To paraphrase a line from his newest challenge, Broadway’s Casey Nicholaw has spent a lot of the spring having fun with the candy finish of a metaphorical lollipop.
Final week, Nicholaw obtained two Tony Award nominations for greatest route of a musical and greatest choreography for his work on “Some Like It Sizzling,” now enjoying at New York’s Shubert Theatre. The present, a musical adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1959 romantic comedy of the identical identify, additionally nabbed a further 11 Tony nods ― together with a historic honor for actor J. Harrison Ghee, who's nonbinary ― making it this season’s most-nominated theatrical manufacturing.
“With the ability to return to doing an authentic musical after the [COVID-19] pandemic is large,” Nicholaw, a California native whose credit embrace “The Guide of Mormon” and “Aladdin,” instructed HuffPost. “We lived a life via this present, if what I imply. We had been all there doing our testing each day. A few of it was scary; a few of it was unknown. So the truth that we're right here now ― I feel everyone seems to be grateful for that. I do know I'm.”
Just like the movie on which it was based mostly, “Some Like It Sizzling” tells the story of two Prohibition-era musicians, Joe (performed by Christian Borle) and Jerry (Ghee), who discover themselves on the run after witnessing a mob hit in Chicago.
Strapped for money and fearing for his or her lives, the 2 gown in drag to move as feminine performers Josephine and Daphne earlier than becoming a member of an all-women band that’s about to embark on a cross-country tour. Alongside the best way, Joe/Josephine finds himself smitten with the band’s lead singer, Sugar Kane (Adrianna Hicks), whereas Jerry/Daphne discovers their genuine self as a nonbinary particular person.
“Some Like It Sizzling” opened on Broadway in December of final 12 months to near-universal acclaim from critics. Nonetheless, there have been some hurdles to beat, from the pandemic to issues about how the storyline would resonate with a up to date viewers. Previous to its premiere, the present was in contrast unfavorably to plenty of current musicals, together with “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Tootsie,” which have offered their lead actors in drag.
“We needed to be very cautious about making it in regards to the humanity and what these characters study: Joe realizing he wouldn’t do nicely as a lady, and Jerry/Daphne going, ‘Wow, I really feel snug on this,’” Nicholaw stated. “The exploration of Daphne was very interesting to us as a result of it wasn’t simply being finished for a gag. To have the ability to see J. inform Daphne’s story is implausible.”
Others felt there was no approach the present would retain the affect of Wilder’s movie, which starred an effervescent Marilyn Monroe as Sugar alongside Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as Joe and Jerry.
To distinguish the musical from the movie, the first setting has been moved from Florida to California. Many principal characters ― together with Sugar, Jerry/Daphne and bandleader Candy Sue ― are performed by actors of colour. And the present’s jazz-inflected, bluesy songs, written by composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, sound each trendy and playfully nostalgic.
Audiences and critics alike have singled out “Tip Faucet Bother” as one of many musical’s highlights. The second-act showstopper incorporates a few of the most fast-paced, intricate choreography carried out on Broadway lately.
Although Nicholaw designed the quantity to be “probably the most difficult factor [an audience] has seen,” he needed to grapple with the problem of performing it himself when he stepped into the function of Spats Colombo, often performed by actor Mark Lotito, for a quick stint in March.
“It was like Tetris attempting to verify the whole lot labored, however I didn't anticipate that quantity to be so laborious,” he stated with amusing. “It blew me away. I used to be like: ’Oh, my God, Mark ― I've you operating a lot backstage. ... I had no thought it was going to be that onerous.’”
Although Nicholaw already shares a Tony with director Trey Parker for “The Guide of Mormon,” the 13 nominations that “Some Like It Sizzling” obtained imply as a lot to him as any of his different tasks, giant and small.
“One in every of my favourite issues to do is to have folks giggle their butts off after which have tears of their eyes, considering, ‘Oh, my gosh, I didn't anticipate this.’ And I feel this present delivers on that,” he stated. “I need folks to study from it, be moved by it and simply take pleasure in it, whether or not it’s by themselves or with different folks.”
Many viewers members have instructed him that they’re “going to behave higher to this particular person or this relative” after seeing the present, he stated.
“A remark I’ve lately gotten has been, ‘I took my mom and my spouse and my son, and all of us liked it,’” he added. “As a director, that’s about the perfect factor you possibly can ask for.”
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