From Solski’s review:
Wokeness merely refers to an awareness of systemic bias and injustice, past and present, which any revival or new adaptation should have. Here Lopez and Ruffin have written Jerry/Daphne, Sugar and the bandleader Sweet Sue as shrewd expansions of the original. But in wanting to treat the comedy of men in dresses with greater care and sensitivity – a terrific goal in and of itself – changes the meaning of Some Like It Hot itself. The original, in its sophistication and ambivalence, is a celebration of disguise, of the quick wits, silver tongues and wild cheek that let Joe and Jerry juggle their multiple fictions. Yet in this version (as in López’s earlier play The Legend of Georgia McBride), drag becomes a means to self-acceptance, a beribboned road to truth. It’s scrupulousness that’s feted here, not the scam. Here’s the millionaire’s response to Daphne this time: “You’re perfect.” |
