Maine State Music Theatre launched the twelfth season of its popular panel discussion series, Peek Behind the Curtain, with a spirited conversation about the theatre’s current production, HAIRSPRAY. A large crowd was on hand at the Curtis Memorial Library on June 10 to listen to two of the show’s stars, CHARIS LEOS (Prudy Pingleton, Matron, Gym Teacher) and Tarra Conner Jones (Motormouth Maybelle) together with Artistic Director Curt Dale Clark and BWW moderator Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold.
Tarra Conner Jones performs the Act Two showstopper 'I Know Where I've Been' in Maine State Music Theatre's current production of HAIRSPRAY, directed and choreographed by Kenny Ingram.
From the joyful opening number, “Good Morning, Baltimore,” to the to the rousing vibrancy of the finale, “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” Maine State Music Theatre’s revival of HAIRSPRAY, a co-production with Lancaster, Pennsylvania‘s Fulton Theatre, which opens the 2026 season, offers the audience pure optimism and joy. Despite - or perhaps because of - the more serious underlying themes that the musical tackles such as racism, segregation, body positivity, and inclusion - HAIRSPRAY remains the perfect theatrical evening where entertainment and inspiration combine.
This new production, directed and choreographed by Kenny Ingram with a superbly talented cast that features an extraordinary blend of Broadway, MSMT veteran, and young professional talent invites audiences to marvel at the company’s artistic range and to revel in an exquisitely delightful evening’s entertainment.
Here are a few top picks to consider this week including a star-studded musical revue honoring humorist Dorothy Parker, Melissa Errico's Barbra Streisand tribute, parody and political satire from comedy group Unitard, jazz and more.
Maine State Music Theatre has released the trailer for HAIRSPRAY, the beloved Tony Award-winning musical running June 3 through 20, 2026 at Pickard Theatre at Bowdoin College, in a co-production with the Fulton Theatre.
Watch a first look video of Hairspray at Fulton Theatre. Leading the cast as the irrepressible Tracy Turnblad is Eden Franco, joined by Robert Anthony Jones as her mother, Edna Turnblad, and Joel Newsome as her father, Wilbur Turnblad.
The Fulton Theatre will bring the Tony-winning hit 'Hairspray' to the Mainstage from April 10 through May 3, 2026, with preview performances on April 8 (Community Night) and 9 (Pay-What-You-Want).
Arts Ignite will present the 16th annual New York City Christmas concert at Joe’s Pub, bringing together a wide range of Broadway artists to support arts education initiatives.
Broadway Sacramento’s new season is sizzling with the arrival of the first national tour of Some Like it Hot. Based on the classic 1959 film of the same name, its reimagination on Broadway in 2022 garnered four Tony Award wins out of thirteen nominations. Now, it’s bringing the Golden Age to Sacramento for an unforgettable experience of glitz and glamour.
Based on Billy Wilder’s 1959 Academy Award-winning film of the same name, Some Like It Hot follows two musicians, Joe & Jerry, who are forced to flee Chicago after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they’re on the run as the newest members of the swingingest big band ever to cross the country…disguised as Josephine & Daphne. This is the second musicalization of the classic comedy following the 1972 Tony-nominated Sugar.
The movie, Some Like It Hot, has long been a favorite of mine. As a kid growing up in Dayton and then Cincinnati, Ohio, I loved seeing Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon don women’s clothing, outrun the bad guys, and the line that Lemmon says, ‘now look what you did – you tore off one of my chests!’ struck me then and now as hilarious.
Ensemble Arts Philly and The Shubert Organization will present the Philadelphia premiere of Some Like It Hot at the Forrest Theatre. Learn more and see how to attend.
Some Like It Hot Sizzles on Tour at PPAC: Big band energy, tap-happy choreography, and sharp performances heat up the stage in this exuberant musical comedy
It's a wonder Some Like It Hot, the Billy Wilder film, has held up as well as it does without seeming totally creaky and outdated. This is, after all, a 1959 Hollywood comedy, albeit one that is remarkably fluid in its attitudes towards both gender and sexuality.
What did our critic think of SOME LIKE IT HOT at Orpheum Theatre Memphis? Some Like It Hot brings fiery charcters, sultry jazz, powerful belts, and quite a few surprises.
“We couldn’t be more excited to share this new season with all our loyal Broadway fans. The season really does represent the last several years of Broadway at its best, freshest, and most creative, alongside two beloved classics.”
CAPA President Chad Whittington
The SOME LIKE IT HOT North American tour coming to The Bushnell on April 29 through May 4, 2025. The musical is based on the classic MGM film Some Like It Hot, which has been named the “Funniest American Movie of All Time” by the American Film Institute.
The film “Some Like it Hot” conjures up visions of blonde Marilyn Monroe with her two musician sidekicks, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, in prohibition era Chicago. The musicians dressed as women join an all women band to avoid a mafia boss when they witness a murder.
Swing, sizzle, and tap your way into the golden age of jazz with Some Like It Hot! Based on the beloved 1959 Billy Wilder film, this high-energy musical comedy follows the misadventures of Joe and Jerry, two down-on-their-luck musicians who witness a mob hit in Prohibition-era Chicago.
For Joe and Jerry, two entertainers looking for career stability, being on the run can be a real drag! The lead characters of Some Like It Hot, now onstage at the Fox Theatre, begin the production as run-of-the-mill performers bouncing from gig to gig in Prohibition era Chicago. However, after they accidentally witness a mob hit, they take on the personas of two gals in a female troupe as they attempt to lay low.
