Wed, Jul. 10, 2002
By ROBERT TRUSSELL
The Kansas City Star

Well, Tony can't sing, but that's OK.

Tony can't dance, but that's OK, too.

One thing Tony can do is charm an audience, and this he does during his relatively brief time on stage in "Some Like It Hot," a musical based on Billy Wilder's 1959 movie.

It's fair to say that this tour wouldn't exist without Tony Curtis, who is given star billing despite playing a supporting role. Aside from his natural charisma and relaxed performing style, Curtis provides vintage star power and a living link to the Wilder film, in which he co-starred with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe.

The musical, first staged as "Sugar" 30 years ago, has a more than listenable score by Jule Styne and clever lyrics, most of them written by Bob Merrill. And there is much to admire in this production, which under Dan Siretta's direction and choreography occasionally bursts with creativity and high style.

The plot deals with two jazz musicians in 1920s Chicago who witness a mob killing and go on the lam. They disguise themselves as women, join an all-female band on its way to Florida and hope for the best.

Joe (Arthur Hanket) and Jerry (Timothy Gulan) quickly make friends with Sugar (Jodi Carmeli), the band's voluptuous ukulele player, who has a taste for bootleg whiskey.

Once in Florida, Jerry finds himself courted by an aging millionaire, Osgood Fielding III (Curtis), while Joe finds time to court Sugar in the guise of a millionaire yachtsman.

Curtis' sense of timing seems strong, and one wishes he had better lines. As it is, he earns laughs by playing a lecherous old man with a twinkle in his eye. At the age of 77, he seems ideally suited for the role.

He basically talks his way through his numbers -- "November Song," about how naughty old men need naughty young girls; "Beautiful Through and Through," a campy courtship song; and "I Fall in Love Too Easily," which strikes an incongruously sensitive note in an otherwise slap-happy performance.

And while Curtis, costumed in a succession of double-breasted suits, frequently moves to the music, what we see can't properly be called dancing.

There is, however, some phenomenal dancing in this show, courtesy of William Ryall as Spatz, the Chicago gangster who pursues Joe and Jerry to Florida.

Ryall and his thugs more than once exhibit elegant, exhilarating tap routines. The rub-out scene, modeled on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, is accomplished with rapid taps taking the place of machine-gun fire. It's a clever bit of choreography that elicits big laughs. And "Tear This Town Apart," midway through Act 1, is a highlight of the show, thanks to Ryall's liquid dance moves.

Gulan and Hanket are effective if unremarkable -- although Hanket's affected accent when Joe poses as Sugar's wealthy seducer falls vaguely somewhere between Australia and New England.

Carmeli provides a passable imitation of Marilyn's trademark breathy vocal delivery, except when she sings. Then we discover, happily, that she actually has a big voice. Her performance of "People in My Life," an evocative ballad late in the show, was a show-stopper.