J. Harrison Ghee Likes It 'Hot'

There’s a show-stopping moment in the Broadway musical Some Like It Hot, based on the classic 1959 film comedy.

In the new show, Jerry and Joe are two musicians in Depression-era Chicago who disguise themselves as women and join a touring all-female band in order to flee gangsters after accidentally witnessing a mob hit.

Late in the second act, Jerry—who has gradually been coming to terms with the unexpected joy he feels in his feminine ruse—finally embraces his inner “Daphne” in a song called “You Could Have Knocked Me Over with a Feather.”

In the case of J. Harrison Ghee who plays Jerry/Daphne, the song is both profound—and personal.

The out-and-proud, non-binary, six-foot-four (without heels) actor—and looking divine is a blazing red gown —transforms the song into a triumphant anthem, celebrating their combined essences and singing:

You coulda knocked me over with a feather/

You coulda knocked this train off its track/

For weeks I had a funny feeling/

That something was revealing/

Now this genie’s out the bottle/

And she ain’t goin’ back

Well, I have tried to love many ladies/

Back when I sang in a much lower key

Now you could knock me over with a feather cause, Joe,/

The lady that I’m lovin’ is me.

In a Zoom interview from the living room of his New York apartment, Ghee reflected on his own personal journey as someone who is gay, who does drag, and is gender fluid.….CONTINUED