Regardless of how she fares at the Tony Awards next Sunday, NaTasha Yvette Williams is elated to be part of a Broadway project that allows her to soar and be a powerful example for others.

The actor and singer is giving a dynamite performance in Some Like It Hot , now playing at New Yorks Shubert Theatre. Like the 1959 movie on which its based, Some Like It Hot tells the story of two Prohibition-era musicians, Joe (played by Christian Borle) and Jerry (J. Harrison Ghee), who disguise themselves in drag and join an all-women band on a cross-country tour to escape Chicago after witnessing a mob hit.

A Tony nominee for best featured actress in a musical, Williams plays the bands brassy yet nurturing leader, Sweet Sue. Though Sweet Sue was a minor character in the film, the role has been greatly expanded for the stage adaptation, which features songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman . The character opens the show with a rousing jazz number, What Are You Thirsty For, and is featured prominently in Tip-Tap Trouble, a wildly intricate dance sequence in the second act.