You are my Sugar!
The fabulous Colleen Hawks, as Sugar Kane in SUGAR, "The Some Like It Hot" Musical!
I ‘ve seen several of Marilyn Monroe’s movies, including Some Like It Hot. The first time I was asked to impersonate her was for an American Variety show in Japan, where I was fortunate to be the lead singer opposite Hinton Battle, and also introduce the various scenes as "Marilyn." They had me do a running gag as Marilyn with a local Japanese comic who was trying to deliver an orange tree to someone in the audience. Every time he appeared the tree had grown, and as Marilyn, each time my Japanese got a little better, but still bad enough to provide some comedy with my errors.
I think the musical adaptation "Sugar" is really a fun show. I think having Spat’s and his gang portrayed as tapping gangsters is brilliant and I think most of the music is extremely well written. My favorite is probably "Penniless Bums," which I find myself humming every so often. Some of the funniest lines in the movie were unfortunately left out of the stage version, although we have rectified that in some instances in our version here at Westchester. I also think it’s such an iconic film that the main characters are obligated to give nods to the stars that made it famous. I believe audiences would be disappointed if they didn’t get to see a hint of Marilyn in the role. Fortunately, the role is such a vulnerable, kind of messed up character – to me – it almost is Marilyn, so layering a little of her mannerisms with the honesty of what’s happening to the character isn’t all that hard a stretch. The most difficult thing is to keep it honest and not let her become a caricature. I have to say, this is made much easier by having such talented costars in Gary Lynch and Eric Santagata!
When not on stage I very much enjoy teaching. I am the musical theatre director for Rutgers’ Summer Acting Camp and the choreographer for Bronx High School of Science Spring Musical each year. I co-wrote and directed my husband’s one man show Southern Man. www.SouthernManThePlay.com. I have also taught at both Kingsborough College and Fordham Universities in the capacity of a teaching artist and I teach private voice out of my home. Other than that I’m a huge book worm and can be caught in my spare moments reading fantasy fiction. Last but not least, I’m a little bit of a computer geek as evidenced by my website, which I had a fun time putting together and am constantly playing with. I do photo retouching, a little bit of oil painting and I have two cats who yes, have their own webpage, also on my site! In fact, you can learn more about me on that darned website than you probably ever wanted to know!
.jpg)
"
