Some Like It Hot is ranked in the Top 20 on the American Film Institute’s original 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time list. On the AFI’s Funniest American Movies of All Time list, Billy Wilder’s astonishing creation holds the top spot. That’s inspiring — and also daunting — for anyone trying to adapt the movie’s magic for the stage, especially in a world so much changed since Some Like It Hot dazzled audiences upon its release in 1959.
Netflix? Hey, color TV was still just a dream for American households then.
But here is Some Like It Hot on Broadway and it’s winning over the critics. It’s helpful to remember that this movie was a star vehicle that launched or reanimated the careers of its top talent.
Jack Lemmon surged into public acclaim, Tony Curtis reprinted his image, and, well, Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane extended her range beyond mere dreamgirl, cementing her burgeoning reputation as a triple threat — she sings, she acts, she displays virtuoso comic timing.
Wilder, who battled with Monroe on the set, gave her the ultimate compliment too, saying in an interview: “She automatically knew where the joke was.”
Now somebody has to play Sugar Kane on Broadway and know where the joke is — and sing and dance and act her hourglass off. That’s Adrianna Hicks and, by all accounts, she slays, as they say. (One can almost hear Tony Curtis using the phrase.) In a little kiss you video the star put up on Instagram, none other than Jennifer Hudson replies “Beautiful.”
Hicks, who won a Tony as Catherine of Aragon in SIX the Musical, isn’t the only actor winning great reviews for the show. Christian Borle, NaTasha Yvette Williams, and J. Harrison Ghee in the role (Daphne/Jerry) originated by Lemmon are also present and slaying in turn.
There have been a lot of “new Marilyn Monroes” since the actress first redefined what celebrity and movies star means in the public eye. Adrianna Hicks is a unique star who does Sugar her own way, for sure. But stepping into the footsteps — and the dresses — of Marilyn Monroe is a weight for any actor. Hicks does exactly what JHud says: she’s beautiful in the part. Learn more about Ms. Hicks here.
.jpg){kind=link}