Matt Loehr, Leandra Ellis-Gaston, Tavis Kordell in the Broadway touring production of "Some Like It Hot" coming to the Arsht Center opening Tuesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 8. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)
When Matt Loehr takes the stage in a starring role of the Broadway touring production of “Some Like It Hot,” he will have some friends in the audience because, although he’s spent most of his career on Broadway, he is also familiar to South Florida theater audiences. He's paused here long enough to pick up some regional awards here as well.
Loehr plays the multiple roles of Joe/Josephine, in the show, which makes its Miami debut on Tuesday night. The road show is fresh from Broadway, where it closed last December, after 441 performances. Given the critical acclaim, most expected the multiple Tony award and Grammy award-winning show to run longer, but no quibbles here, as we are getting it early in its national touring history.
Leandra Ellis-Gaston with Matt Loehr in the touring production of "Some Like It Hot" coming to the Arsht Center opening Tuesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 8. (Photo by Matthew Murphy). Photo by Matthew Murphy.
Based on the 1959 movie, “Some Like it Hot,” the musical follows the same plot as the film, a tale of two musicians, Jerry and Joe, who flee Chicago after witnessing a mob hit, and hop a train, assuming identities as women to blend into a traveling all-girl swing band.
Although the movie, which starred Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, featured musical numbers, it was, at its heart, a slapstick comedy. But the Broadway show is a full-out musical, filled with songs, toe-tapping dance numbers, and elaborate sets.
And, while in the movie much of the humor was based on the pair impersonating women, this show puts its accent on diversity, involving some major character tweaks, to make the show in keeping with in today’s sensibilities, says Loehr, who plays Joe/Josephine.
Playing opposite Loehr is Travis Cordell as Jerry/Daphne, who is making his national touring debut, having appeared in multiple regional productions, as well as on “America’s Got Talent.” Other cast members include Leandra Ellis-Gaston (Sugar), who appeared on Broadway as Anne Boleyn in “Six,” Tina, “The Tina Turner Story,” on off-Broadway in “Pal Joey, and in the national tour of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” and the international tour of “Hair.”
Tavis Kordell as Jerry/Daphne plays opposite to Matt Loehr's Joe/Josephine in the touring production of "Some Like It Hot" coming to the Arsht Center opening Tuesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 8. (Photo by Matthew Murphy).
Loehr says he wasn't familiar at first with the original version of “Some Like It Hot,” but fell in love with the movie when it watched it. “The movie was so funny and ahead of its time, but even so, a plot that centers on men dressing up as women would be dated today. In our show, Jerry discovers themselves as Daphne, it’s so innocent and sweet. You are still laughing, but you get a sweet message of love and acceptance,” he says.
Growing up in Mobile, Ala., Loehr was not destined to be an actor. His parents were creative people –photographers – but not performers. But there was a children’s theater down the street, and Loehr got bit by the acting bug quickly, acting in plays, and learning to sing and dance there.
He got into the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, but didn’t stay long. He got a job at the MUNI, St. Louis’ famed outdoor theater, where he stepped into a production of “A Chorus Line.” He ended up quickly in a tour, and then more tours followed, until the last one, “Fosse,” landed him on Broadway, where he made his debut at the age of 22.
More Broadway shows followed, including “MJ the Musical,” “Beautiful the Carole King Musical,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Elf the Musical,” “Promises, Promises,” “Mary Poppins,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “Mel Brooks’ The Producers,” “Evita” and “Movin’ Out.”
Indeed, Loehr appeared destined to stay on Broadway, but he decided to take a detour.
Tarra Conner Jones in "Some Like It Hot." (Photo by Matthew Murphy)
“I worked constantly from the age of 22 to 33, but it had become kind of a grind, so I moved to Winston-Salem, N.C. for a slower pace. There, Loehr got involved with Palm Beach County's Maltz Jupiter Theatre, and was soon playing leading roles.
"I got cast in 'Crazy for You,' and the show was a success, and I won my first Carbonell award,” he said, referring to the award program that recognizes excellence in South Florida theater.
More shows followed at the Maltz: “The Will Rogers Follies,” “Me and My Girl,” “Hello Dolly” and “Music Man,” and Loehr took home a total of four Carbonell awards. He also did a turn at the Wick Theatre in Boca Raton.
But eventually Loehr headed back to Broadway, as well as back on the road, touring. He was touring in “MJ the Musical,” when the director asked him to audition for the “Some Like It Hot,” tour, and he got the role. He could not be more thrilled, he says.
Kicking up their heels is the dance ensemble in the Broadway touring production of “Some Like It Hot.” (Photo by Matthew Murphy)
“This role is everything I love to do as a performer. I love tap dancing, physical comedy, a great script, getting to fall in love with the girl, a little of being a girl, being a boy –it’s everything.”
As for the show’s message, Loehr says: “We want to leave people with a smile on their faces, with a message of love and acceptance, and a feeling that you can be all you are, and all that is well. This is a big, splashy Broadway musical that will tug at your heartstrings.”
IF YOU GO:
- WHAT: “Some Like It Hot," national tour.
- WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 8. Performances Tuesday through Saturday, 8 p.m., Saturday also at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- WHERE: Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL, 33132,
- TICKETS: $30-$135
- INFORMATION: (305) 949-6722 and www.arshtcenter.org
