SuckWatch: Guys & Dolls
It pains me to do this, but this new Broadway revival of Guys & Dolls looks just dreadful, doesn't it? Craig Bierko, meh. Kate Jennings Grant, double meh. Lauren Graham, really? And I'm sorry, but Oliver Platt is too old and just not funny enough to do justice to Nathan Lane Detroit. There's no way this group can hold a candle to the cast of the last revival. There are a lot of haters out there, but I actually enjoy Guys & Dolls, so I'd love to be proven wrong, but for now, Guys & Dolls, you're on SuckWatch.
My spies are there this weekend, will report back on the suckitude.
(photo above is of Nathan Lane and Faith Prince, ah, the good old days!)
Update: Spies say Guys & Dolls = sucky sleepytime. Too bad! But it's still so early in previews, perhaps there's hope?
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3 comments:
I wish I could've seen the last revival. I had the cast recording in high school, and LOVED it. I was obsessed with Faith Price for a while, just from that CD. Later, seeing her perform a bit, I was like, yes, high school me was right, she's a brilliant lady.
I loved the last Broadway revival filled with sterling performances all around.
I also loved Michael Grandage's fairly recent London revival with Ewan MacGregor, Jenna Russell, Jane Krakowski and Douglas Hodge. That was the revival on Broadway I had hoped for.
Still, I'm not going to discount this one until I actually see it as Guys & Dolls remains one of my all-time favorite musicals.
I saw it last weekend. It deserves to stay on the Suckwatch, pending massive improvements through the rest of previews. Oliver Platt is dull and incredibly miscast. Lauren Graham almost figures out how to play Adelaide... but doesn't. (Seriously, is the lead singer of the Hat Box Girls supposed to be weaker than her backups?!) And the digital projections used as scenery are distracting and annoying - whatever happened to good old fashioned backdrops? Highlights were Craig Bierko and the guy who plays Nicely-Nicely, who does a great job with "Sit Down...".
Alas, I'm very sad that I missed the Nathan Lane-Faith Prince revival.
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