SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 4, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Utahns have just a few more chances to see “Some Like It Hot” at its Eccles Theater tour stop in Salt Lake City, courtesy of Broadway at the Eccles.
And it’s got everything a Broadway theater lover could want. It’s classy, sassy, has a light and fun plot and top quality music and dance.
The show, based on the 1959 film and set in the days before Prohibition was lifted, tells the story of two male musician friends who witness a murder and need to disappear before a certain mob boss can find them and eliminate the only witnesses.
The duo disappears by wearing dresses and wigs, and joining an all-woman band heading west, and getting close enough to Mexico that the men can skip the country and save their lives.
With book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman, this stage musical adaptation received 13 Tony Award nominations in 2023. It won for best costumes, choreography, and orchestration, as well as best actor in a musical for J. Harrison Ghee, from the Broadway cast.
The leads in the touring production are Tavis Kordell, who plays Jerry and alter ego “Daphne,” and Matt Loehr, who plays Joe and alter ego “Josephine.”
Tavis Kordell and Matt Loehr. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Joe is loud and confident, and devoted to Jerry, whose family took him in during childhood. Jerry is sensitive and more reserved, having been stung by racial prejudice and lack of opportunity despite the high level of musical talent and dance skills he and Joe share in their act.
And the men manage to pass as women, somehow, despite Daphne actor Tavis Kordell standing 6 foot 2 inches before heels. Suspension of disbelief, always required in theater, has a lot to do with it.
The lead actors are great singers and dancers, as are all in the cast, including Leandra Ellis-Gaston as band lead singer Sugar.
Leandra Ellis-Gaston as Sugar and Matt Loehr as Joe. Photo: Matthew Murphy.
And musical comedies must include wacky misunderstandings, which intensify with the arrival of Osgood, who falls for Jerry dressed as Daphne.
Edward Juvier as Osgood in the First National Touring Company of SOME LIKE IT HOT. Photo: Matthew Murphy.
Jerry does his best to push the giddy Osgood away, and comedy ensues. But it also turns into an opportunity for characters on stage to reexamine traditional values of respect and acceptance before everyone gets their happy ending.
“Some Like It Hot” runs through Sunday, with remaining shows at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. For more ticket information, click here.
