Sugar (musical)
Encyclopedia
Sugar is a musical
with a book by Peter Stone
, music by Jule Styne
, and lyrics by Bob Merrill
. It is based on the film Some Like It Hot
, which was adapted by Billy Wilder
and I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan. It premiered on Broadway in 1972 and was staged in the West End
twenty years later.
in Chicago
. In order to escape gangster Spats Palazzo and his henchmen, they dress as women and join Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopaters, an all-female band about to leave town for an engagement at a Miami Beach hotel.
Complications arise when Joe, now known as Josephine, falls in love with beautiful band singer Sugar Kane, who has a slight drinking problem that tends to interfere with her ability to choose a romantic partner wisely. More than anything, Sugar wants to marry a millionaire, prompting Joe to disguise himself as the man of her dreams.
Meanwhile, wealthy and elderly Osgood Fielding, Jr. is pursuing Daphne, unaware she really is Jerry in drag
. As much as he knows he needs to reveal his true gender to his over-amorous paramour, Jerry is beginning to enjoy all the expensive gifts bestowed upon him on a regular basis.
Total chaos erupts when Spatz and his gang descend upon the hotel and realize who Josephine and Daphne really are.
and directed and choreographed by Gower Champion
, Sugar opened on Broadway
at the Majestic Theatre on April 9, 1972 after 14 previews and closed on June 23, 1973 after 505 performances. The opening night cast included Robert Morse
as Jerry/Daphne, Tony Roberts
as Joe/Josephine, Elaine Joyce
as Sugar Kane, Cyril Ritchard
as Osgood Fielding, Jr., Sheila Smith as Sweet Sue, and Steve Condos as Spats Palazzo. Scenic design was by Robin Wagner
, costume design by Alvin Colt
, and lighting design by Martin Aronstein
. Elaine Joyce was replaced by Pamela Blair
later in the run.
The West End
production, starring Tommy Steele
, opened at the Prince Edward Theatre
on March 19, 1992 and closed on June 20, 1992. The production reverted to the film's title of Some Like It Hot.
An Argentinian production starring Susana Giménez
opened at the Lola Membrives Theatre in 1986 and ran for three years, becoming one of the most successful musicals in that country. A Colombian production María Cecilia Botero opened at the Jorge Eliecer Gaitan Theatre in 1989. . In Mexico
, was starred by the actress Sylvia Pasquel.
A 2002-03 United States national tour starred Tony Curtis
as Osgood Fielding, Jr. in a revised production. Curtis had played Joe in the original film. This national tour wardrobe is on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida.
A new production of the show will premiere at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, New York starting April 29 through July 3
In February/March 2011 Pimlico Opera presented a new production in Great Britain at Send Prison in Surrey. The cast included professional actors and inmates.
On March 6, 2011, Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, California will present a staged concert version of the show, as part of the Reiner Reading Series with Larry Raben (Forever Plaid
), Bets Malone (The Marvelous Wonderettes
) and Nick Santa Maria (The Producers (musical)
)
A new production of the show will premiere in 2011 at Folketeateret, Copenhagen, Denmark. The show opens September 14, starring Danish musical actress Maria Lucia.
Act II
theatre critic T.E. Kalem thought the musical "has been so thoroughly processed, refined and filtered that it has lost the natural energy that makes a good musical strong and healthy." He added, "If hummable songs are a plus, Jule Styne's songs are hummable, though you may not know quite which homogenized number you are humming. As for Bob Merrill's lyrics, they are the labored products of a man hovering over a rhyming dictionary. Sugar is almost a textbook case of a musical born after its time. It may well enjoy great wads of audience favor. But in the past three years, Company
and Follies
have altered the critical perspective by providing a musical form that is spare, intelligent, ironic, mature and capable of sustaining three-dimensional characters." He concluded, "This is not to say that the big, old-fashioned musical is irrevocably doomed, but it must have a singular mood, manner and meaning all its own. Otherwise, all that remains, as Sugar indicates, is a sterile display of high-gloss techniques."
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book by Peter Stone
Peter Stone
Peter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.-Life and career:Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda , was a film writer, and his father, John Stone was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies...
, music by Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
, and lyrics by Bob Merrill
Bob Merrill
Bob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a...
. It is based on the film Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
, which was adapted by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
and I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan. It premiered on Broadway in 1972 and was staged in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
twenty years later.
Synopsis
Two unemployed musicians, bass player Jerry and saxophone player Joe, witness the St. Valentine's Day MassacreSt. Valentine's Day massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day massacre is the name given to the 1929 murder of 7 mob associates as part of a prohibition era conflict between two powerful criminal gangs in Chicago: the South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone and the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran. Former members of the...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. In order to escape gangster Spats Palazzo and his henchmen, they dress as women and join Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopaters, an all-female band about to leave town for an engagement at a Miami Beach hotel.
Complications arise when Joe, now known as Josephine, falls in love with beautiful band singer Sugar Kane, who has a slight drinking problem that tends to interfere with her ability to choose a romantic partner wisely. More than anything, Sugar wants to marry a millionaire, prompting Joe to disguise himself as the man of her dreams.
Meanwhile, wealthy and elderly Osgood Fielding, Jr. is pursuing Daphne, unaware she really is Jerry in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
. As much as he knows he needs to reveal his true gender to his over-amorous paramour, Jerry is beginning to enjoy all the expensive gifts bestowed upon him on a regular basis.
Total chaos erupts when Spatz and his gang descend upon the hotel and realize who Josephine and Daphne really are.
Productions
Produced by David MerrickDavid Merrick
David Merrick was a prolific Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer.-Life and career:Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick graduated from Washington University, then studied law at the Jesuit-run Saint Louis University School of Law...
and directed and choreographed by Gower Champion
Gower Champion
Gower Carlyle Champion was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.-Early years:Champion was born in Geneva, Illinois, the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Carlisle. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School...
, Sugar opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Majestic Theatre on April 9, 1972 after 14 previews and closed on June 23, 1973 after 505 performances. The opening night cast included Robert Morse
Robert Morse
Robert Morse is an American actor and singer. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway. He has also acted in movies and television shows. His best known role is that of J. Pierrepont Finch in the 1961 Broadway musical, and 1967 film How to Succeed in Business...
as Jerry/Daphne, Tony Roberts
Tony Roberts (actor)
David Anthony "Tony" Roberts is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in several Woody Allen movies, usually cast as Allen's best friend.-Early life:...
as Joe/Josephine, Elaine Joyce
Elaine Joyce
Elaine Joyce is an American actress.Joyce was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She made her film debut in 1961 as an extra in West Side Story and made uncredited appearances in several musical films, including The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, and Funny Girl before being cast in Such Good Friends in 1971...
as Sugar Kane, Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Ritchard
Cyril Ritchard was an Australian stage, screen and television actor, and director. He is probably best remembered today for his performance as Captain Hook in the Mary Martin musical production of Peter Pan....
as Osgood Fielding, Jr., Sheila Smith as Sweet Sue, and Steve Condos as Spats Palazzo. Scenic design was by Robin Wagner
Robin Wagner (designer)
Robin Wagner is an American scenic designer.Born Robin Samuel Anton Wagner in San Francisco, he attended art school and started his career in theatres in that city with designs for Don Pasquale, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Tea and Sympathy, and Waiting for Godot, among others...
, costume design by Alvin Colt
Alvin Colt
Alvin Colt was an American costume designer. Colt worked on over 50 Broadway shows.His first job was in a theatrical fabric house, he also worked on painting scenery during the summer. On the Town was the first Broadway show he worked on in 1944...
, and lighting design by Martin Aronstein
Martin Aronstein
Martin Aronstein was an American lighting designer whose Broadway career spanned thirty-six years.Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Aronstein attended Queens College in Flushing, New York. In 1957, following a performance sponsored by the New York Shakespeare Festival, he approached a backstage...
. Elaine Joyce was replaced by Pamela Blair
Pamela Blair
Pamela Blair , known as Pam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for originating the role of "Val" in the musical A Chorus Line and several appearances on American soap operas.-Early life and career:...
later in the run.
The West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production, starring Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...
, opened at the Prince Edward Theatre
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster.The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet...
on March 19, 1992 and closed on June 20, 1992. The production reverted to the film's title of Some Like It Hot.
An Argentinian production starring Susana Giménez
Susana Giménez
Susana Giménez, née María Susana Giménez Aubert is an Argentine actress, ex-vedette and television host....
opened at the Lola Membrives Theatre in 1986 and ran for three years, becoming one of the most successful musicals in that country. A Colombian production María Cecilia Botero opened at the Jorge Eliecer Gaitan Theatre in 1989. . In Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, was starred by the actress Sylvia Pasquel.
A 2002-03 United States national tour starred Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
as Osgood Fielding, Jr. in a revised production. Curtis had played Joe in the original film. This national tour wardrobe is on display at the Costume World Broadway Collection in Pompano Beach, Florida.
A new production of the show will premiere at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford, New York starting April 29 through July 3
In February/March 2011 Pimlico Opera presented a new production in Great Britain at Send Prison in Surrey. The cast included professional actors and inmates.
On March 6, 2011, Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, California will present a staged concert version of the show, as part of the Reiner Reading Series with Larry Raben (Forever Plaid
Forever Plaid
Forever Plaid is an off-Broadway musical revue written by Stuart Ross in New York in 1990 and now performed internationally. The show is a revue of the close-harmony "guy groups" that reached the height of their popularity during the 1950s. Personifying the clean-cut genre are the Plaids...
), Bets Malone (The Marvelous Wonderettes
The Marvelous Wonderettes
The Marvelous Wonderettes is a musical comedy with a book by Roger Bean. It was recently played off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in New York. The show, which uses pop songs from the '50s and '60s as a vehicle to tell its story, pays homage to the high school Songleader squads of the 1950s...
) and Nick Santa Maria (The Producers (musical)
The Producers (musical)
The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug Besterman. As in the film, the story concerns two theatrical producers who scheme to get rich...
)
A new production of the show will premiere in 2011 at Folketeateret, Copenhagen, Denmark. The show opens September 14, starring Danish musical actress Maria Lucia.
Song list
Act I- When You Meet a Man in Chicago - Sweet Sue and All Girl Band
- Penniless Bums - Jerry, Joe and Unemployed Musicians
- Tear the Town Apart - Spats's Gang
- The Beauty That Drives Men Mad - Jerry and Joe
- We Could Be Close - Jerry and Sugar Kane
- Sun on My Face - Jerry, Joe, Sugar Kane, Sweet Sue, Bienstock and Ensemble
- November Song - Millionaires and Osgood Fielding, Jr.
- Sugar - Jerry and Joe
Act II
- Hey, Why Not! - Sugar Kane and Ensemble
- Beautiful Through and Through - Osgood Fielding, Jr. and Jerry
- What Do You Give to a Man Who's Had Everything? - Joe and Sugar Kane
- Magic Nights - Jerry
- It's Always Love - Joe
- When You Meet a Man in Chicago Repise - Jerry, Joe, Sugar Kane, Sweet Sue, All Girl Band and Chorus Line
Critical reception
In his review of the Broadway production, TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
theatre critic T.E. Kalem thought the musical "has been so thoroughly processed, refined and filtered that it has lost the natural energy that makes a good musical strong and healthy." He added, "If hummable songs are a plus, Jule Styne's songs are hummable, though you may not know quite which homogenized number you are humming. As for Bob Merrill's lyrics, they are the labored products of a man hovering over a rhyming dictionary. Sugar is almost a textbook case of a musical born after its time. It may well enjoy great wads of audience favor. But in the past three years, Company
Company (musical)
Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
and Follies
Follies
Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers of the "Weismann's Follies," a musical revue , that played in that theatre between the World Wars...
have altered the critical perspective by providing a musical form that is spare, intelligent, ironic, mature and capable of sustaining three-dimensional characters." He concluded, "This is not to say that the big, old-fashioned musical is irrevocably doomed, but it must have a singular mood, manner and meaning all its own. Otherwise, all that remains, as Sugar indicates, is a sterile display of high-gloss techniques."
Awards and nominations
- Tony Award for Best MusicalTony Award for Best MusicalThis is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
(nominee) - Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a MusicalThe Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival...
(Robert Morse, nominee) - Tony Award for Best Direction of a MusicalTony Award for Best Direction of a MusicalThis is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions...
(nominee) - Tony Award for Best ChoreographyTony Award for Best Choreography-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
(nominee) - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a MusicalDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a MusicalThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
(Robert Morse, winner) - Theatre World AwardTheatre World AwardThe Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
(Elaine Joyce, winner)
External links
- Sugar synopsis at tams-witmark.com
- "Some Like It Hot Plays Newark's NJPAC, a Stone's Throw From NYC, Feb. 4-9", Playbill.com article with production history, February 4, 2003