Beloved cross-dressing comedy “Some Like It Hot” is set to jazz up the Broadway stage in a new musical adaptation from “Jesus Christ Superstar LIVE!” producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who recently acquired the rights from Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios.
“‘Some Like It Hot’ is one of the greatest film comedies ever made,” Zadan and Meron said in a statement. “We are grateful to MGM for allowing us to tackle the challenge of translating the film’s singular energy and magic to the stage.”
Billy Wilder’s 1959 comedy starred Golden Age A-listers Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two jazz musicians dressed in drag and on the run from the mob, aided by lounge singer Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe in her most critically acclaimed role). The new musical will feature a completely original score from songwriting duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who won a Tony in 2003 for “Hairspray.” Casey Nicholaw — the mind behind the choreography on “The Book of Mormon,” “Aladdin,” and this season’s Tony-nominated “Mean Girls” — will step in as both director and choreographer.
The musical is on-track for a 2020 debut.
OUR DREAM CAST
Michelle Williams as Sugar “Kane” Kowalczyk
Williams already proved she can step into Marilyn Monroe’s shoes, playing the iconic bombshell in 2011’s “My Week With Marilyn.” It helps that she’s also one of the most prolific actresses working today, earning a best actress Tony in 2016 for “Blackbird” and recently stealing the show in the Amy Schumer comedy “I Feel Pretty.”
Zac Efron as Joe/Josephine
Tony Curtis once said Billy Wilder cast him in “Some Like It Hot” because he was the “handsomest kid in this town.” Who’d be a better modern-day equivalent than Efron? But the “Baywatch” star isn’t all looks: Efron first made his mark with his moves in “High School Musical,” eventually going on to star in the big-screen adaptation of “Hairspray.”
Bill Hader as Jerry/Daphne
Well, nobody’s perfect, but the “Saturday Night Live” star is as close as it gets when it comes to matching the energetic physical comedy of the late, great Jack Lemmon. Hader’s no Broadway veteran, but he has made hilariously memorable appearances in John Mulaney and Nick Kroll’s onstage madhouse, “Oh, Hello.”
