(Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center; Orlando FL) The Tony and Grammy Award winning musical "Some Like It Hot" held its opening night in Orlando last night, kicking off the 1st night of a 6-night performance run at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.
The musical is a relatively new one, having made its Broadway debut in December 2022. The musical comedy was based off the 1959 film "Some Like It Hot", which was based on the earlier 1935 French film "Fanfare of Love." The 1959 film featured Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.
The story centers around 2 musicians (Joe and Jerry) who accidentally witness a mob murder, and are then forced to flee Chicago toward the end of Prohibition in 1933. Disguised, the 2 end up masquerading as women and join an all-women touring musical group. The plot becomes more complicated as the 2 each experience their own separate entanglements with love interests, as they begin to question their new identities.
Overall, last night's performance was highly energetic, with the cast effectively 'on the run' for the majority of the 2.5 hour run time. Everyone performed well, the signing was somehow on point, despite some fairly involved and physically demanding dance sequences. I knew very little about this musical going into last night's performance, but was very pleased to see 'tap' on stage and, again, am still very surprised as to how well-conditioned this cast had to be in order to pull off the seemingly effortless singing amidst the strenuous and fast-paced nature of this show.
Matt Loehr portrayed Joe / Josephine, and was funny and genuine. He had an honest and likeable sincerity when there were jokes about his (her) age, which was empathetic and relatable.
Tavis Kordell portrayed Jerry / Daphne, and his large physical presence added to his well-timed expressive facial gestures and body language.
Together, Loehr and Kordell played off one another very well. The pair actually came across as 'brothers', comfortable and relaxed with one another onstage, allowing for some perfectly timed comedic deliveries.
Leandra Ellis-Gastos was our 'Sugar' character last night. She was stunningly beautiful, and provided the perfect voice and embodiment of her character. She was graceful and regal on stage, and was a pleasure to watch.
Tarra Conner Jones played the part of our "Sweet Sue", and had a voice and boisterous personality that was larger than the stage on which she performed! She provided some hilarious moments for us last night, and how a wonderful tone and texture to her voice which was amazing to hear!
The performance and role delivery that caught me off guard last night was that of Edward Juvier, and his portrayal of Osgood. He was a ball of excitement and enthusiastic personality! I loved his enduring and undying love toward his love interest in the show. He danced energetically, and his voice was phenomenal. I particularly liked hearing his delivery of "Fly, Mariposa, Fly", which for me, given his powerful yet tender delivery, served as my most memorable performance from last night.
"Some Like It Hot" was received very well last night in Orlando. The subject matter of "Gender Role Identification" was warmly embraced, with some of the audience vocally expressing their support from the audience after a few of the delivered lines during the performance.
I'm very glad that I did no research on this musical prior, and just walked in cold. The show was lighthearted, but managed to touch on racial issues, love, murder, Prohibition, and gender identity; yet, the audience remained entertained, the mood in the theatre was light and fun, and there was appropriate laughter from the audience throughout the evening.
I won't necessarily recall many of the songs from this particular show (except for "Mariposa"), but that's no fault of anyone in the cast by any means; however, I will definitely remember this show and can clearly understand how this show was able to win multiple awards in such a short period of time.
Well done. Great show with great performances!
Bailey Guinigundo
The musical is a relatively new one, having made its Broadway debut in December 2022. The musical comedy was based off the 1959 film "Some Like It Hot", which was based on the earlier 1935 French film "Fanfare of Love." The 1959 film featured Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.
The story centers around 2 musicians (Joe and Jerry) who accidentally witness a mob murder, and are then forced to flee Chicago toward the end of Prohibition in 1933. Disguised, the 2 end up masquerading as women and join an all-women touring musical group. The plot becomes more complicated as the 2 each experience their own separate entanglements with love interests, as they begin to question their new identities.
Overall, last night's performance was highly energetic, with the cast effectively 'on the run' for the majority of the 2.5 hour run time. Everyone performed well, the signing was somehow on point, despite some fairly involved and physically demanding dance sequences. I knew very little about this musical going into last night's performance, but was very pleased to see 'tap' on stage and, again, am still very surprised as to how well-conditioned this cast had to be in order to pull off the seemingly effortless singing amidst the strenuous and fast-paced nature of this show.
Matt Loehr portrayed Joe / Josephine, and was funny and genuine. He had an honest and likeable sincerity when there were jokes about his (her) age, which was empathetic and relatable.
Tavis Kordell portrayed Jerry / Daphne, and his large physical presence added to his well-timed expressive facial gestures and body language.
Together, Loehr and Kordell played off one another very well. The pair actually came across as 'brothers', comfortable and relaxed with one another onstage, allowing for some perfectly timed comedic deliveries.
Leandra Ellis-Gastos was our 'Sugar' character last night. She was stunningly beautiful, and provided the perfect voice and embodiment of her character. She was graceful and regal on stage, and was a pleasure to watch.
Tarra Conner Jones played the part of our "Sweet Sue", and had a voice and boisterous personality that was larger than the stage on which she performed! She provided some hilarious moments for us last night, and how a wonderful tone and texture to her voice which was amazing to hear!
The performance and role delivery that caught me off guard last night was that of Edward Juvier, and his portrayal of Osgood. He was a ball of excitement and enthusiastic personality! I loved his enduring and undying love toward his love interest in the show. He danced energetically, and his voice was phenomenal. I particularly liked hearing his delivery of "Fly, Mariposa, Fly", which for me, given his powerful yet tender delivery, served as my most memorable performance from last night.
"Some Like It Hot" was received very well last night in Orlando. The subject matter of "Gender Role Identification" was warmly embraced, with some of the audience vocally expressing their support from the audience after a few of the delivered lines during the performance.
I'm very glad that I did no research on this musical prior, and just walked in cold. The show was lighthearted, but managed to touch on racial issues, love, murder, Prohibition, and gender identity; yet, the audience remained entertained, the mood in the theatre was light and fun, and there was appropriate laughter from the audience throughout the evening.
I won't necessarily recall many of the songs from this particular show (except for "Mariposa"), but that's no fault of anyone in the cast by any means; however, I will definitely remember this show and can clearly understand how this show was able to win multiple awards in such a short period of time.
Well done. Great show with great performances!
Bailey Guinigundo
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