Plot
Act I
At the tail end of Prohibition, Chicago speakeasy performer Sweet Sue is arrested in a raid ("What Are You Thirsty For?"). After being bailed out of jail, Sue decides to form an all-female band that will tour the western U.S., playing its final engagement in San Diego. Meanwhile, the club's saxophonist Joe and bass player Jerry, desperately in need of a paycheck, seek out a job with Spats Colombo, the proprietor of the Cheetah Club and a powerful gangster. Colombo's hiring manager is impressed by Joe, but refuses to hire Jerry because of the color of his skin. The two explain that Jerry's parents raised Joe after his own outlaw parents abandoned him, and as such, they come as a package deal ("You Can't Have Me (If You Don't Have Him)"). Colombo, impressed by their tap dancing act, "The Tip-Tap Twins", agrees to hire them.
That evening, Colombo receives a tip from FBI Agent Mulligan that he will be arrested imminently if he doesn't turn state's evidence. Suspecting he has been betrayed, Colombo calls Toothpick Charlie and two of his associates into his office and has them shot. At this moment, Joe and Jerry walk in and witness the slaying. Fleeing from Colombo’s goons, the pair find themselves in a women's dressing room. Joe hatches a plan: dress in drag and join Sweet Sue's band to get to San Diego, then flee to Mexico. Jerry is doubtful that they will be able to pull it off, but seeing no alternative, he goes along with the plan. ("Vamp!")
The next day, Joe and Jerry arrive at the train station as the band is departing, posing as two music students named "Josephine" and "Daphne". Sweet Sue hires them to replace the original sax and bass player, whose instruments were dumped in the river by Joe and Jerry. The last to arrive is the band's singer, Sugar Kane ("I'm California Bound"). On the train, Sugar confesses to Josephine and Daphne that she is joining the all-female band because of her weakness for male musicians, particularly saxophone players ("A Darker Shade of Blue").
As the show travels west, Josephine, Daphne and Sugar develop a new version of the Tip-Tap Twins act, "The Tip-Tap Trio." ("Take It Up A Step") Joe, who struggles to fit in as Josephine, marvels at Jerry’s ease in becoming a woman as he leads the girls in telling off a greedy bar manager ("Zee Bap"). Sugar and Josephine grow closer, and Sugar shares her childhood dreams of movie stardom ("At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee"). Joe begins to fall for Sugar. Meanwhile, Colombo recognizes the Tip-Tap Trio as Joe and Jerry's act.
The band arrives at the Hotel Coronado in San Diego. The hotel's owner, Osgood Fielding III, an eccentric millionaire in search of love, takes an immediate interest in Daphne ("Poor Little Millionaire"). Joe insists to Jerry that they flee to Mexico immediately, but Jerry doesn't want to leave the band yet, feeling more at home as Daphne than he ever has. Joe attempts to escape alone by stealing the luggage of Austrian screenwriter Kip von der Plotz, but bumps into Sugar. Impersonating Kip, he woos her, and she invites him to see her perform that evening. When Kip shows up in place of Josephine that night, Sugar and Daphne perform the act as a duo. Daphne angrily eyes "Kip" from the stage while Osgood admires her. Colombo arrives in town, with Agent Mulligan hot on his tail ("Some Like It Hot").
Act II
The performance ends, and Kip invites Sugar out after the show. Sweet Sue storms into Josephine and Daphne's room, demanding to know why Josephine missed the performance. Still dressed as Kip from the shoulders down but covered by a blanket, Josephine explains that she was waylaid by food poisoning. Osgood visits Daphne, and Josephine convinces him to take Daphne out so "Kip" can use his yacht. Osgood convinces a reluctant Daphne to come with him to Mexico, and Daphne receives a makeover from the other girls ("Let's Be Bad"). On the yacht, Sugar falls in love with Kip and teaches him how to dance, fantasizing about the movies they’d make together ("Let's Dance the World Away").
In Mexico, Osgood explains to Daphne that his father, Osgood Fielding II, was disowned by Osgood I for falling in love with a Mexican barmaid, Osgood's mother. Though Osgood II regained his fortune by inventing root beer, it left Osgood III with a feeling of a dual identity, his Mexican name being Pedro Francisco Alvarez. Daphne is inspired by his allegorical story about a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, and Osgood proposes ("Fly, Mariposa, Fly").
Returning early the next morning, Daphne tells Joe that she is both Jerry and Daphne and that she is engaged to Osgood ("You Could've Knocked Me Over With a Feather"). Daphne also encourages Joe to be honest with himself. Realizing that Sugar can never love someone she doesn't know, Joe resolves to be a better friend to Daphne and tell Sugar the truth ("He Lied When He Said Hello"). Sweet Sue introduces the band to their new investor, Colombo, and later walks in on Joe out of disguise. They explain the whole story, and she agrees to keep their secret until the end of the show, at which point they will flee to Mexico. Sue also encourages Joe to let Sugar down easy without endangering her life.
Josephine informs Sugar that Kip left a note breaking up with her. Heartbroken and with her dream in tatters, Sugar nevertheless performs ("Ride Out the Storm"). Colombo and his associates recognize the trio's dancing and Joe unmasks himself, stunning Sugar. The gangsters and the FBI chase the trio through the hotel. Eventually, Agent Mulligan, dressed as Josephine, is able to corner and arrest Colombo ("Tip-Tap Trouble"). Joe testifies against Colombo without implicating Daphne.
Sugar is furious at Joe's multiple deceptions, but she comes to realize that she did have real affection for Josephine and Kip and does indeed love Joe. Joe offers to be Sugar’s agent and go with her to Hollywood to make up for his deceptions. Sweet Sue is glad everyone is okay, but upset that the band has lost their investor, prompting Osgood to offer his investment instead. Daphne tries to admit the truth to Osgood, but he assures her that he understands and still considers her perfect, even if Daphne counters that "nobody's perfect." Sometime later, the 21st amendment is ratified, ending Prohibition. Daphne marries Osgood, Sugar has become a movie star for MGM, and Osgood opens a club called "Daphnecita's," where Daphne and Joe continue to perform together every night ("Baby, Let's Get Good").
Production history
Broadway (2022-2023)
The musical was originally scheduled to have its out-of-town engagement in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, but was later announced that the engagement was canceled following the COVID-19 shutdown.[5][6]
The show began previews at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway on November 1, 2022, with an opening night on December 11,[7][8] directed by Casey Nicholaw and features Christian Borle as Joe/Josephine, Kevin Del Aguila as Osgood, J. Harrison Ghee as Jerry/Daphne, and Adrianna Hicks as Sugar.[9] The show received mostly positive reviews from the critics.[10] On March 23, 2023, due to a large absence of cast members and understudies, director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw filled in for Lotito as Spats.[11]
In May 2023, the show received 13 Tony Award nominations, more than any of the 2022 season, including Best Musical.[12] At the 76th Tony Awards, the show won four awards including Best Choreography and Best Leading Actor for Ghee.
The show played its final performance on December 30, 2023.[13]
Planned North American Tour (2024)
In May 2023, it was announced that the Broadway production will embark on a North American national tour in the fall of 2024. The cities include (but are not limited to) Chicago, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston.[14]
West End (2025)
Following the announcement that the Broadway production would be closing, it was announced that the production is scheduled transfer to London's West End in 2025. Specific dates, casting, and venue are still to be announced.[13]
