Journal Entry #8: Some Like it Hot (and by some I mean everyone in that audience)

 Thursday, November 14^th, 2024. 2:26 PM.

Confidence in my career/choice of major: 70%

Song stuck in my head: Clean Slated State by The Altogether

                Walking out after the show on the 12th, my biggest takeaway was, "Hey, maybe musical theatre is awesome, actually?"

                I knew there was a high probability of me enjoying Some Like it Hot. I'm a big fan of tap dancing, jazz music, and the glitzy art deco aesthetics of the 1920/30s. There was no way I was going to dislike the show. Plus, I'm a pretty easy person to entertain, generally. But there were several elements in the performance that I really oved. How wonderful is it that I get to talk about it here, for a grade?

                The first thing I have to mention is how they adapted the original movie's story. Having been released in 1959, the movie was by all means a product of its time. I was a little wary of how the writers planned to update it for modern audiences. Much to my delight, though, I found every single edit they made or creative liberty they took to be for the better.

                The most substantial and crucial change they made to the story was the way they addressed crossdressing and gender identity with grace, rather than ridicule. I find the core premise of two people having to pretend to be women in order to hide from a mobster to be very intriguing. However, the movie had very little to say about this premise other than "haha, man in dress funny." In this day and age, there exist more nuanced thoughts about gender expression, and so jokes like that don't really fly anymore. I am thankful the writers handled this subject matter with the respect it deserves. It was genuinely beautiful to see this musical used to tell a story about the gender euphoria that people experience when they embrace who they truly are.

                They made several changes to the characters, and I found them to be entirely for the better. To my knowledge, Sweet Sue didn't exist (or at least didn't have a very large role) in the original. I believe the story was streamlined somewhat by combining the roles of several characters into one. Osgood, who might have been the character - and performer - I enjoyed seeing on stage the most, was altered to be less creepy and more endearing. This version of the character didn't sexually assault Daphne, so he's automatically a millions times better than his film counterpart, in my opinion. And, of course, by having Daphne live joyfully as herself, her character was given significantly more humanity. That radical departure from the original was perhaps the most crucial.

                The changes to Sugar's character were subtle, but incredibly significant, in my opinion. I didn't really mind that her only goal in the movie was to marry a rich man. I think it's a fine thing for a woman in her position in that era to want. However, by giving her a dream of being an actress, Sugar was transformed from just a lovelorn woman to a person with drive and purpose that the audience can sympathize with. I appreciate that they didn't entirely omit the hopeless romanticism, though, as without it she'd hardly be the same character at all. Ultimately, the changes made Sugar giver her dimensionality, and take her from just the love interest to the emotional core of the show.

                My enjoyment of the show went up significantly in the second act, for two reasons. One, I think the story picks up once the characters arrive at the hotel. This also applies to the movie, so I think it has to do with the narrative structure itself. And two, during intermission we moved from the louge to the center balcony. Below are two images, showing our view of act 1, and our view of act 2. How CRAZY is that difference?

                One thing I liked about sitting at such an extreme angle was that I could peek behind the curtain, if you will, and look into the wings. We saw the performers gearing up for their entrances, props being handed off to crew members, and even a couple quick changes. It was very cool to be able to see the stage crew working in real time. At one point, I saw someone crawl on their hands and knees into the pit from under the stage to hand something to a musician. All that was neat, but nothing could beat our view for the second half of the performance.

                I will now discuss, in however much detail I desire, the theatrical elements that I felt were most effective.

                The set was the element that surprised me the most. During load-in, I had noticed that they were setting up a plethora of backdrops in all shapes and sizes. This concerned me, as I associate drops with more local and amateur theatre. However, something about the drops combined with the minimal set pieces felt very classic Broadway to me. I think the way the drops were lit and the lack of projections helped achieve that feeling for me, as well. I loved the art deco aesthetics, and the practicals used in the hotel and the cantina - the little details really made all the difference. I also really enjoyed the tables on casters with the chairs attached to them - watching the actors scoot across the stage in them was highly entertaining.

                There were some real standout costumes, particularly those worn by Sugar in the second act. The fabrics the costume designer chose for her dresses and skirts were absolutely gorgeous. They draped and flowed beautifully when she danced, and the way they shimmered in the light was just breathtaking.

                Throughout the show, the lighting was either stunning, or I didn't notice it at all, which in my opinion meant it was helped enhance the other elements in an unobtrusive way. During "He Lied When He Said Hello," I thought it very successfully communicated what was actually happening, and what was just a part of Joe's internal monologue. I liked the way the tight circles of top light closed in on him, reinforcing his fears and his guilt about deceiving Sugar. 

                "Dance the World Away," was another standout moment for the lighting, particularly when the set was pulled away, leaving them to dance on an empty stage, with that gorgeous star scrim (I think it was a scrim) behind them. That was a very magical moment. The way the lights played with the layered backdrops was always very pleasing to look at. Particularly in the cantina, with the lanterns on the backdrop that looked like they were glowing, and the last scene when they were in their new nightclub.

                Perhaps my favorite element was, of course, the dancing. I love me some tap, and there are so few shows that utilize it as much as this one. My favorite moment in the whole show was, without a doubt, the tap dance chase scene, "Tip Tap Trouble." That number was SO MUCH FUN. A regular chase scene seems like enough of a challenge to stage, but to stage one where tap dancing is incorporated into the choreography??? I can't even begin to imagine what the process for making that scene was like. It was like a wacky Scooby Do chase scene set to jazz music and it was AWESOME.

While I wholeheartedly enjoyed the show, there were a couple elements I felt were a little underwhelming.

                The most disappointing element was unfortunately the audio, particularly the sound mixing. The orchestra was very loud, and tended to drown out the performers. Whenever they were singing while the orchestra was playing, it was very, very hard to hear the words. At first I just thought it was because of where we were sitting in the audience, but even after we moved I had quite a bit of trouble understanding what was being said. Sweet Sue's lines were particularly unintelligible, but that might also be because of the voice they had her use.

                While there were some costumes I absolutely loved, I found many of them to be slightly confusing, particularly the dresses worn by the ensemble. Immediately I noticed that I was having trouble determining the time period from the costumes. To me, the silhouettes didn't quite read 1930s, and some of the patterns almost felt like they were from the 60s/70s. I don't think they needed to be, or should be one-to-one recreations of historical garments, but I would have appreciated it if the silhouettes had been a little more prioritized. 

                I also wish there had been more obvious decisions regarding the color palettes of the characters. Joe was almost always put in blue, which I liked, especially since blue is associated with men. It would have been nice to see Daphne wear a signature color, or perhaps grow into a signature color as she became more confident. I wanted to love her red dress she wore to the cantina - its color, texture and pattern were gorgeous, and it moved beautifully while she was dancing. It just felt a little flat and thin, like it needed some lining and structure. It was almost halloween costume-esque because of this.

                Ultimately, I enjoyed this musical much more than I enjoyed A Beautiful Noise. That one was at a sever disadvantage, though, because I'm not that big of a fan of jukebox musicals, and I didn't really know anything about Neil Diamond. While A Beautiful Noise had individual performers that I thought were spectacular, the collective elements that make up Some Like it Hot were simply stronger. It had a better narrative, a set that appealed more to me, and, most importantly, I wasn't BLINDED FOR THREE MINUTES WHILE TRYING TO WATCH THE SHOW.

                My confidence in my future career has gone up slightly because maybe if I like something enough, I'll be able to ignore how stressed I am?