Marry the man today, and change his ways tomorrow

The “Guys and Dolls” revival, starring Oliver Platt and Lauren Graham, just opened last week on Broadway.


I did not see it. I did not see it because I was at a dinner theatre in Sun City Arizona with my grandmother watching their opening night performance of this legendary musical. “Guys and Dolls” tells the story of two couples dealing with love and gambling, and not necessarily in that order. When it comes to musicals, I'm a pretty tough critic. That said...I was pleasantly surprised with the Arizona Broadway Theatre's portrayal of this 1950s era musical.

While I spent the entire evening focused on how much the actress playing Sarah Brown looked exactly like Kathy Griffin, I was amazed that she only seemed to do her job twice in the entire show. I’m not naïve enough to think that someone who is working at a dinner theatre in the elderly capital of Arizona is wasting their talent, I was expecting a little more effort. Sarah Brown is a very straightforward musical theatre character, but this actress made me wonder who I was actually watching. This upset me deeply…possibly because I still can’t get over the fact that she SERIOUSLY looked just like Kathy Griffin. Or, more likely, it’s because when she did actually sink her teeth into the roll (only twice in the whole 3 hour show, mind you) I was blown away. I’ve never liked the song “Marry the Man Today,” but it was the best performance of the song I have ever seen. Usually one of the defunct numbers in the show….suddenly it was a show stopper. There was so much energy between Sarah and Adelaide that I genuinely felt invested in the scene. I don’t know why but this actress seemed to be saving up all of her acting ability so that she could suddenly spring it on the audience without any warning. The same applies to “If I Were a Bell.” I generally despise this song. That’s not true. I despise the way everyone thinks that they need to sing it. But my little KG clone proved me wrong yet again with her performance in this number. She was witty, charming, rambunctious….any and all things that do not scream Salvation Army officer Sarah Brown. It was so refreshing to see a new take on this overdone and usually underwhelming number. I was still left wondering…..why isn’t she as good the rest of the show?

Adelaide was a slightly different story. The actress had all the right instincts and some really great fresh ideas for this buxom nightclub gal who just can’t seem to get her fiancé to tie the knot. Occasionally, however, she went a little too far. Perhaps it was the direction, perhaps the fact that half of the audience was going deaf and the other half going blind. But I felt like a few too many times the actress hit me over the head, pounding and pounding and pounding the funny into my brain. This is not to say that she was a weak link for this show. Other than the actors playing Sky Masterson, Nicely Nicely Johnson and Benny Southstreet, the actress playing Adelaide was one of the best parts of the show.

Speaking of the men…..ahhhh, the guys of “Guys and Dolls.” Thank god for the guys. They kept me so entertained that I never wanted them to leave the stage (cause if they did it meant I had to watch Kathy Griffin try to play Sarah Brown, and nobody wants to see that). I told you I was a tough critic. All during intermission and for the next two days my grandmother went on and on about how wonderful the show was and how beautiful everyone’s voice was. Just cause you’ve got some talent Grandma, doesn’t mean you know how to use it. But overall, it was an enjoyable show. I loved the new takes on the songs I thought couldn’t be refreshed, and my favorites were still as great as ever.

For a little taste of what I was talking about check out these videos of some high schoolers...you'll figure out which is more like the version that I saw while eating my ice cream sundae!

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I think the most successful part of the evening for me was when I told my little sister during intermission about the whole Kathy Griffin thing. It felt good to know that I wasn’t the only one riveted to this tiny little woman, trying to work out WHY she looked (and a little bit sounded) so much like KG!