Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin (‘Some Like it Hot’) on the ‘impossible work’ of writing the book of a musical [Exclusive Video Interview]
“We’re both rowdy and silly so I think it was pretty clear that you could say whatever you wanted and it would be fine,” says Amber Ruffin of working with writing partner Matthew Lopez on “Some Like it Hot.” “We both have really hard feelings to hurt. So we didn’t really have to do any tiptoeing.” The fast chemistry between the pair allowed them to dive headfirst into writing the book for this new musical, the first time either artist had attempted this type of writing. Though the process was challenging, they had a ball bringing this classic story into a contemporary light. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
“You have to have a thick skin,” says Lopez of musical book writing, “you just can’t be precious about anything.” There is an immense amount of material created for a book, but so much of it winds up turned into a song or cut from the show completely. Despite the pair having oodles of experience, Ruffin agrees with her partner, elaborating: “writing the book of a musical is impossible work. Because you’re not used to it.” While past writing experience comes into play, she explains that “the skill you do not have, is how you write the couple of lines that lead into a song. God bless America, that is tough!”
SEE Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman interview: ‘Some Like it Hot’ composers
For his part, Lopez relied on a piece of advice from legendary playwright Terrence McNally. The Tony winner told him that “people think that writing a book of a musical is playwriting-lite, and it isn’t. It has nothing to do with playwriting. Take everything you know about playwriting and chuck it out the window. You have to learn it from scratch.” In this way, the book is something of an unsung hero of a musical: it’s not remembered in the same way as the songs, yet it is vital in providing a musical with structure and tone. ”You can’t compare it to any other type of writing at all,” notes Lopez, “there’s nothing that prepares you.”
The pair’s core task was reframing the story of the classic MGM comedy so that it could be enjoyed by everyone. The iconic film is “such a warm memory for so many people,” notes Ruffin, “we loved that and wanted to capture that vibe.” But the writers used a contemporary lens to make everyone in the audience feel represented on stage, so that the story would feel relevant and appealing to a wider swath of people. “It feels like something that people in their 20s and 30s can watch with their grandparents and everybody feels fed by it,” adds Lopez.
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The pair believes that many of their changes to the story feel like natural extensions of what was presented on screen. Daphne is played by nonbinary actor J. Harrison Ghee, the cast is more racially diverse, and the story centers on themes of acceptance. All the while, the charm and comedy of Billy Wilder’s type of storytelling remains. Living up to those standards was never a source of pressure for the writing team. “We gave ourselves permission to fail. And in giving ourselves that permission I think that we also had a better chance of achieving our goals,” describes Lopez. Ruffin concurs, adding: ”I think what Matthew is trying to say is that permission to fail is permission to succeed.”
Lopez won the Tony, Drama League, and Drama Desk Awards for his play “The Inheritance.” Ruffin is a five-time Emmy nominee for writing on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and “The Amber Ruffin Show.”
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