In a vibrant reimagining of the classic “Some Like It Hot” – a story once popularized by Marilyn Monroe – actor Nissi Shalome brings character Sugar Kane to life through a mixture of personal familiarity with Black joy and Black resistance. For Shalome, embodying this iconic character has become her most fulfilling role yet, celebrating resilience, artistry, and the transformative power of representation on stage. She found herself in Sugar Kane.
“I have been performing my whole life, but I’ve been in the business for about 10 years,” Shalome shares. “Sugar Kane specifically is my favorite role that I’ve done because it is the epitome of the musical theater ingénue – beautiful, kind, with stunning songs and a beautiful journey. She’s a Black woman chasing her dreams and finding herself while she’s doing it. You quite literally couldn’t ask for better.”
As a featured ensemble member and understudy, Shalome lives inside a character whose presence is already an act of defiance. “Sugar Kane is written in our production to be a Black woman,” she explains. “So that’s already resistance. She’s taking up space that originally was not meant for her to take up.”
Many underestimate the importance of an ensemble, but Shalome sees it as the heartbeat of the show. “Depending on who you ask, people assume that the ensemble is just extra bodies to fill the stage,” she says. “But that’s not the case for us. Because the show is about a traveling all-female band in the 1930s, the female ensemble is that band. You’ll see the ensemble in this show just as much as you see the leads because we’re literally all in it together.”
This collective energy amplifies underrepresented voices, giving the audience a panoramic view of excitement, struggle, and solidarity. “We get to quite literally support each other as we go through the journey of this story,” she adds.
Shalome remembers her own artistic awakening when she first saw The Wiz in college: “I cried, I cried, I cried because it was so beautiful to see. If representation wasn’t a thing – if I wasn’t seeing Black women succeed in theater—I would not be doing what I’m doing right now.”
She connects Sugar Kane’s journey to the broader fight for inclusion. “We are making major strides in inclusivity, but we are also actively watching inclusivity be stripped away at the same time,” she reflects. “Being able to tell the story that Sugar Kane is telling – she is fighting for a spot – and she finds her spot in our story. Her journey is about finding the confidence to love herself enough to know that she is worthy of having a spot. That is a lived experience that I, as a Black artist, live every single day.”
While the show acknowledges struggles, Shalome is quick to highlight that it isn’t mired in pain. “There isn’t a lot of pain in our show, which I love,” she says. “People tend to focus on Black pain and Black tension. But there isn’t enough Black joy being shown. I am thrilled to be in a production where many of the principal roles are Black people in positions of privilege and joy – having the strength to be exactly who they want to be, and to be met with love while doing so.”
At its heart, Some Like It Hot is about our shared humanity. “That is the point of our production,” Shalome says. “You are watching human beings experience very real things and navigate change. We don’t have to look alike or agree, but we do need to treat each other with love and respect – even in those differences, even when you don’t understand. That’s a direct quote from our show.”
This message, she believes, resonates far beyond the footlights: “Conversations can only get anywhere if we are all coming from the same middle ground. I’ll respect you. You’ll respect me. Now we can hear each other.”
When asked what she sees in her future as an actor, Shalome dreams of an iconic New York debut on Broadway; her sights are set on the upcoming Dreamgirls revival in 2026. “I’m hoping, praying, trusting, and manifesting that show will be my Broadway debut.” What character would she play? Her response is not Deena, Effie, or Lorell – though she unequivocally knows she has the chops to play any of them as an understudy for many different characters. Instead, she circles back to the power of the ensemble in telling multiple stories at once. “Honestly, I want to be in the ensemble and cover the Dreams.”
Like Sugar Kane, telling the story of overcoming resonates with Shalome. “I love being an example of a Black woman experiencing something that she’s always wanted. You know, a Black woman standing in her beauty and grace and just being a kindhearted person that’s experiencing life’s woes, yeah – and how she can conquer them.”
Nissi Shalome invites Spokane audiences to experience this reimagined classic with open hearts. It’s a dazzling, tap-dancing spectacle with marvelously intricate choreography by Tony Award–winner Casey Nicholaw, featuring stunning Tony Award–winning costumes by Greg Barnes and an unforgettable score by Tony and Grammy Award–winning composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman.
Through her portrayal of Sugar Kane, she embodies the power of representation, the necessity of resistance, and the boundless joy of taking up space in a world that once tried to deny it. She teases to rev up anticipation for the upcoming show: “If you think you know what Some Like It Hot is about, you don’t.”
Some Like It Hot runs at the First Interstate Arts Center from Sept. 23-27, and you can purchase tickets at broadwayspokane.com/events/detail/some-like-it-hot.