stage version debuted on Broadway in 1975, with a look and sound that was innovative and contemporary for its time. For the Muny’s version, acclaimed television writer Amber Ruffin worked with the original writers to update the script for a 2018 audience, along with excellent new orchestrations by music director Darryl Archibald and vibrant, energetic choreography by Camille A. Brown. The result is a production of The Wiz that honors and celebrates the orginal while also reflecting a more contemporary setting for today.

The story is the familiar one, as young Dorothy (Danyel Fulton) lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em (Demetria McKinney), Uncle Henry (Rhaamell Burke-Missouri), and dog, Toto (Nessa). Dorothy feels misunderstood, though, and longs for something more, whereupon she is whisked away by a tornado (here represented in striking fashion by dancers) to the Land of Oz, where she is informed by the Munchkins that her house has fallen on–and killed–the Wicked Witch of the East. She then meets Addaperle (E. Faye Butler), the Good Witch of the North, who tells her about The Wiz, the powerful wizard who can perhaps help her get home. Dorothy also dons the magic silver slippers (silver as they were in Baum’s original book) and follows the Yellow Brick Road (represented here by four dancers–Chloé Davis, Karma Jenkins, Amber Barbee Pickens, and Allysa Shorte) to look for The Wiz in the Emerald City. Along the way, she meets and befriends Scarecrow (Jared Grimes), who wants a brain; Tinman (James T. Lane), who wants a heart; and Lion (Darius de Haas), who wants courage. All join Dorothy on her quest, hoping the Wiz will be able to grant their desires as well. When they finally meet The Wiz (Nathan Lee Graham), he tells them he’ll grant their wishes only if they are able to destroy the evil Wicked Witch of the West, Evillene (also Butler), who runs a blue-jeans producing sweatshop and terrorizes the land, and who also has a grudge against Dorothy for killing her sister and taking the silver slippers, which Evillene covets for herself. In the end, all the main characters learn more about themselves and their own strengths, as well as what is important to them, and Glinda (also McKinney), the Good Witch of the South, helps Dorothy to think about what she has learned.

I’ve seen The Wiz in three versions–a high school production years ago, the film, and the live televised version on NBC in 2015. All of those versions were slightly different, and this one at the Muny is different still. It’s essentially the same, but the jokes have been updated, the dialogue has been changed here and there, and the look has been modified so that everything is a lot more “now” than 1975. The design is excellent, with Edward E. Haynes, Jr.’s sets filling the Muny stage with big, vivid backdrops and presenting the various locations in clever ways, like the Poppy scene and its lip-shaped sofas, or the entrance to the Emerald City, which is like the entrance to an exclusive nightclub, and the Emerald City itself with its dance club atmosphere. The Muny’s scenery wall is put to excellent use as well with memorable video design by Greg Emetaz,  as the location changes from Kansas to Oz and takes Dorothy and her friends to various places around Oz, from Munchkinland to Evillene’s palace, to the Emerald City and beyond. The costumes, by Leon Dobkowski, are striking, whimsical, and distinctive, from Evillene’s light-up skirt to Dorothy’s shiny silver slippers, to the Wiz’s dazzling green outfits, and more. Rob Denton’s lighting also contributes to the overall spectacular effect of this marvelous show.

The cast is uniformly strong, led by Fulton in a stellar performance as the determined Dorothy. She’s got excellent stage presence, a strong, powerful voice, great dance skills, and superb chemistry with her co-stars. She’s the star of the show, but she also has some great co-stars, including Grimes, Lane, and de Haas who are ideally cast in their roles as the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion, with Grimes and Lane having some especially strong dance moments, and de Haas excelling in comic timing. There are also two great double performances by McKinney as both the motherly Aunt Em and the wise Glinda, and Butler who is equally excellent as the kindly Addaperle and the gleefully evil Evillene. Graham, as the Wiz, also puts in a memorable performance. There’s also a great ensemble, all playing multiple roles from Munchkins to Crows to Poppies and more. There are energetic, intricately choreographed production numbers, from the hit “Ease On Down the Road” to the joyful “Brand New Day”.

This is a truly wonderful production. Filling the big Muny stage and featuring a stellar cast, The Wiz is full of heart, soul, comedy, drama, some spectacular dancing, and a celebration of friendship, family, home, and hope. It’s a magnficent show.

Darius de Haas, Jared Grimes, James T. Lane, E. Faye Butler, Danyel Fulton
Photo: the Muny

The Muny is presenting The Wiz in Forest Park until June 25, 2018

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