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Actor Edward Juvier says it’s rare that he attends a Broadway show and, from his seat in the audience, tells himself, “�ճ󲹳�’s a good show for me [to do].”

That changed when Juvier attended the original Broadway production of , when Kevin Del Aguila (whom Juvier has long admired) performed the role of Osgood, the blithely unaware millionaire who falls for Daphne (the character Jerry in drag).

After seeing Aguila’s performance, Juvier says, “I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to put that on my list of things I want to do.’”

The musical, which began life as Billy Wilder’s award-winning 1959 film about two male musicians who resort to drag in order to join an all-women’s band, has made a few changes to the story’s plot. The biggest being how Jerry feels about being Daphne. (Warning: spoilers ahead.)

Juvier will be performing as Osgood in the National Tour of Some Like It Hot at the Fisher Theater until Oct. 13.

He’s no stranger to Detroit. In the past, he’s performed at both the Fisher and with the Detroit Opera in performances of Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera, respectively, as well as some regional work at the Meadow Brook Theater.

Juvier brings to his performance of Osgood the laconic ease of a gin-soaked summer afternoon. He describes Osgood as a “guiding post” who points the other characters “in the direction of love and joy.”

“I just show them a way to naturally be themselves…through [my] character’s goodness,” he says.

But Juvier is also deeply critical of the film version of Some Like It Hot, calling it “just a bunch of crass jokes,” and adding that “our production…brings so much joy and empathy.”

“The way that people saw these characters back then is so different than now,” he says. “We’re much more empathetic now than back then. They didn’t have the words for what these characters were feeling or going through.”

It’s Tavis Kordell’s stunning portrayal of Jerry/Daphne that whisks a hint of brilliance into this perfectly adequate production, though Matt Loehr’s performance as Jerry’s musical partner, Joe (who dresses up as Josephine), is delightful.

Kordell graduated from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in May of this year and admits to having “a lot of imposter syndrome, a lot of doubt.”

That may come as a surprise to fans, since Kordell, who makes their national tour debut with this production, seems destined to be a star.

But Kordell says, “This was a big change for me.”

Preparing for the role of Jerry/Daphne was “definitely tough,” says Kordell, who describes the heart of the show as “transformative.”

That process of transformation, they say — metamorphosing from Jerry to Daphne —contained physical as well as “spiritual elements.” The physical elements, from singing to tap dancing, would have been more than enough for any actor to contend with. But it sounds like the spiritual elements, which Kordell says had to do with “[self-]discovery and freedom,” were the more psychologically taxing.

“There’s no indication that Jerry wants to be Daphne,” Kordell says. “Jerry’s like, ‘Something is missing. I don’t know what is missing.’”

But it isn’t long before Jerry finds out that, in Kordell’s words, “Daphne is…the person that Jerry loves to be.”

As an actor, “going on that journey of self-discovery,” Kordell says, “is beautiful every night.”

If the musical has any major flaws, it’s the loss of the film’s best lines. These come in the very last scene, when Jack Lemmon, who plays Jerry/Daphne, finally removes his wig to admit to Osgood, “I’m a man!”

“Nobody’s perfect!” Osgood says blithely.

In the musical, these lines are washed away, and Osgood instead insists to Daphne that she’s perfect as she is.

This is clearly meant to come across as a broad form of acceptance of her gender, and in that sense, it is well received.

But in another sense, I think we’re all — imperfect as we are — losing something more important.

In the film, the line comes across at first as further proof of Osgood’s self-delusion: he won’t listen to Daphne, so intent is he on chasing his own desires. But it’s also Osgood demonstrating the very trait we celebrate him for in the new, updated musical: for accepting Daphne not for her biological sex, irrelevant as that is, but for being herself. And her self, like all the rest of us, doesn’t come close to achieving perfection. We love her anyway. We love her because of it.

Broadway In Detroit brings North American tours of Broadway shows to the Fisher Theatre and other Detroit area venues including the Detroit Opera House and Music Hall. For more information, including future shows, go to — and for details on more arts and entertainment news, or other things to do in metro Detroit, visit hourdetroit.com.��