Welcome back to my 'And the Tony Almost Went to...' series, where I take a deep dive into a show that was the (likely) runner-up in the Best Musical race of any previous Tony Awards year. This year's telecast will be airing on CBS tonight. So today, we'll be talking about 2023, which would be last year's ceremony.
Based on Billy Wilder’s 1959 Academy Award-winning film of the same name, Some Like It Hot follows two musicians who are forced to flee Chicago after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they’re on the run as the newest members of the swingingest big band ever to cross the country...disguised as women. While venturing out to San Diego, the two of them develop a friendship with the band's lead singer, Sugar Kane. This was the second musicalization of the classic comedy following the 1972 Tony-nominated Sugar, which was written by book writer Peter Stone, composer Jule Styne, and lyricist Bob Merrill with direction and choreography by Gower Champion.
Although this was actually the third in a recent unofficial trilogy of Broadway musicals adapted from classic movies about men disguising themselves as women. In 2019, we got Tootsie. In 2021, we got Mrs. Doubtfire. Similar to what both of those shows went through with their respective adaptation processes, there probably was a bit of concern early on about how the idea of a man taking on a woman’s job would fly today. So it was really all up to the creative team to approach the story with more modern sensibilities. Luckily, many felt they managed to pull that off with this.
Some Like It Hot was originally scheduled to have its out-of-town tryout in Chicago, but got canceled as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. The show ended up opening cold in New York on December 11th, 2022 at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. The original cast included Christian Borle as Joe/Josephine/Kip, J. Harrison Ghee as Jerry/Daphne, Adrianna Hicks as Sugar Kane, Natasha Yvette Williams as Sweet Sue, Kevin Del Aguila as Osgood Fielding III, Adam Heller as Agent Mulligan, Mark Lotito as Spats Colombo, and Angie Schworer as Minnie.
The production received 13 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Christian Borle; J. Harrison Ghee*), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Kevin Del Aguila), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Natasha Yvette Williams), Best Direction of a Musical (Casey Nicholaw), Best Book of a Musical (Matthew López & Amber Ruffin), Best Original Score (Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman), Best Choreography (Casey Nicholaw)*, Best Orchestrations (Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter)*, Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Scott Pask), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Gregg Barnes)*.
*denotes an award it won.
I know someone who only got to see one of last year's nominees, which was Some Like It Hot. They loved it so much, that they were convinced that it was winning big. Yet I kept telling them that it was NOT happening. They were just basing that more on what they really wanted to happen, but weren't being realistic at all in the slightest. If this was the early 2000s were big, feel-good musical comedies adapted from movies (like The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, and Spamalot) dominated the Tonys, Some Like It Hot would've won. However, voters have in recent years been championing more daring work such as Once, Fun Home, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, The Band's Visit, Hadestown, and A Strange Loop. Therefore, the show that fit the latter mold much more was...
Although this was actually the third in a recent unofficial trilogy of Broadway musicals adapted from classic movies about men disguising themselves as women. In 2019, we got Tootsie. In 2021, we got Mrs. Doubtfire. Similar to what both of those shows went through with their respective adaptation processes, there probably was a bit of concern early on about how the idea of a man taking on a woman’s job would fly today. So it was really all up to the creative team to approach the story with more modern sensibilities. Luckily, many felt they managed to pull that off with this.
Some Like It Hot was originally scheduled to have its out-of-town tryout in Chicago, but got canceled as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. The show ended up opening cold in New York on December 11th, 2022 at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. The original cast included Christian Borle as Joe/Josephine/Kip, J. Harrison Ghee as Jerry/Daphne, Adrianna Hicks as Sugar Kane, Natasha Yvette Williams as Sweet Sue, Kevin Del Aguila as Osgood Fielding III, Adam Heller as Agent Mulligan, Mark Lotito as Spats Colombo, and Angie Schworer as Minnie.
The production received 13 Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Lead Actor in a Musical (Christian Borle; J. Harrison Ghee*), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Kevin Del Aguila), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Natasha Yvette Williams), Best Direction of a Musical (Casey Nicholaw), Best Book of a Musical (Matthew López & Amber Ruffin), Best Original Score (Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman), Best Choreography (Casey Nicholaw)*, Best Orchestrations (Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter)*, Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Natasha Katz), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Scott Pask), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Gregg Barnes)*.
*denotes an award it won.
I know someone who only got to see one of last year's nominees, which was Some Like It Hot. They loved it so much, that they were convinced that it was winning big. Yet I kept telling them that it was NOT happening. They were just basing that more on what they really wanted to happen, but weren't being realistic at all in the slightest. If this was the early 2000s were big, feel-good musical comedies adapted from movies (like The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, and Spamalot) dominated the Tonys, Some Like It Hot would've won. However, voters have in recent years been championing more daring work such as Once, Fun Home, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, The Band's Visit, Hadestown, and A Strange Loop. Therefore, the show that fit the latter mold much more was...
Why Didn't Some Like It Hot Win?: According to the New York Times' Tony survey (which interviewed about 158 out of 769 voters) that year, Kimberly Akimbo shaped up to be the little engine that could. Adapted from David Lindsay-Abaire's straight play of the same name, the story followed a high school student whose life is threatened by a genetic disorder that causes her to age prematurely. While that is a pretty sad premise, the musical was also quite funny, as the protagonist navigates a dysfunctional home life, a gawky peer group, and the criminal aunt who connects those worlds. It had the strongest reviews of any new musical that season, and a plurality of voters interviewed said they were voting for it. While not everyone loved Kimberly Akimbo (some found it extraordinarily moving, while others were left feeling cold), the show’s odds were good because those who didn't vote for it split their support between two comedies (Some Like It Hot and Shucked). The two other nominated musicals (& Juliet and New York, New York) lagged considerably behind.
It appears to me that while Kimberly Akimbo remained the frontrunner throughout the season, Some Like It Hot was for a while seen as the crowd-pleasing alternative. Yet when Shucked, an original pun-filled and country-scored fable, opened later in the spring, there were two crowd-pleasing alternatives. Therefore, both shows likely split the the vote, allowing Kimberly Akimbo to go all the way. It ended up winning 5 Tonys for Best Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Victoria Clark), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Bonnie Milligan), Best Book of a Musical (David Lindsay-Abaire), and Best Original Score (Jeanine Tesori & David Lindsay-Abaire).
After the Tonys, both shows didn't end up doing well in the long run. Some Like It Hot closed at a loss on December 30th, 2023 after 441 performances. Luckily, it will be launching a national tour this fall and a West End production is currently in the works. Meanwhile, Kimberly Akimbo recently closed on April 28th of this year after 612 performances and didn't recoup its investment. The good news is that it's also set to have a 'Great Adventure' on the road when its national tour launches this September.
For those wondering, Shucked will be the subject for 'How Close Were They?' when I eventually cover this race for that series. I don't know when exactly, but it'll definitely be coming.
It appears to me that while Kimberly Akimbo remained the frontrunner throughout the season, Some Like It Hot was for a while seen as the crowd-pleasing alternative. Yet when Shucked, an original pun-filled and country-scored fable, opened later in the spring, there were two crowd-pleasing alternatives. Therefore, both shows likely split the the vote, allowing Kimberly Akimbo to go all the way. It ended up winning 5 Tonys for Best Musical, Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Victoria Clark), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Bonnie Milligan), Best Book of a Musical (David Lindsay-Abaire), and Best Original Score (Jeanine Tesori & David Lindsay-Abaire).
After the Tonys, both shows didn't end up doing well in the long run. Some Like It Hot closed at a loss on December 30th, 2023 after 441 performances. Luckily, it will be launching a national tour this fall and a West End production is currently in the works. Meanwhile, Kimberly Akimbo recently closed on April 28th of this year after 612 performances and didn't recoup its investment. The good news is that it's also set to have a 'Great Adventure' on the road when its national tour launches this September.
For those wondering, Shucked will be the subject for 'How Close Were They?' when I eventually cover this race for that series. I don't know when exactly, but it'll definitely be coming.