Guys and Dolls Question

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 7:00pm

On the 1992 Guys and Dolls reunion, Josie DeGuzman said that she was initially hired as the standby for Sarah Brown and was given the role the day after she went on unexpectedly in previews.

Who was going to be Sarah Brown before her? I didn't know this story! 

Classic showbiz.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 7:30pm

Yet getting the part of Sarah was hardly a cinch. There were many obstacles, beginning when she tried to audition for it. "First they wouldn't see me. They felt I wasn't right for the part," de Guzman says.

Meanwhile, she was cast as Maria in another Broadway play, NICK AND NORA, but was fired two weeks into previews.

Why? She says she was a scapegoat. "The official excuse was that I was miscast, but the response I got from the audience was very warm. I honestly think that (the producers) panicked," she says. Regardless, NICK AND NORA closed after only a week on Broadway.

After being fired, de Guzman thought she would become a producers' pariah, but surprisingly, GUYS AND DOLLS called. They would now see her.

"I had three weeks where they would call me back every week. And then they decided not to go with me. And I was heartbroken, because I felt that part was mi-i-i-i-ne!" she emphasizes, raising clenched fists. "I thought about it. I really wanted to work with (director) Jerry Zaks and I wanted to be associated with the project, and who knows, maybe I could do the national tour. And that's where I set my goal to keep my sanity, on the national tour."

Two weeks into previews, a decision was made to replace Carolyn Mignini with de Guzman.

"And I came in and it worked for me. It is a dream come true," she says. "This is my greatest accomplishment because of the way I came into the show. I had one very short rehearsal with the director, very short, and then another and I was on. GUYS AND DOLLS is very refreshing and exciting because everybody in it is really good. So it makes the work easy and you look forward to going to work. We're all actors, together in a venture."

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 7:34pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "Yet getting the part of Sarah was hardly a cinch. There were many obstacles, beginning when she tried to audition for it. "First they wouldn't see me. They felt I wasn't right for the part," de Guzman says.

Meanwhile, she was cast as Maria in another Broadway play, NICK AND NORA,but was fired two weeks into previews.

Why? She says she was a scapegoat. "The official excuse was that I was miscast, but the response I got from the audience was very warm. I honestly think that (the producers) panicked," she says. Regardless, NICK AND NORAclosed after only a week on Broadway.

After being fired, de Guzman thought she would become a producers' pariah, but surprisingly, GUYS AND DOLLScalled. They would now see her.

"I had three weeks where they would call me back every week. And then they decided not to go with me. And I was heartbroken, because I felt that part was mi-i-i-i-ne!" she emphasizes, raising clenched fists. "I thought about it. I really wanted to work with (director) Jerry Zaks and I wanted to be associated with the project, and who knows, maybe I could do the national tour. And that's where I set my goal to keep my sanity, on the national tour."

Two weeks into previews, a decision was made to replace Carolyn Mignini with de Guzman.

"And I came in and it worked for me. It is a dream come true," she says. "This is my greatest accomplishment because of the way I came into the show. I had one very short rehearsal with the director, very short, and then another and I was on. GUYS AND DOLLSis very refreshing and exciting because everybody in it is really good. So it makes the work easy and you look forward to going to work. We're all actors, together in a venture.""

Wow! Thanks for this. Fascinating story.

[Zion24]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 8:15pm

I saw this production when i was very young. deGuzman was perfect in it, even though it was Nathan Lane's and Faith Prince's show. one of my first and most favorite broadway experiences.

Mignini was apparently not striking any heat with Peter Gallagher, and its hard for me to imagine she could sing the score the way deGuzman did but i dont know. My understanding is that she was already cast as the standby after she was fired from Nick/Nora (in which she was starring with....Faith Prince) and them bumped up when Mignini fell flat.

What kills me is that all four leads were relatively unknown. Could such a big lavish revival production open today with no marquee names? 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 8:47pm

Faith Prince had already been nominated for a Tony for "JEROME ROBBINS' BRAODWAY", and Nathan Lane had made a splash in "LISBON TRAVIATA" which won him the Drama Desk Award. They were both esteemed members of the Broadway community if not bonafide stars when they began 'GUYS AND DOLLS". 

But I agree-- seeing that show in  '92 was one of the highlights of all my Broadway-going years, and Nathan and Faith (and Tony Walton's sets) were huge part of why.

[NameGreg]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 9:45pm

Peter Gallagher and Josie de Guzman were also Tony nominees by that point, the former for A Long Day’s Journey Into Night (played Edmund) and the latter for West Side Story (played Maria).

But yes, while each of them may have had their own level of fame, none of them were a star yet, and de Guzman never really got there I believe. I’ve seen footage of varying levels of quality and listened to the whole cast album for that production, and it honestly seems perfect, to the point that it’s hard for me to imagine Guys and Dolls without those lavish Dick Tracey like costumes.

[Zion24]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 9:53pm

All of them had to audition repeatedly to get their roles (except maybe Gallagher) and none sold tickets on their names alone. It was a big lavish production that was sold on the strength of the material. A different time.

 

 

[George in DC]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 10:21pm

The production was a marvel especially compared with the more recent Broadway revival.  Faith Prince was truly stellar while Lauren Graham showed she has no real theatrical talent , Nathan Lane was perfect while Olive Platt wasn't, Walter Bobbie knocked every number of of the park while Tituss Burgess did his usual shrieking and squealing and overacting (really, why is he ever hired?)

Updated On: 6/20/21 at 10:21 PM

[NameGreg]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 10:35pm

George in DC said: "The production was a marvel especially compared with the more recent Broadway revival. Faith Prince was truly stellar while Lauren Graham showed she has no real theatrical talent , Nathan Lane was perfect while Olive Platt wasn't, Walter Bobbie knocked every number of of the park while Tituss Burgess did his usual shrieking and squealing and overacting (really, why is he ever hired?)"

The difference in quality between these two productions’ Tony performance using the same song is unbelievable.

Honestly the 90s one may be my favorite Tony performance ever. Walter Bobbie truly brought down the house with his infectious energy. I can’t believe he wasn’t even nominated.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/20/21 at 11:11pm

Here is the beyond fantastic full B-Roll (video works; thumbnail image doesn’t):