Devon Hadsell is no stranger to the musical Some Like It Hot. It was her second Broadway show and now her second Broadway tour.
On Broadway, she was in the ensemble and understudied Minnie. Now, she’s playing the spirited drummer, Minnie, on a full-time basis.
“Minnie she is a total hoot. She loves to smoke a cigarette. She’s Sue’s righthand girl,” says Hadsell who grew up in Napa, Calif. “She’s funny and extremely forgetful. I am forgetful as well. She likes to have a good time, but she is always there for Sweet Sue, the leader of the band, and the girls.”
The winner of four Tony Awards®, including Best Choreography and Best Costumes, and the Grammy Award® for Best Musical Theater Album, Some Like It Hot, playing Altria Theater June 3 through June 8, is loosely based on the 1959 film of the same name starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe.
Set in Chicago during the Prohibition era, the musical follows two musicians who are forced to flee the city after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters in pursuit, they catch a cross-country train for a life-changing trip.
“This show is truly the epitome of what everyone thinks of when they think of a big Broadway show,” Hadsell says. “It has a big ensemble, beautiful music and Broadway jazz.”
The musical differs from the movie in several ways, she adds. “The story has a more progressive twist and a few of the characters are different.”
The message the musical carries is “important for the world to hear,” she says. “It’s about love, respect and finding yourself.”
Finding Her Own Voice
Hadsell, a self-described California girl through and through, remembers her mom telling her that she was singing before she could talk and dancing before she could walk.
At the age of five, she started ballet and was cast in a local community production of The Sound of Music in the role of Gretl at Broadway Bound Kids in Napa. “I loved it,” she says. “Since then, I have kept up training and am continuing to do musicals.”
Along with appearing in Some Like It Hot on Broadway, she also appeared on the Great White Way in the ensemble of Mean Girls and understudied three roles. She was cast in the Broadway tour of The Little Mermaid and has appeared in a long list of regional shows, including West Side Story and Something Rotten.
While she enjoys being on Broadway, touring also has its appeal.
“There are pros and cons to both,” she says. “When you are on Broadway you are in the same theater and go home every night. There is a sense of stability, but it can be monotonous. When you’re touring you are traveling to different cities, sometimes every week and you are in a different theater with a new crew. That is exciting, but it can be a lot.”
This tour is particularly fun for her because her husband, who works remotely, and the couple’s cat get to tour with her. “That has been great,” she says.
Faking It and Making It
There are times after the show that people will ask Hadsell if she was really playing the drums during the musical. The answer is no. She is not a drummer in real life. She did, however, study with a drummer for the tour.
“I watched videos of him, and he taught me how to hold the drumsticks. Audience members think I am really playing the drums, and that is a win in my book. I am definitely faking it, but I am hitting the actual drums and cymbals at times,” she says.
A dancer at heart, Hadsell loves the fact that she gets to use that talent during the show. “It makes the dancing part of my soul very happy,” she says.
She does have a list of favorite moments in the show, several of which occur during the second act. One is when four of the girls decide to have a fun night out in San Diego during the song “Let’s Be Bad.” “We wear these midi-length dresses that are super colorful and have puffy sleeves and a beautiful flow at the bottom,” she says. “The audience goes wild because the song is fun and upbeat.”
Toward the end of the show, there is an occasion where Minnie has a forgetful moment and then an eye-opening realization. “The audience goes wild,” she says.
Tickets are available at Altria Theater box office, by visiting BroadwayInRichmond.com or by calling 1-800-514-3849(ETIX). The show is recommended for ages 12+.
Read the RFM Review of Some Like It Hot here.
