Olney Theatre Center announced that it will open its newly renovated Bernard Family Theatre with the first regional theatre production of the Broadway musical Some Like It Hot (September 18 – November 8, 2026), replacing La Cage aux Folles, which will be produced in a future season. Said Jason Loewith, Olney Theatre Center’s Artistic Director, “While deciding to delay La Cage was difficult, I felt the opportunity to be the first regional theatre in the country to get our hands on Some Like It Hot was too big a coup for us to pass up. I’m energized by the opportunity to take our audiences on the wild ride that turns Joe into Josephine and Jerry into Daphne in a musical adaptation of a classic film, remade for our more nuanced, modern understanding of gender and performance. And it’s just a lot of fun. Better still, the show will star Jacob Tischler, one of our best musical comedy performers, who you loved as Cosmo in Singin’ In The Rain, and will soon have you laughing again, as Monty, in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” Some Like It Hot features a book by Matthew López & Amber Ruffin, music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman. Additional casting will be available soon.

Most of the creative team from La Cage remains in place, with Loewith directing, Karla Puno Garcia choreographing, and Christopher Youstra music directing. Members of Olney Theatre who had selected La Cage as part of their season package will be automatically transferred into a corresponding performance of Some Like It Hot. Those with questions are encouraged to contact the Box Office (301-924-3400).

Some Like It Hot is available for purchase now with an Olney Theatre membership. Single tickets will go on sale July 15.

TITLES, CREDITS, KEY DATES, VENUES & DESCRIPTIONS

Resident Regional Premiere

SOME LIKE IT HOT

Music by Marc Shaiman, Lyrics by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, Book by Matthew Lopez & Amber Ruffin

September 18 – November 8, 2026

BERNARD FAMILY THEATRE

Directed by Jason Loewith, Choreographed by Karla Puno Garcia, Music Directed by Christopher Youstra

Based on the film that starred Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, this Broadway hit gives a classic story new life with music and lyrics from the creators of Hairspray, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The super-smart book and lyrics by Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez (Inheritance) and Late Night star Amber Ruffin update the vibe to suit 21st-century audiences, telling the hilarious story of two 1930s jazz musicians who go on the run from the mob disguised as women as part of an all-female band headed to California. Just like in the movie, Joe and Jerry become Josephine and Daphne, become “friendly” with the band’s star singer Sugar Kane, and find themselves transformed by the experience – and in ways a 1950s film could never make explicit. This tap-heavy, dance-intensive, Prohibition-era spectacle retains a comic heart of pure gold as co-author Lopez reminds us, “we don’t think men in dresses are funny, but we think idiots in trouble are always funny.”  Get your tickets now, especially if you want to be one of the 50 patrons every night to sit at the cabaret tables surrounding the stage!

Some Like it Hot is presented through a special arrangement with Concord Theatricals

26-27 INVITED PRESS PERFORMANCES

(To reserve for a press performance contact, sstraub@olneytheatre.org)

MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM – Monday, September 14 at 7:30 pm

SOME LIKE IT HOT – Thursday, September 24 at 7:30 pm

Synetic Theater Company’s SLEEPY HOLLOW – Saturday, October 10 at 7:30 pm

LES MISÉRABLES – Thursday, November 5 at 7:00 pm (note early curtain time)

A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 pm

ArtsCentric’s CROWNS – Sunday, January 31 at 7:00 pm

CHURCHILL – Sunday, February 7 at 7:00 pm

KIMBERLY AKIMBO – Sunday, March 21 at 7:00 pm

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER – Sunday, May 2 at 7:00 pm

DOUBT: A PARABLE – Sunday, June 6 at 7:00 pm

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET – Saturday, July 3 at 7:30 pm

ABOUT OLNEY THEATRE CENTER

Mission

Olney Theatre Center for the Arts produces and curates theatrical performance for the diverse audiences in our community, and educates, learns from, supports, and inspires a more inclusive generation of theater-makers.

Vision

We strive to become an arts and culture powerhouse, redefining the American regional theater movement by cultivating and sharing the creativity of our community.

History

Founded in 1938 as a summer playhouse, Olney Theatre Center (OTC) now produces world and American premieres of plays and musicals, and reimaginings of familiar titles year-round; presents the work of leading companies and artists; tours nationally and locally; teaches students of all ages; and mentors a more inclusive generation of theatremakers. For more than 8 decades, OTC has brought impactful theater performance and education to our community, helping to grow the vibrancy and vitality of our home in the Washington, DC region.

Over the years, some of the biggest names in theater and film have appeared on our stages, including Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Bob Fosse, Phillip Bosco, Eve Arden, Eva Gabor, Burl Ives, Jose Ferrer, Carol Channing, Olivia d’Havilland, Tony Randall, Paulette Goddard, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Jane Seymour, Anne Revere, Frances Sternhagen, Arthur Treacher, James Broderick, Olympia Dukakis, Sir Ian McKellen, Marica Gay Harden, John Colicos, Uzo Aduba, Alan Cumming, Cheyenne Jackson, Robin de Jesus, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Bernadette Peters, among many, many others.

Olney Theatre is now the cultural anchor of a rapidly changing region and serves one of the most diverse, best educated, and wealthiest counties in the country. Situated on the unceded land of the Piscataway-Conoy people, the Olney area was once a rural farming community with a unique Quaker heritage. Now the area is occupied by every kind of family that makes up 21st Century America, along with major corporations, shopping districts, civic associations, non-profit organizations, and a diverse collection of houses of worship. Montgomery County’s 1 million residents play a dynamic role in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and are a driving force behind the region’s creative economy.

Olney Theatre Center employs 45 full-time staff, 20+ part-time positions, 13 early career apprentices, and more than 400 professional artists annually. This summer Olney Theatre will conclude its $36 million transformative construction project: “Staging The Future,” opening the renovated Bernard Family Theatre, the Gana Dunlop Makers’ Center, and the Jim and Carol Trawick Education Center.