Some Like It Hot

Rosenburg [ENA] “Sugar – Manche mögen’s heiß” at the Sommernachtskomödie Rosenburg promises to be exactly what a summer musical comedy should be: brisk, glamorous, and just subversive enough to smuggle reflections on gender and identity beneath a cascade of jokes and melodies. Set in the Theaterzelt against the romantic backdrop of Burg Rosenburg, this new staging of the musical version of Some Like It Hot uses the familiar plot as an engine for theatrical playfulness.

Joe and Jerry, two musicians on the run from gangsters, survive only by transforming themselves into Josephine and Daphne and rescuing the all female band “Society Syncopators” at the last minute—an act of improvisation that plunges them into a world where every interaction becomes a potential reveal. Director and set designer Marcus Ganser leans into this premise by treating the band, the gangsters, and the love story as different “registers” of performance, so that the evening constantly shifts between screwball farce, musical exuberance, and moments of genuine romantic vulnerability.

At the heart of the evening stands Sugar, the “herzensgute Ukulele Mädchen” who dreams of love and a better life and who unwittingly falls for the two fugitives in their various guises. Played by a lead vocalist with the necessary mixture of warmth, comic timing, and a touch of melancholy, Sugar is clearly designed as more than a pastiche of Marilyn Monroe: she becomes the moral centre of the production, the person for whom the masquerade is not a game but an emotional risk. Her songs provide some of the show’s finest moments, when the noise of gangland chase and cross dressing comedy pauses, and the audience is allowed to feel the sincerity behind the glitter.

The adaptation by Peter Stone, in Klaus Seiffert’s German version, retains the film’s rapid fire humour while exploiting the musical form to heighten both danger and desire. Ensemble numbers for the “Society Syncopators” create a sense of camaraderie and rhythmic drive, while duets and trios allow Joe, Jerry, and Sugar’s tangled feelings to unfold in song, often with witty counterpoint between what the lyrics say and what the situation reveals. Ganser’s staging reportedly favours pace and clarity: the plot moves forward with cinematic speed, but there is room for those small, intimate beats in which a glance or a pause tells us that the protagonists are losing control of their own charade.

Visually, the production benefits from the double authorship of Ganser’s set and Agnes Hamvas’s costumes. The stage picture evokes a stylised late 1920s/early 1930s world of trains, hotels, and backstage spaces, reduced to agile, movable elements that allow for swift scene changes, while the costumes revel in the contrast between masculine and feminine codes: flapper dresses, sequins, and feathered headpieces play against ill fitting heels and exaggerated curves on the disguised male protagonists. This contrast is never merely decorative; it is integral to the comedy, inviting the audience to enjoy the virtuosity of the performers while also reflecting on how easily gender can be performed—and misperformed—on stage.

The cast, drawn from a strong ensemble that includes Okan Cömert, Daniel Keberle, Bernhard Majcen, Johannes Terne, Lola Witzmann and Adriana Zartl among others, appears carefully assembled to balance vocal quality with comic precision. Joe and Jerry must be believable both as desperate men and as surprisingly convincing women, and the chemistry between them is crucial: their friendship is the engine of the story, driving them into ever more absurd situations. Around them, a gallery of gangsters, band members, and romantic prospects create a dense comic texture, so that even secondary scenes contribute to the overall rhythm of the evening rather than serving merely as filler.

What makes this “Sugar” particularly suited to Theaterfest Niederösterreich is its blend of lightness and underlying seriousness. On the surface, it is a fast, funny story about two men in women’s clothing outwitting gangsters and finding love; beneath that, it touches on themes of solidarity, chosen family, and the freedom that can emerge when social roles are momentarily suspended. In the open, summery atmosphere of Rosenburg, these themes gain a special resonance: the temporary theatrical community mirrors the musical’s makeshift band of runaways, all of them seeking, in their own way, happiness and safety.

Intendant Nina Blum and her team clearly understand what a summer audience is looking for: a show that entertains without condescending, that honours a beloved film classic while claiming its own theatrical identity. “Sugar – Manche mögen’s heiß” promises exactly this balance, offering an evening of laughter, music, and charm that also invites spectators to think—lightly, but not trivially—about the roles we play and the masks we wear. Within the broader landscape of Theaterfest NÖ 2026, it stands as a flagship production: accessible, star driven, yet crafted with enough artistic care to satisfy both casual visitors and more demanding musical theatre enthusiasts.