Craig Bierko set for GUYS AND DOLLS Revival- Page 2

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 1:29pm

I just love people who play the race card every chance they get. I don't understand these people who practically carry a soap box around with them WAITING for the opportunity to get offended.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 5:32pm

I'm an idiot. Cast. How the hell did I let that one slip?

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 11/28/08 at 5:33pm

Oh dear, the grammar police are out in full force this evening.

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 6:06am

Yes I am playing the "race card", because it was completely relevant in response to the post I'm talking about. It was assumed (before an official casting announcement was made, let alone his performance) that Titus Burgess would be giving a "Billy Porter" style rendition of "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" in Guys and Dolls. The insinuation here(and it is not the first time on this board) is that Titus (because he has used the style of singing before...oh and he's black, and that's just how we sing) is not a capable enough musical theatre performer who couldn't possibly let the song be a "showstopper on it's own". Granted he has proven he can sing a simple melody without the "riffs" on his brilliant version of 'Maybe This Time'. Therefore the original comment was irrelevant, unnecessary, and should never have been brought up as a reason why Mr. Burgess was miscast.

By the way, 'riffing' isn't always about vocal showboating.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 9:47am

I love how the casting of Craig Bierko is so thoroughly uninteresting, that the thread is no longer even about him.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 9:59am

My initial reaction is that the cast seems to be 10-15 years too old.

I would prefer an early to mid-30s cast. That would help bring in a younger crowd, a more exciting energy, and the older folks would still go (as long as it's good).

And before you call me "ageist," I'm as old as the people they're casting ... but my "Sky Masterson Days" are long gone.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 10:48am

TonyaFanatic, I think you're jumping the gun on this.

Burgess's previous body of work is the reason people are concluding he is prone to singing that way, not his race.

In every show he has ever done (from GOOD VIBRATIONS to JERSEY BOYS to THE LITTLE MERMAID and everything in between,) he has used the same style of high riffs throughout. Whether you find it "appropriate" or not, it's a fact, so why wouldn't people assume he would do that yet again in GUYS AND DOLLS?

Besides, "alto riffing" isn't exclusively African American either, and your concluding so is just as "racist" as what you're accusing others of doing.

Look at Shoshana Bean, for example. She is not African American and utilizes the same high style of riffing that Titus does, which would make it equally as fair for people to assume she would sing that way in any project she does (because she has done it on every one she's done so far, like he has.)

To make this an issue of racism is completely and utterly ridiculous.

Updated On: 11/29/08 at 10:48 AM

[scaryclowns223]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 10:56am

For me its not so much the alto riffing, its Titus's subpar acting that makes me hesitant. I mean, the guy is a brilliant singer, but if Nicely isn't played by a good actor, then he just becomes cheesy and shallow. Walter Bobbie and JK Simmons did magic in those roles in 1992 because they are actors. They were good singers, but that wasn't the priority in casting them. In Titus's case, I'm afraid the voice is the priority.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 11:19am

Thank you, somethingwicked. I think you've hit the nail on the head.

Anyway, best12bars, I hear what you're saying. I just played Sky in a summer stock production and although I'm 25 I read as early-thirties onstage. The three other leads were actually all older than me--in their late twenties/early thirties. It was age-appropriate casting, really. Sarah should be mid-late twenties, Sky should be early thirties, and Nathan and Adelaide should be maybe mid-late thirties (since they've been engaged so long). The funny thing about Broadway though is (and I guess this partly has to do with the size of the houses and how far away most of the audience is) people are ALWAYS playing characters younger than themselves. It's kind of weird. And it works a lot the time. For instance, even though Kate Jennings Grant is 38, from fifteen rows away she could probably pass for almost a decade younger. The same goes for many performers (Bernadette Peters was almost 50 when she played Annie Oakley). Most of the four leads in this production look younger than they actually are, so it should be okay (although why they couldn't just use younger actors is a bit of a mystery. I guess it takes a while to become famous enough to headline a show likes this!).

[Jon]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 12:13pm

Sally Murphy was 40 when she played Tzeitel in the FIDDLER revival. In the script, it says she is "not yet 19" - that's in the actual dialogue - not the stage directions.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 12:26pm

Then again Sally Murphy looks and sounds like she is 20. The first time I saw AUGUST: OC, I thought she was supposed to be a college-age daughter... I was a bit annoyed when they were trying to make me believe that she was 44. After the show, I realized that she is in her 40s indeed. I couldn't believe it. Good for her, she is lovely and was a great Ivy Weston, but I digress.
I wish age was the main issue with this cast. Talk about a lackluster, boring set of people. And add me to the group of people who can't stand Titus Burgess idea of "acting." His Sebastian makes me want to eat seafood...all of it.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 5:06pm

Bringing up ANYTHING about the last Fiddler revival isn't appropriate here, if only for the fact that the entire production was just "mis-". Mishandled, misdirected, miscast...

Comparing Titus Burgess to Shoshana Bean is accurate, though. I'm still wondering how they got to the level to which they've gotten.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/29/08 at 6:57pm

Sally Murphy does look about fifteen years younger than she actually is. And she is friggin gorgeous.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 2:29am

Thanks for coming to my defense, guys. I was definitely not being racist (hello, fellow minority here trying to break into theatre). I was simply referring to Mr. Burgess's performance record. It's like Shoshana Bean, as other people have brought up. Would I want her to play Sarah? No, never, unless a miracle happens and she forgets how to riff for a hot second and produces a beautiful soprano voice. There's a time and a place for riffing and whatnot, and I don't believe it's appropriate for Guys and Dolls.

And I'm not opposed to a black person in Guys and Dolls. On some other thread, someone mentioned a rumor of Norm Lewis as Sky, and I'd totally be into that. I'd watch Norm do almost anything.

Then again, put anyone onstage who is a brilliant actor and I'll be happy watching them. Titus has yet to prove that he can act beyond his embellishments.

~Steven

[NGD2225]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 2:39am

Have we forgotten that there was even an ALL black cast revival of Guys & Dolls.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 8:16am

"No, never, unless a miracle happens and she forgets how to riff for a hot second and produces a beautiful soprano voice."

2:10 into the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDQtvPV-FGI

I think she's incredible. She can sing anything.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 2:54pm

Listened to it...not bad, but a legit soprano she is not. I do love her pop voice though.

Anyway, getting back to the topic of this thread...Craig Bierko is a fine choice for Sky. He will do well. It's just not the most exciting casting choice in the world.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 3:12pm

Yes, I've seen that before. She has a unique voice and she's good at doing her thing. But why would you cast her in a legit soprano role when she is so much better doing something else? Whatever, I'd love her to surprise me.

I'm fine with Craig Bierko as Sky. Yes, not a very exciting casting choice, but he'll do the job well I'm sure.

~Steven

[Jon]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 3:17pm

Yes, the black cast of Guys and Dolls gave us the amazing Ken Page as Nicely-Nicely - BEFORE Aint Misbehavin' and Cats.

That production also had a very "mature" looking Sky - James Randolph.

[NGD2227]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 3:43pm

I love Ken on an unhealthy level.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 9:22pm

Titus' Under the Sea makes my ears bleed.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 11:11pm

Titus' Sebastian sounds like he just swam over from Dublin, not Jamaica.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 11:23pm

This might be a better example of Shoshana singing legit....she sings Glinda's part in No One Mourns the Wicked, along with most of Glinda's other songs in a condensed version of the show, with Megan Hilty doing Elphaba (quite well):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpMH5N4oRL0&feature=related

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 11:43pm

Her high notes are pretty forced, IMO.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/30/08 at 11:47pm

Unlike Katie Clarke's, right?