Craig Bierko set for GUYS AND DOLLS Revival

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:01pm

So they're saying over at ATC that it's all-but confirmed that Craig Bierko will be Sky Masterson in the Guys and Dolls revival.

Thoughts?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:02pm

I hope he shaves his back hair.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:05pm

They're also saying Kate Jennings Grant for Sarah Brown and Titus Burgess for Nicely-Nicely.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:06pm

Honestly, this is quite a boring cast.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:12pm

Yeah, I will definitely be going, but cast is not really doing it for me. Hopefully, I will be very pleasantly surprised !!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:22pm

Kate Jennings Grant was heartbreaking in BETTE and BOO. Didn't know she sang.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:31pm

I'd rather not hear "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" in an alto belt-riff. That's suited for other shows, not Guys and Dolls. The number is a showstopper as is. If it ain't broke... don't add melismata.

~Steven

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:39pm

At least he'll be in a suit and people won't ask if the crab was a guy or a girl.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 5:41pm

I'd rather not hear "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" in an alto belt-riff. That's suited for other shows, not Guys and Dolls. The number is a showstopper as is. If it ain't broke... don't add melismata.

I've heard it performed that way before and it was still a showstopper. Who knows, lets hear him sing it before we judge.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 6:03pm

I still think it would take away from sheer joy of the number. Casting Titus means that they'll probably create some Billy Porter-style gospel arrangement for it. They're in a mission after all.

~Steven

[Jon]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 6:06pm

The "gospel" arrangement already exists from the last revival.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 6:06pm

What's wrong with a new interpretation?

We've all seen production after production of GUYS & DOLLS.

It will be refreshing to see something new in this revival.

Otherwise the production will be deemed "unnecessary" and brushed off by critics and theatregoers.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 6:08pm

HeyMrMusic I understand completely. I just mean that I'm open to a new interpretation of it. I love his voice and if it fit, wouldn't mind his interpretation.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 6:55pm

Guess I'm not going to see this then. Bierko is fantastic, but the idea of paying $100 or even $50 for Lauren Graham, Kate Jennings Grant (talk about a boring piece of casting among a somewhat starry cast), Oliver Platt, and Titus Burgess (ugh!) is not appealing to me. I was so excited about this revival, hopefully if the replacement cast turns out to be more exciting than this I'll head to see it then.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 7:55pm

Alright if you haven't heard Burgess singing "Maybe next time" from the Bway Backwards concert you have NO CLUE how brilliant he is. I can't wait to hear him singing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat."

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 8:24pm

Titus Burgess' MaybeThisTime = brilliant.

just saying.

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 8:34pm

Apparently, the understudy for Louise in Gypsy is playing Sarah. That's what I heard anyway. Idk.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 9:27pm

I'm fine with Bierko. Don't know why he didn't originally came to mind, in fact. Perhaps because we haven't seen him on Broadway recently -- I believe Thou Shalt Not was his last show.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/26/08 at 9:57pm

There's nothing wrong with a new interpretation. There's also nothing wrong with a classic production of a classic musical either. Look at the current revivals of Gypsy and South Pacific. Is there anything innovative or incredibly new about them? No, but they're still very well respected revivals and have won multiple Tony Awards, winning hearts of critics and fans alike. They are not "unnecessary." If the production is good, no one can deny that, whether it's groundbreaking or not. I welcome the possibility of Titus impressing me, but from what I've seen from his performances, I'd rather see him tackle Effie in Dreamgirls before Nicely Nicely in Guys and Dolls. Now I'd run and see that.

~Steven

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 11/27/08 at 10:54pm

"I'd rather not hear "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" in an alto belt-riff. That's suited for other shows, not Guys and Dolls. The number is a showstopper as is. If it ain't broke... don't add melismata."

Ho hum....the main reason why I don't come to this board anymore: comments like this. I guess it's safe to say that because Mr. Burgess is cast as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, you already know he's gonna "black it up" huh? Since an alto belt riff and melismata is all black performers have to offer.....asswipe.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 2:58am

I've seen people say similar things about Shoshana Bean.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 3:52am

You guys do realize that no matter how much bitching you do the cast isn't going to change, right?

I'm a bit disappointed but the world has bigger problems than a badly cast Guys and Dolls revival!

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 11:49am

TonyaFanatic...I think you should think about things before you speak. HeyMrMusic wasn't making a general statement about ALL African-American performers. He was making a statement about Burgess' likeliness to riff it up in all of his songs because...well...that's what he does.

I saw him in GOOD VIBRATIONS, JERSEY BOYS and LITTLE MERMAID. And, you can bet he was riffing those songs up like it was going out of style. And I thought it was VERY unnecessary and detracting in JERSEY BOYS.

Does that mean he's incapable of not riffing? No. But, I've yet to see him pass up the chance to. And, it's getting very one-note in his performances.

So...how bout we think before calling someone an "asswipe."

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 12:23pm

The riff comment wasn't at all meant to mean he's going to, as you so eloquently put it, "black it up." He's known for riffing all life out of songs (minus "Maybe This Time," which I agree was brilliant). I think he's a bad choice for Nicely-Nicely, but I'll wait to see the show before I completely brush it aside. If it's casted as rumored, it'll certainly be an interesting show that I for sure need to see.

EDIT: If it's CAST as rumored...
Updated On: 11/28/08 at 12:23 PM

[Jon]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 1:02pm

There is no such word as "casted". The past tense of "cast" is "cast".

He was cast. She was cast. They were cast. Did they cast the show? Yes, they cast it. The show has already been cast.