March 1, 2009

Critics slam lifeless 'Guys and Dolls' Broadway revival

At worst, the critics compare the new revival of “Guys and Dolls” on Broadway to high-school and community theater. At best, the new production “doesn’t entirely kill” the fun of the original.

The glitzy production stars Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham, Craig Bierko and Kate Jennings Grant. It has an open-ended run at the Nederlander Theatre, located at 208 W. 41st St., map. Regular tickets are priced from $50 to $125 with premium seats for $275.

The reviews:
Variety - “Fronted by four likable leads whose collective charisma never rises above medium wattage, the production sucks the personality out of an American musical-theater classic. The consolation is that even in this misconceived presentation, the show itself is too good not to be at least minimally entertaining.”

New York Times - “Whatever special substance it is that makes old shows feel new-born and artificial musicals ring truer than life, this “Guys and Dolls” left it behind in the laboratory. Instead this production, which opened Sunday and also stars Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham, provides a valuable lesson in the importance of chemistry by demonstrating what can happen without it — even to a show as seemingly foolproof as “Guys and Dolls.””

NY1 - “Talent notwithstanding, and there is a lot of it, this “Guys and Dolls” is so leaden and uninspired, it might as well be called “Men and Women.”“

Bloomberg - ““Guys and Dolls” is a crack gadget whose only purpose is to give pleasure, from the contrapuntal “Fugue for Tinhorns” to the gospel-invoking “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.” Des McAnuff’s uneven, charm-challenged production doesn’t entirely kill that pleasure, no matter how hell-bent on wreckage it sometimes seems to be. “

amNewYork - “You know that a production of “Guys and Dolls” has gone terribly wrong when a minor character like General Cartwright makes a bigger impression than Sky Masterson, Sarah Brown, Nathan Detroit and Miss Adelaide put together. And if anyone is to blame, it is director Des McAnuff (“Jersey Boys”) whose new Broadway revival is a misconceived fiasco.”

USA Today - “It takes great skill to play a man with no pizzazz with pizzazz; Platt, who moves clumsily — as if uncomfortable with his height and girth — and whose New Yawk accent is tentative at best, doesn’t fill the bill as Nathan Detroit.”

Associated Press - “This “Guys and Dolls” certainly looks glitzy enough, thanks to Robert Brill’s neon-inundated settings and the dizzy, ever-moving video backdrops, mostly of New York, by Dustin O’Neill. Theatergoers who suffer from motion sickness are hereby warned.”

Daily News - “There are brief bright spots. Jim Walton, as Harry the Horse, and Mary Testa, as a Salvation Army boss, made me laugh aloud. Jim Ortlieb’s lilting “More I Cannot Give You” provides the show’s sweetest moment.”

Post - “But McAnuff just can’t ratchet up the energy at crucial times, a problem that’s particularly glaring since “Guys and Dolls” is packed with fantastic songs.”

Newsday - “In the crapshoot called Broadway, “Guys and Dolls” is as close as the theater gets to a sure thing. Or at least it seemed that way until Des McAnuff’s tarted-up and dumbed-down revival opened last night at the handsomely remodeled Nederlander Theatre.”

Entertainment Weekly - “The trouble with Jersey Boys director Des McAnuff’s Broadway revival is that too often it plays like a very good community theater production, albeit one with considerably pricier sets.”

The Globe & Mail - “Dustin O’Neill’s dizzying video design, which takes us through New York in animations, gives it all a vague The Sims: Guys and Dolls edition feeling. All things considered, McAnuff has rolled a winner here - but if the Guys and Dolls dice weren’t so loaded in any director’s favour, he might have crapped out.”

Chicago Tribune - “Platt, generally a very reliable star, seems to vanish so far inside himself at times, you feel as if all you see is his hat. Graham has her charms and sincerity, certainly, but her Miss A. is also muted and, well, prosaic.”

March 1, 2009 11:12 PM in Broadway

®Copyright 2004 - 2010, All Rights Reserved