‘Some Like It Hot’ a pure delight in Broadway in Chicago series

Movies being turned into onstage musicals may not be unusual these days (“Back to the Future” and “Death Becomes Her” are two recent examples to hit Chicago), but “Some Like It Hot” is based on a classic 1959 Tony Curtis-Jack Lemmon-Marilyn Monroe comedy that the American Film Institute said in 2001 was the No. 1 American comedy film of all time. Could a stage musical be as entertaining for those who’ve never seen the movie and for those who call it one of their favorite flicks? The answer is a resounding yes in my opinion.

Featuring a Depression-era storyline that’s the furthest thing from depressing, Grammy Award-worthy songs that make you want to buy the cast recording to relive the fun (and it did win the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album), Tony Award-worthy costumes and choreography (and the Broadway production did win Tonys for both) and several impressive lead performances, this limited-run touring production is pure entertainment of the highest caliber.

As the show opens, Sweet Sue (Tarra Conner Jones) is welcoming patrons of her speakeasy, powerfully belting out – with the help of her all-female band – the tune “What Are You Thirsty For?” with catchy lyrics like “If you find you’re down to your last yacht, and there ain’t no chicken kickin’ in every pot, well, an 80-proof meal might hit the spot!” A raid – Prohibition is in effect, after all – forces the band to consider other options, so they decide to take a train-based road trip to California, performing at stops along the way.

Before the band can leave, we meet Joe (Matt Loehr) and Jerry (Tavis Kordell), two best-friend instrumentalists (saxophone and bass, respectively) who need a gig. While Joe is white and Jerry is black, they basically grew up as brothers, Jerry’s family taking Joe in when Joe was abandoned at a young age by grifter parents fleeing the law. This change from the original film pairing of Curtis and Lemmon allows for Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin, who wrote the book of the musical, to have a more complex relationship for their two male leads.

When Joe is offered a job, but Jerry isn’t, the two convince the manager of a club owned by mobster Spats (Devon Goffman) that “You Can’t Have Me (If You Don’t Have Him),” a song that shows off their singing, comedy and tap-dancing skills (they call themselves the Tip-Tap Twins). But when they arrive at the gangster’s office immediately after he has exterminated a “rat” and two others, Joe and Jerry are on the run, stumbling into an empty women’s dressing room where they – in the middle of one of the musical’s songs, mind you – quickly decide to don wigs and female attire and work their way into Sweet Sue’s westbound band as “Josephine” and “Daphne.” Their hope is that once they reach San Diego, they can get into Mexico and away from Spats’ men.

When they meet the band’s sexy lead singer, Sugar (Leandra Ellis-Gaston), it becomes difficult for both to avoid getting attached while also not revealing their real male identities. And staying hidden from Spats may be difficult when they team up with Sugar to be called the Tip-Tap Trio. Further complications arise when they arrive in San Diego and the eccentric Osgood Fielding III (Edward Juvier), who introduces himself as a “Poor Little Millionaire,” falls for Daphne.

Loehr, Kordell and Juvier are all standouts in this well-cast show, Loehr and Juvier providing a lot of the humor, but Kordell having the most moving character arc with Jerry/Daphne on a journey of self-discovery that is fully on display in the Act II solo, “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather.” Composer/co-lyricist Marc Shaiman and co-lyricist Scott Wittman have a nice variety of 1920s-sounding ballads (“Ride Out the Storm,” with Sugar’s sadness coming to the forefront) and up-tempo numbers ( like “Zee Bap,” with a bit of scat singing), even finding a way to easily incorporate one of their tunes from the TV show “Smash” with “Let’s Be Bad.”

Costume designer Gregg Barnes deserves kudos for outfits that make everyone look good – or, in the case of the Josephine character, intentionally not as good. I also was stunned by the outstanding dancing throughout the show, thanks to the excellent work of director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw.

This is a comedic, romantic spectacle of a show, but it only runs through Sunday, Nov. 3, so get this “Hot” ticket now for the most fun date night you could hope for. It’s not just “Some Like It … “ – it’s pretty much everyone.

• Paul Lockwood is a communications consultant at Health Care Service Corporation in Chicago, as well as a local theater actor, singer, Grace Lutheran Church (Woodstock) and Toastmasters member, columnist and past president of TownSquare Players. He and his wife have lived in Woodstock for more than 23 years.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Some Like It Hot”

• WHERE: Cadillac Palace, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago

• WHEN: Through Nov. 3

• INFORMATION: BroadwayInChicago.com