Guys and Dolls 5/21

I’ve kept putting off seeing this show because frankly, I was waiting for cheap tickets. So when I got the Playbill offer for half-priced tickets, I jumped. And can you believe I scored fourth row center orchestra seats the day before the show? Damn, I should have bought a lottery ticket instead. Anyway, my first thought was that ticket sales must be in the crapper, but when we showed up the theater seemed full. Hmmm. So what gives? Maybe economy troubles have people waiting to buy last minute rather than reserving ahead of time to make sure they don’t need that extra hundred dollars for groceries rather than Frank Loesser?

The show is in great shape and unlike over at West Side Story, all the leads were in. I still can’t believe they let Tony AND Maria call in for the same show. The good news is that musical theater newbies Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham prove they have stage chops. So maybe they’re not as over-the-top as we’re used to in these roles, but their more deadpan approach worked. We’re treated to a more dramatically interesting take on the Nathan/Adelaide couple. This added some unexpected depth to the usual anything-for-laughs scene chewing usually associated with these roles.

Craig Bierko’s Sky Masterson was bland, but solid. To me, he just doesn’t have the sex appeal or charisma needed to make the role work. Kate Jennings Grant fairs much better. Who knew Sarah Brown could be so funny? Although it was rather disturbing to hear most of the role belted and frustrating to hear that absolutely no attempt was made to smoothen the jarring differences between her head and chest voice. But all was forgiven during the Havana scene where she had the audience laughing out loud at her drunken antics throughout “If I Were A Bell.” I’d always thought of the song as a cute character song, but when Grant lets loose with her “good-girl-gone-bad” seduction, well, who knew?

The rest of the cast was solid, with an impressive but pointless arrangement of “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” meant to exploit the ridiculously high-voiced (and woefully miscast) Titus Burgess, as Nicely-Nicely. I love that voice, but he shouldn’t be shoe-horned into character roles. He needs something written especially to show off that crazy range and smooth tone. Someone get to work on that!

The athletic choreography ranged from serviceable to often exciting. The direction, while not innovative, was definitely more than adequate. The main set structure and physical design was impressive. But be warned, take a Dramamine to prevent the motion sickness you’ll be suffering from those damn obnoxious (and unnecessary!) rear-wall projections. This trend needs to either die, or be developed to better integrate with the more traditional 3-dimensional set.