Cabaret Scenes Theatre Review

When Guys and Dolls originally opened in 1950, critic Brooks Atkinson called it "a work of art." In the 1992 smash revival, Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit made the New York Times front page cover. This is a musical comedy with all the elements that should sparkle like fireworks and illuminate a delightful evening of music and laughs.

The current revival at the Nederlander Theater has the kindling and logs, but somewhere someone lost the matches. What's missing is the joy, fun and comic abandon of colorful characters named Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Harry the Horse, and Angie he Ox. Dovetailing brilliantly with the characters and the playful book are Frank Loesser's lyrics, including legendary songs like "I'll Know," "Bushel and a Peck," "Luck Be a Lady" and an irresistible showstopper, "Adelaide's Lament." Ensemble numbers, like the gospel-rollicking "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" and swinging "Guys and Dolls," energize those Times Square denizens populating Guys and Dolls.

The plot features four fabled Damon Runyon principals: Sky Masterson, world-class gambler and ladies' man, makes a bet with hustler Nathan Detroit, who needs $1,000 for a floating crap game he fronts. Sky claims he can get any "doll" Nathan chooses and take her to Havana. Nathan picks prim, Save-the-Mission worker, Sarah Brown. Sky whisks Sarah off to Havana by promising that he will get one dozen genuine sinners to show up at her next mission revival meeting.

Guess what – Sky falls in love with Sarah. Bad news – Sarah is infuriated when she learns about the bet.

Kate Jennings Grant as Sarah has a lyrical voice and is engaging in her ding-dong tipsy "If I Were a Bell." Craig Bierko's Sky Masterson shows his robust baritone in "Luck Be a Lady." Together they sell,"I've Never Been in Love Before," but despite Bierko's rakish look, he is cool in a hot play.

The show's fun couple, however, is Miss Adelaide (Lauren Graham) and Nathan Detroit (Oliver Platt), engaged for 14 years. Miss Adelaide is a Hot Box Nightclub cutie, yearning to marry already and suffering from psychosomatic sniffles.

"In other words, just from wondering whether
The wedding is on or off,
A person can develop a cough." ("Adelaide's Lament")

Unfortunately, Graham and Platt are disappointing. Someone let the air out of Oliver Platt's bland portrayal of Nathan, and in her Broadway debut, Graham's Adelaide lacks the flavoring of vulnerability and wit that would have made her more than a caricature. She belts well but does not nail her "Adelaide's Lament." A duet, "Sue Me," with Platt, is flat, interesting only because the song is so well-crafted. While both are fine singers, they interpret very little. To her credit, Graham scores with Grant on "Marry the Man Today."

Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Tituss Burgess) leads sinners at the revival into a rousing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," with Mary Testa belting her all with one melismatic note at the end.

Eventually, all complications are resolved. Miss Adelaide stops sneezing, souls are saved, and the four get married.

Although Damon Runyon was born in Manhattan, Kansas, his heart settled in New York City. Who better than Brooklynite Abe Burrows to populate Jo Swerling's book with Runyon's colorful characters to sing Loesser's great songs? Director Des McAnuff keeps the pace as fast and crisp as rush hour. Upping the energy a few degrees too high, however, is Howell Binkley's hyperkinetic neon lighting around the proscenium and an inner frame, with Dustin O'Neill's busy video time-capsule of Old New York as a backdrop.

Puzzling is why McAnuff put Damon Runyon (Raymond Del Barrio) on stage at the play's start and finish, alone at a typewriter, and then have Runyon wander around, intruding himself in various scenes. And why the play is now set in the 1930s rather than the original 1950s? Are the '30s more hip than the '50s? Nevertheless, Paul Tazewell's snappy costumes accurately depict the '30s styles in Crayola colors. Sergio Trujillo's acrobatic choreography in "Havana" and "Luck Be a Lady" is exciting, but the talented John Selya should have more shining moments for himself.

Even if this revival was not sparkin' for me, it sparked for the audience, hinting at a healthy run.

(Photo: Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham, Craig Bierko, Kate Jennings Grant. Photo by Andy Ryan)

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
March 17, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org



	Guys and Dolls Nederlander Theater New York, NY
When Guys and Dolls originally opened in 1950, critic Brooks Atkinson called it "a work of art." In the 1992 smash revival, Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit made the New York Times front page cover. This is a musical comedy with all the elements that should sparkle like fireworks and illuminate a delightful evening of music and laughs. The current revival at the Nederlander Theater has the kindling and logs, but somewhere someone lost the matches. What's missing is the joy, fun and comic abandon of colorful characters named Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Harry the Horse, and Angie he Ox. Dovetailing brilliantly with the characters and the playful book are Frank Loesser's lyrics, including legendary songs like "I'll Know," "Bushel and a Peck," "Luck Be a Lady" and an irresistible showstopper, "Adelaide's Lament." Ensemble numbers, like the gospel-rollicking "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" and swinging "Guys and Dolls," energize those Times Square denizens populating Guys and Dolls. The plot features four fabled Damon Runyon principals: Sky Masterson, world-class gambler and ladies' man, makes a bet with hustler Nathan Detroit, who needs $1,000 for a floating crap game he fronts. Sky claims he can get any "doll" Nathan chooses and take her to Havana. Nathan picks prim, Save-the-Mission worker, Sarah Brown. Sky whisks Sarah off to Havana by promising that he will get one dozen genuine sinners to show up at her next mission revival meeting. Guess what – Sky falls in love with Sarah. Bad news – Sarah is infuriated when she learns about the bet. Kate Jennings Grant as Sarah has a lyrical voice and is engaging in her ding-dong tipsy "If I Were a Bell." Craig Bierko's Sky Masterson shows his robust baritone in "Luck Be a Lady." Together they sell,"I've Never Been in Love Before," but despite Bierko's rakish look, he is cool in a hot play. The show's fun couple, however, is Miss Adelaide (Lauren Graham) and Nathan Detroit (Oliver Platt), engaged for 14 years. Miss Adelaide is a Hot Box Nightclub cutie, yearning to marry already and suffering from psychosomatic sniffles. "In other words, just from wondering whether The wedding is on or off, A person can develop a cough." ("Adelaide's Lament") Unfortunately, Graham and Platt are disappointing. Someone let the air out of Oliver Platt's bland portrayal of Nathan, and in her Broadway debut, Graham's Adelaide lacks the flavoring of vulnerability and wit that would have made her more than a caricature. She belts well but does not nail her "Adelaide's Lament." A duet, "Sue Me," with Platt, is flat, interesting only because the song is so well-crafted. While both are fine singers, they interpret very little. To her credit, Graham scores with Grant on "Marry the Man Today." Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Tituss Burgess) leads sinners at the revival into a rousing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," with Mary Testa belting her all with one melismatic note at the end. Eventually, all complications are resolved. Miss Adelaide stops sneezing, souls are saved, and the four get married. Although Damon Runyon was born in Manhattan, Kansas, his heart settled in New York City. Who better than Brooklynite Abe Burrows to populate Jo Swerling's book with Runyon's colorful characters to sing Loesser's great songs? Director Des McAnuff keeps the pace as fast and crisp as rush hour. Upping the energy a few degrees too high, however, is Howell Binkley's hyperkinetic neon lighting around the proscenium and an inner frame, with Dustin O'Neill's busy video time-capsule of Old New York as a backdrop. Puzzling is why McAnuff put Damon Runyon (Raymond Del Barrio) on stage at the play's start and finish, alone at a typewriter, and then have Runyon wander around, intruding himself in various scenes. And why the play is now set in the 1930s rather than the original 1950s? Are the '30s more hip than the '50s? Nevertheless, Paul Tazewell's snappy costumes accurately depict the '30s styles in Crayola colors. Sergio Trujillo's acrobatic choreography in "Havana" and "Luck Be a Lady" is exciting, but the talented John Selya should have more shining moments for himself. Even if this revival was not sparkin' for me, it sparked for the audience, hinting at a healthy run. (Photo: Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham, Craig Bierko, Kate Jennings Grant. Photo by Andy Ryan) Elizabeth Ahlfors Cabaret Scenes March 17, 2009 www.cabaretscenes.org

Guys and Dolls

Nederlander Theater New York, NY

Nederlander Theater
New York, NY