“Some Like It Hot,” a musical adaptation of the classic film, arrived on Broadway in December with sizzling reviews and backed by some of the most prominent names in comedy and theater. And yet, for the first few months of its life on stage, the show struggled to ignite at the box office.
“Word-of-mouth has taken a longer time to seep out into the world than we expected,” says Neil Meron, one of the show’s producers. “One thing we’re still struggling with in this post-pandemic period is it has changed people’s buying habits. It used to be if the critics liked you, you’d be selling out. But now, there isn’t the same level of tourism and people aren’t going to the office as much, so they aren’t seeing a show after work. And we haven’t gotten those suburban theatergoers back. So it’s week-to-week, being on the edge-of-your-seat, hoping to get enough people to keep the lights on.”
On paper, “Some Like It Hot” had other things going for it that might have moved the needle. Its creative team includes “The Inheritance’s” Matthew López and late-night comic Amber Ruffin, who wrote the book, as well as the “Hairspray” duo of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman handling music and lyrics. They created a jazzy, dance-heavy production set in the waning days of prohibition. Like the movie, the show follows a pair of musicians who disguise themselves as members of an all-female band to hide from the mob, but updates it for the present day. The punchline isn’t about men in drag, but something that reflects a more modern understanding of gender and sexuality. Beyond those prominent names and a skillful update of a tried-and-true plot, the cast performed energetic numbers on national shows like “Good Morning America” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” Still nothing seemed to break through. In March, for example, ticket sales hovered in the $660,000 weekly range, with the show playing to houses that were less than 65% full. That’s disastrous for a show with a sprawling cast.
And then, a gift from the awards season gods arrived. “Some Like It Hot” was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, the most of any show this season. The result has been a remarkable box office comeback. For the first time this year, “Some Like It Hot” had two consecutive weeks of more than $1 million in ticket sales, and has hovered at or around that benchmark for the rest of May and into June.
“Thirteen Tony nominations is what turned it around,” says López. “It’s validating, because we knew that we had a show that worked and that people enjoyed. We just needed the word to get out.”
The show caught another break when the Writers Guild of America opted not to picket the Tony Awards, which allows “Some Like It Hot,” “& Juliet,” “Kimberly Akimbo” and other musicals up for top honors to showcase production numbers on the broadcast this Sunday. That kind of exposure typically generates more interest in the shows, which leads to reservations.
Both Meron and López hope that “Some Like It Hot” settles in for a long run on Broadway, as well as inspires national and international tours. But it may not be able to dance off with the night’s top prize, as “Kimberly Akimbo” is favored to win best musical. Even if it comes up short, the production team thinks “Some Like It Hot” may still be a winner.
“Getting best musical would be the icing on the cake,” says Meron. “But it’s not all that significant to doing business. ‘Wicked’ lost the big prize, and it did alright. Winning Tonys is not the end-all and be-all.”
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