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Some Like It Hot

Original London Cast Recording cover

A musical comedy in 2 acts, 15 scenes.Book by Peter Stone: Based on the screenplay Some Like It Hot by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond : Based on a story by Robert Theoren. Music by Jule Styne; Lyrics by Bob Merrill : This show is also known as SUGAR

Majestic Theatre, New York - 9 April, 1972 (505 perfs)

Synopsis

Adapted from the hilarious screen classic Some Like It Hot, Joe and Jerry, a pair of out-of-work musicians, happen to witness a gangland massacre in Chicago. The organising hoodlum, Spate Palazzo, looks set to arrange a similar festivity for them, so Joe and Jerry need to leave town, fast. There are jobs going for a bass and saxophone player in Florida - a perfect solution. The jobs are in an all-girl band - not so perfect. The boys are desperate. With the aid of some borrowed frocks, high heels, make-up and padding, "Josephine" and Daphne" join Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators.

The new "girls" find themselves getting well acquainted with Sugar, the gorgeous blonde who is the featured singer with the band.

Sugar tells Josephine and Daphne that she plans to find a millionaire in Florida and get married. She even tells them what he will look like. Joe convinces Jerry that they should stay with the band until they find a suitable millionaire for Sugar. What Jerry doesn't know is that Joe has decided to masquerade as Sugar's dream man and make her fall in love with him.

While Joe is occupied with impressing Sugar, Jerry, a.k.a. Daphne, has attracted her own millionaire. Osgood Fielding is determined to woo and win her, and in showering her with expensive gifts, Jerry is not sure how to break the bad news to him.

Joe is sure that if Sugar really loves him, it won't matter that he is another saxophone player instead of a millionaire. Unfortunately, before he gets the chance to tell her, Spats and his gang arrive and recognise Josephine and Daphne in the band. The lovers make a speed getaway. And when Sugar finds out the truth about Joe, she doesn't mind a bit.

The bouncy and entertaining songs created for the show include, "When You Meet a Girl in Chicago", "The Beauty That Drives Men Mad". "Penniless Bums", "The Sun on My Face" and Beautiful Through and Through".

Cast

Male - 10+; Female - 6; plus various minor roles and chorus (in order of appearance):

Sweet Sue
(Her) Society Syncopaters (Piano, Drums, Bass, Trumpets, Trombones, Saxophones)
Bienstock
Joe
Jerry
Spats Palazzo
Dude
Spat's Gang
Knuckles Norton
First Poker Player
Knuckles' Gang
Sugar Kane
Cabdriver
Olga
Sunbathers
Train Conductor
Bellboy
Osgood Fielding, Jr.
"Chicago" Singers

Scenes and settings

The action takes place in Chicago, Miami and in between in 1931.

Act I

Scene 1: Chicago Theatre.
Scene 2: Backstage Chicago Theatre.
Scene 3: Chicago Street.
Scene 4: Clark Street Garage.
Scene 5: Dearborn Street Railroad Station.
Scene 6: The Dixie Flyer.
Scene 7: The Seminole-Ritz Hotel Veranda.
Scene 8: Josephine and Daphne's Hotel Room.

Act 2

Scene 1: The Beach.
Scene 2: The Hotel Veranda.
Scene 3: The New Caledonia Yacht.
Scene 4: Josephine and Daphne's Hotel Room.
Scene 5: The Hotel Night Club.
Scene 6: The Hotel Service Corridor.
Scene 7: The New Caledonia Yacht.

Musical Numbers

ACT 1

"Windy City Marmalade" - Sweet Sue, Society Syncopaters
"Penniless Bums" - Jerry, Joe, Unemployed Musicians
"Tear the Town Apart" (dance) - Spats Palazzo, Spats' Gang
"The Beauty That Drives Men Mad" - Jerry, Joe
"We Could Be Close" - Jerry, Sugar Kane
"Sun on My Face" - Jerry, Joe, Sugar Kane, Sweet Sue, Bienstock, Ensemble
"November Song" - Osgood Fielding Jr., Millionaires
"(Doin' It For) Sugar" - Jerry, Joe

ACT 2

"Hey, Why Not!" - Sugar Kane, Ensemble
"Beautiful Through and Through" - Osgood Fielding Jr., Jerry
What Do You Give to a Man Who's Had Everything?" - Joe, Sugar Kane
"Magic Nights" - Jerry
"It's Always Love" - Joe
"When You Meet a Man in Chicago" - Jerry, Joe, Sugar Kane, Sweet Sue, All-Girl Band and Chorus Line

Orchestration

Violins; cello, bass; Reed 1, 2, 3 & 4; Horn; Trumpet 1, 2 & 3; Trombone 1 & 2; Percussion 1 & 2; Harp; Guitar-Banjo; Piano-Celeste