Lucky Sixes? Des McAnuff Rolls Dice Opening Sixth Broadway Guys And DollsLater today, the ultimate Broadway-based musical fable
Guys And Dolls will open for the sixth time on the Great White Way. Helmed by
Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys), this fifth revival opens at the newly refurbished
Nederlander Theatre, a block south of 42nd Street.
This
Guys And Dolls will be noteworthy, not necessarily because of it cast -- including
Craig Bierko as Sky Masterson,
Lauren Graham as Miss Adelaide,
Kate Jennings Grant as Sarah Brown, and
Oliver Platt as Nathan Detroit -- but because of McAnuff's incorporation of
Dustin O'Neill's elaborate video projection design, as well as the introduction of the creator of the stories upon which
Guys And Dolls' stories and characters were based,
Damon Runyon himself (played by
Raymond del Barrio) .
Way back in 1950,
Abe Burrows and
Jo Swerling took Runyon's stories and transformed them into
Guys And Dolls' beloved book, while
Frank Loesser wrote the timeless score. The trio took home the
1951 Tony Award fro Best Musical.
Of course, many Broadway audiences -- myself included -- still fondly recall the glorious
1992 revival that took home four Tony Awards, including for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Director (
Jerry Zaks) and Best Actress in a Musical (
Faith Prince as Miss Adelaide). In addition to Prince, that wondrous incarnation also starred
Peter Gallagher as Sky Masterson,
Nathan Lane as Nathan Detroit, and
Josie de Guzman as Sarah Brown.
Will McAnuff's gimmicks be enough to make this revival erase 17 year old memories of the last
Guys And Dolls mounting? Find out tomorrow as I not only provide my own SOB Review, but also share my regular critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Abe Burrows, Broadway, Craig Bierko, Damon Runyon, Des McAnuff, Frank Loesser, Guys And Dolls, Jo Swerling, Kate Jennings Grant, Lauren Graham, Musical, Oliver Platt, Opening Night, Revival
Broadway Preview: To Be Or Not To BeOn Monday, the
Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) announced principal casting for its upcoming world premiere Broadway production of
Nick Whitby's
To Be Or Not To Be.
The show will be headlined by
Craig Bierko (most recently seen on the Great White Way in the short-lived 2001-02 musical
Thou Shalt Not) opposite
Jan Maxwell (last seen on a Main Stem stage in 2007's short-lived
Coram Boy).
Based on
Ernst Lubitsch's satirical
1942 film that took aim squarely at the Nazis, this
Casey Nicholaw-helmed dark comedy will begin its limited run at MTC's
Biltmore Theatre on September 11, with opening night set for October 2. The play is scheduled to run through December 7.
Considering this play is a send-up of a film that was used to ridicule one of the United States' worst enemies, I find it an interesting coincidence that two of the key dates associated with this production's debut and end (
September 11 and
December 7, respectively) are dates that will forever live in infamy among Americans. The original flick premiered less than one year after the United States entered World War II (thanks to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941), and it famously starred
Carole Lombard opposite
Jack Benny, along with a very young
Robert Stack.
MTC's Web site describes the play as follows:
At the Polski Theatre in 1939 Warsaw, Joseph and Maria Tura are about to open yet another smash with their theatrical troupe. As the German invasion gets underway, the theatre is closed by the censors, forcing the troupe to face desperate times. But when a handsome young bomber pilot enlists their help to catch a spy, what is a group of actors to do? This hilarious black comedy is an ingenious commentary on the World War II era and an inspired tribute to the timeless joys of the theatre.
With some of the excellent works MTC has produced over the few years, this could be one heck of a production worth seeing.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Broadway Preview: The Seagull (July 1, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Equus (June 30, 2008)
Broadway Preview: A Tale Of Two Cities (June 28, 2008)
Broadway Preview: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (June 25, 2008)
Broadway Preview: [title of show] (June 24, 2008)
Broadway: What's Next (June 20, 2008)
Labels: Broadway, Casey Nicholaw, Craig Bierko, Film, First Word On New Show, Jan Maxwell, Manhattan Theatre Club, Nick Whitby, Play, To Be Or Not To Be, World Premiere
