CONCORD THEATRICALS ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE LICENSING RIGHTS FOR “SOME LIKE IT HOT”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MARCH 14, 2024, PLEASE
CONCORD THEATRICALS
ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE LICENSING RIGHTS
FOR
“SOME LIKE IT HOT”
New York, NY (March 14, 2024) – Concord Theatricals is honored to announce that it has secured exclusive worldwide stage licensing rights to Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Matthew López and Amber Ruffin’s Some Like It Hot. For more information, visit concordsho.ws/SomeLikeItHot
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“We are absolutely thrilled that Some Like It Hot has joined forces with Concord Theatricals,” said Shaiman and Wittman. “We believe the joy and the discovery that come to the characters in our musical should and will be shared by people all over the world performing and experiencing our show, and Sean and the good folks at Concord will make sure that is a reality. However you like it: hot, cold, or everything that lies between, it’s to be celebrated, and we can’t wait to start the party!”
“I’m grateful that the partnership with Concord, which began on Broadway, will continue with future productions. I’m very happy that audiences around the world will be able to see our story of friendship, community and self-determination,” added López.
“We know that this terrific show with its hilarious book and swinging score will quickly become a favorite of producers and audiences worldwide,” said Sean Patrick Flahaven, Chief Theatricals Executive of Concord, “We’re very proud to continue our relationship with this show and these writers, having been a co-producer on Broadway and the label for its cast recording.”
Based on the beloved 1959 MGM film of the same name, Some Like It Hot centers around Joe and Jerry, two musicians who are forced to flee Chicago after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters hot on their heels, they decide to disguise themselves and take on new identities as ‘Josephine’ and ‘Daphne’ and end up getting recruited into Sweet Sue’s all-women band. Retaining the slapstick humor and glamour of the original film, the musical ventures into new territory, exploring the characters’ self-discoveries and backgrounds with a fresh perspective.
Some Like It Hot has a book by Matthew López and Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman, and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. Heralded as “an unstoppable train” by The New York Times, Some Like It Hot won more theatre awards than any show in the 2022-2023 Broadway season, including four Tony Awards®, and the awards for Best Musical from the Drama Desk, the Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle.
In March 2023, Concord Theatricals Recordings released Some Like It Hot (Original Broadway Cast Recording), which won the GRAMMY® Award for Best Musical Theater Album in February 2024. The album, produced by Scott M. Riesett and Marc Shaiman and co-produced by Charlie Rosen, Bryan Carter, and Mary-Mitchell Campbell, featured Tony Award winner Christian Borle as Joe, Tony Award winner J. Harrison Ghee as Jerry, Adrianna Hicks as Sugar, Kevin Del Aguila as Osgood, NaTasha Yvette Williams as Sweet Sue, Adam Heller as Mulligan, Mark Lotito as Spats, and Angie Schworer as Minnie.
Some Like It Hot opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre on December 11, 2022, and ran for 483 performances. The production will launch a North American tour in fall 2024. Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot was produced on Broadway by The Shubert Organization and Neil Meron and co-produced by MGM on Stage, Roy Furman, Robert Greenblatt, James L. Nederlander, Kenny Leon, Hunter Arnold, John Gore Organization, The Dalgleish Library Company Group, Sheboygan Conservatory Partners, Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Bob Boyett, Cue to Cue Productions, Janet and Marvin Rosen, The Araca Group, Concord Theatricals, Marc Howard, Independent Presenters Network, Juanita Jordan, Jujamcyn Theaters, Henry R. Muñoz III, Ostar and Mariah Carey. D. S. Moynihan is Executive Producer.
BIOGRAPHIES
Concord Theatricals is the world’s most significant theatrical company, comprising the catalogs of R&H Theatricals, Samuel French, Tams-Witmark and The Andrew Lloyd Webber Collection, plus dozens of new signings each year. Our unparalleled roster includes the work of Irving Berlin, Agatha Christie, George & Ira Gershwin, Marvin Hamlisch, Lorraine Hansberry, Kander & Ebb, Tom Kitt, Ken Ludwig, Marlow & Moss, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anaïs Mitchell, Dominique Morisseau, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson. We are the only firm providing truly comprehensive services to the creators and producers of plays and musicals, including theatrical licensing, music publishing, script publishing, cast recording and first-class production. www.concordtheatricals.com
Matthew López is an American playwright and screenwriter. His play The Inheritance, directed by Stephen Daldry, premiered at London’s Young Vic in 2018, where it was hailed as “the most important American play of the century.” It transferred to the West End later that year and opened on Broadway in the fall of 2019. The Inheritance is the most honored American play in a generation, sweeping the Best Play awards in both London and New York, including the Tony Award, Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Evening Standard Award, London Critics Circle Award, Outer Critics Circle Honors, Drama League Award, GLAAD Media Award, WhatsOnStage Award, and the Southbank Sky Arts Award. He is the first Latine writer to win the Tony Award for Best Play. In New York, Matthew’s work has been seen Off-Broadway with The Whipping Man (Manhattan Theatre Club), and The Legend of Georgia McBride (MCC Theater), productions that received Obie, Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. Other works include Somewhere and Reverberation (Hartford Stage), The Sentinels (Headlong Theatre, London), and Zoey’s Perfect Wedding (Denver Center). Matthew is working on a reimagining of the iconic 1992 Whitney Houston box office hit The Bodyguard for Warner Bros, as well as a feature film adaptation of the novel Leading Men for Searchlight Pictures, which centers on Tennessee Williams and his longtime partner Frank Merlo. Matthew made his directorial feature debut with the LGBTQ+ romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue for Amazon Studios. In addition to directing the film, Matthew adapted the script, based on Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel. In October 2020, he signed an overall television development deal with Amazon Studios.
Amber Ruffin is a writer, executive producer, and host of the WGA Award nominated series “The Amber Ruffin Show” on Peacock. She was recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special). She is an Emmy and WGA Award nominated writer and performer for NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and was the first African-American female to write for a late-night network talk show in the U.S. She wrote and performed on Comedy Central’s “Detroiters” and was a regular narrator on cable’s “Drunk History.” Ruffin was previously a performer at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, the iO Theater and the Second City in Chicago. In addition, she was a writer/performer for the 2018 and 2019 Golden Globe Awards and has written for the series “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Ruffin is a New York Times bestselling author, along with her sister Lacey Lamar, of “You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories of Racism,” published by Grand Central Publishing. Last year, Ruffin was named to the 2021 TIME100 Next List, TIME’s list of the next 100 most influential people in the world.
Marc Shaiman is a lyricist/composer/arranger/orchestrator/performer working in films, television, musical theater, and recordings. He has won a Tony, an Emmy, two Grammys, and has garnered seven Oscar nominations.
Most recently represented on Broadway with the Tony award-winning Some Like It Hot, his other Broadway credits (with co-lyricist Scott Wittman) are Hairspray (Tony & Grammy Awards), Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Catch Me If You Can (Tony nom) and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Coming in 2025 is the Broadway version of their Emmy winning television show Smash.
For the film Mary Poppins Returns he was nominated for two Oscars, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy. His other Oscar nominations have been for Sleepless In Seattle, Patch Adams, The First Wives Club, The American President, and South Park-Bigger, Longer & Uncut. He and Mariah Carey were nominated for a Golden Globe for their title song for the animated film The Star. Other film credits include Beaches, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, The Addams Family, Sister Act, A Few Good Men, Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, The Bucket List, Hairspray, and Bros.
Television credits include “Only Murders In The Building,” “Saturday Night Live” (Emmy and Golden Globe nom), “Smash” (Emmy & Golden Globe nom), the “Oscars with Billy Crystal” (Emmy Award), Bette Midler (final Emmy winning guest on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”), Rogers: The Musical for Marvel/Disney+’s “Hawkeye” and countless appearances with Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson, Jack Black, and Will Ferrell, among many others.
He has produced/arranged recordings and performances for Bette Midler, Harry Connick Jr., Peter Allen, Eric Clapton, Diane Keaton, Patti LuPone, Steve Martin, André De Shields, Barbra Streisand, Robin Williams, and many more. His online opus Prop 8 – The Musical was a Webbie Award winner.
Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award-winning lyricist, director, writer, and conceiver Scott Wittman co-wrote the lyrics for the hit musical Hairspray (Tony, Grammy, Olivier Award-winner) with creative partner Marc Shaiman. Wittman also served as an executive producer on the hit film starring John Travolta. Scott was nominated for a Golden Globe, Grammy, and two Emmy Awards for the original songs on NBC’s musical drama “Smash.” While working on the show, he co-wrote songs for Jennifer Hudson, Uma Thurman, Bernadette Peters, and Liza Minnelli. Shaiman and Wittman’s original score for the Marilyn Monroe musical Bombshell was released by Sony Records. Scott and Marc’s Broadway writing credits include Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, which Scott also directed, Catch Me If You Can (Tony nomination for Best Musical), and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Broadway and the West End. Scott has created and directed two Broadway shows, three studio recordings, and three sold-out Carnegie Hall concerts for Patti LuPone. He has created solo shows for Christine Ebersole and Nathan Lane, as well as writing for Bette Midler’s 2015 Divine Intervention World Tour. Off-Broadway, he conceived and directed Jukebox Jackie starring Justin Vivian Bond, Cole Escola, and Bridget Everett at La Mama, and Bridget Everett’s Rockbottom at the Public Theatre. His notorious and legendary downtown shows are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Marc and Scott also wrote the score to Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Meryl Streep, directed by Rob Marshall. Their song “The Place Where Lost Things Go” was nominated for an Oscar. He recently joined the Marvel Universe with his song co-written with Marc for Rogers: The Musical for “Hawkeye.”
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