Leandra Ellis-Gaston and Cast Photo by Matthew Murphy

Based on Billy Wilder's justifiably acclaimed 1959 farce, which featured Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, the plot of the musical can be summarized as two musicians witness a gangland murder and pretend to be women to hide from their would-be killers. Where it diverges from the film, though, comes mostly from making the musicians accomplished dancers as well, but there is another key difference that comes from being a product of the 2020s. In Matthew López and Amber Ruffin's book, one of the musicians discovers that the role of a female is more comfortable than being male, so she basically comes out as nonbinary decades before that term (or concept) even existed and remains in the persona she has adopted.

(This is really an LGBT-aware updating of the fate of Lemmon's character in the film, who met a millionaire while in drag and found that the guy actually was falling in love with him. Lemmon's character started out wanting to wring some cash out of him when the error was discovered. As I said, nonbinary wasn't a thing in the '50s, so the reveal was played for laughs.)

Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's jazz-influenced original songs are wonderful, from "Let's Be Bad," their hit song from "Smash" (reused here to great advantage) to the exuberant title number to a quiet and beautiful solo about a butterfly's life journey called "Fly, Mariposa, Fly."

Matt Loehr plays the Curtis role of Joe/Josephine while Tavis Kordell takes on Lemmon's character and takes it in a whole new direction. While Joe never sees their disguises as anything other than expedient, Jerry gradually discovers new aspects of self from being "Daphne." In their younger days, the two danced their way to a living as the "Tip-Tap Twins," (we see them perform in flashback), but in their disguises they opt to join an all-female orchestra to fade into the background more readily. It doesn't take long, though, for the twins–yes, despite major physical differences including race, the two are in fact same-age foster brothers, so "twins" isn't as fanciful as it seems–to move into the spotlight, this time as a tap trio with the orchestra's singer, Sugar Kane (Leandra Ellis-Gaston). It takes even less time for ladies' man Joe to fall for Sugar. Ellis-Gaston sings and dances beautifully, and her character, which could have been merely an aspiring actor, is fleshed out so much that we root for her success.

The orchestra is managed by Sweet Sue, played by Tarra Conner Jones, who plans on hitting it big with her musical act in Hollywood. Jones is featured in several of the first act songs, and she steals the show with her exuberant performances and her crusty manager character. On the cross-country train, we get to know several of her musicians and it becomes clear that, despite the rough exterior and her somewhat selfish motivations, Sue really cares for her "girls," who now include Josephine and Daphne.

As the gangster who chases them all the way to LA, Devon Hoffman is terrific. His character is comic–his overdone Chicago accent alone tells us this–but he is also menacing enough that we can believe he'll kill our protagonists if he catches them. (As to catching them, the biggest element of Act Two is a brightly directed "chase" scene through a hotel that all involved, including director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw, have tons of fun with.) Meanwhile, millionaire Osgood (the truly wonderful Edward Juvier) kills in a different way: he is such a joyful character that, once he insinuates himself into the play (and fixes his eyes on Daphne), we can't help liking and rooting for him even if Daphne is a man. (The Osgood character in the film shrugs off Lemmon's reveal by simply saying, "Well, nobody's perfect.")

Nicholaw, in addition to that tremendous chase scene, makes the upbeat ensemble dance numbers swing while also giving needed time to several hauntingly lovely ballads like Osgood's mariposa song and Sugar's "At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee." Both Nicholaw's direction and his choreography are thoroughly entertaining, and he gets tremendous performances from everyone in the cast.

By the time "Let's Be Bad" has morphed into "Baby, Let's Get Good," Some Like It Hot has left an indelible mark on its audience. It's a joyful, jazzy, silly, sweet show, and I'd gladly see it again.

Some Like It Hot runs through November 5, 2024, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph, Chicago IL. For tickets and information, please visit www.broadwayinchicago.com. For information on the tour, visit somelikeithotmusical.com.