On April 9, 1972: Sugar, Based On Some Like It Hot, Opens on Broadway

Some Like It Hot the musical, based on the 1959 film, played on Broadway in 2022. But it was actually the second stage adaptation of that Billy Wilder film. The first was titled Sugar, which opened on Broadway April 9, 1972, following previews that began March 29 at the Majestic Theatre.

Inspired by the French film Fanfare of Love, the Some Like It Hot film follows two Prohibition-era jazz musicians in Chicago (played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), who witness a mob hit and go into hiding by disguising themselves as members of an all-female band. Through their escape plot, the two become enamored with the band's singer and ukulele player, Sugar Kane Kowalczyk, played by Marilyn Monroe. The motion picture was nominated for six 1960 Academy Awards, winning Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, for Orry-Kelly.

Featuring music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and a book by Peter Stone, the 1972 musical similarly follows Jerry and Joe, who disguise themselves as Daphne and Josephine and join an all-female orchestra.

Robert Morse, who had won the 1962 Tony for his performance in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, played Jerry with two-time Tony nominee Tony Roberts as Joe. Elaine Joyce played Sugar Kane, the character that was played by Monroe in the film. The Broadway company also included Cyril Ritchard as Osgood Fielding, Jr. and Sheila Smith as Sweet Sue.

Gower Champion directed and choreographed the musical with associate choreography by Bert Michaels. The score included 鈥淧enniless Bums,鈥� 鈥淭he Beauty That Drives Men Mad,鈥� 鈥淲e Could Be Close,鈥� and 鈥淏eautiful Through and Through.鈥�

Walter Kerr's New York Times review was mixed, although he did rave about Morse, writing, "It isn't really fair to ask a performer to create all of his own comedy, right out of his heart, head, and the nearest hockshop, but if the performer you have in mind is Robert Morse you may get away with it.鈥ven before he's got into drag and joined that all鈥恎irl orchestra as the best way of having fun while hiding out, he's funny."

Kerr concluded, "In general? If you're not expecting a smash and are willing to shake Some Like It Hot out of your heads, you'll find Sugar a decently agreeable evening. Its performers must make it for you, but they do know how."

Elaine Joyce and company of *Sugar* Martha Swope/ NYPL Digital Collections

The Broadway production also featured scenic design by Robin Wagner, costume design by Alvin Colt, lighting design by Martin Aronstein, orchestrations by Philip J. Lang, dance arrangements by John Berkman, musical direction by Elliot Lawrence, and vocal arrangements by Elliot Lawrence.

The musical would receive four 1973 Tony nominations: Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for Morse, and both Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical for Champion.

Sugar played its final performance June 23, 1973, following 14 previews and 505 regular performances. A cast album preserved the score.

Sugar was later adapted by British actor Tommy Steele, who reconsidered the material as a vehicle for himself. His 1992 London stage version, called Some Like It Hot, with new material not in the original Sugar musical, also spawned a cast album.

Some Like It Hot the film received a new musical adaptation on Broadway in 2022. This more recent version took its title from the film and played the Shubert Theatre. But rather than being a straightforward adaptation of the film, the new musical updated the material to fit contemporary sensibilities鈥攊ncluding having one character, Jerry, discover their gender nonbinary identity through drag. This revised version featured a book by The Inheritance Tony winner Matthew L贸pez and Amber Ruffin and a score by Hairspray's Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, with the former providing music and both contributing lyrics. Tony winner Casey Nicholaw directed and choreographed.

The musical earned 13 2023 Tony award nominations, winning for its orchestrations (Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter), choreography (Nicholaw), and costume design (Gregg Barnes). The production also earned a historic win as J. Harrison Ghee, winning Best Actor in a Musical, became (alongside fellow 2023 Tony winner Alex Newell) the first non-binary performer to win a Tony Award in an acting category. The musical played its final performance December 30, 2023, after 43 previews and 441 regular performances.

Learn what other theatre milestones happened on April 9 by visiting the 半岛体育 Vault.