"Some Like It Hot" Steams Back to the West End this Autumn

A revival of the Jule Styne/Bob Merrill musical "Some Like It Hot" is confirmed to hit the West End in autumn 2007. The show will be produced by Paul Coxwell and directed by Jerry Zaks, whose impressive Broadway track record includes productions as diverse as "La Cage Aux Folles", "Little Shop of Horrors", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Smokey Joe's Café", "Guys and Dolls" and "The Front Page".   Based on Billy Wilder's classic movie starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marylin Monroe, "Some Like It Hot"'s original stage musical incarnation at Broadway's Majestic Theatre in 1972, directed by Gower Champion, ran for over 500 performances under the title of "Sugar". When it reached the West End in 1992 it regained the original title of the movie and ran for 3 months at the Prince Edward Theatre, starring and directed by Tommy Steele.

The plot concerns two penniless musicians, Joe and Jerry, who witness the 1929 St Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago and find that their only escape route from the mob is to join an all-girl band bound for Miami, Florida. Joe and Jerry become Josephine and Daphne and a classic series of comic events follows, some of which involve the sexy band member, Sugar Kane.

The show has a fine score by Jule Styne  ("Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"; "Gypsy", "Do Re Mi", "Hallelujah Baby") and Bob Merrill ("New Girl In Town", "Take Me Along", "Hannah 1939"), full of melodic, catchy and witty numbers, including "Penniless Bums", "Sun On My Face", "Sugar", "It's Always Love" and the rousing title song. Although it never reaches the heights of Styne and Merrill's "Funny Girl", it is a hugely enjoyable show and one that West End theatregoers should relish towards the end of the year.