Guys and Dolls Sequence on the Tonys

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 6/7/09 at 11:38pm

I think they really blew this one. Mary Testa had a lot more to do in the show in that number -- and stopped the show in its tracks -- well, actually started the show -- and her contribution was short-changed.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/7/09 at 11:45pm

I thought all of the performances were kind of "eh." I mean, I just expected them to blow the roof off the place, but two shows (Billy Elliot, West Side Story) picked numbers with little to no singing, and I was just disappointed.

I was really impressed with Titus though. I mean, he's on national television, and two seconds before he starts, he is told his mic isn't working and he's handed a new mic, and he wasn't thrown. He handled it like a pro.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/7/09 at 11:46pm

That number was awful. It was like they were trying to keep people from buying tickets to Guys and Dolls. Was it by chance produced by Bialystock & Bloom?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/7/09 at 11:49pm

I feel bad that Titus' mic wasn't working, really, the sound was awful all throughout, I was very disappointed by it.
Overall, it was lackluster, even if at the theater Mary makes it a really strong number. I didn't think it was bad at all, I just didn't think it played as well as it does in the theater. It's such an awful production that I don't think a Tony number would have done much for them.

[Trish2]

Posted: 6/7/09 at 11:55pm

4 words: High School Level Staging.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 6/7/09 at 11:57pm

I'm going to agree here. I was so set to get last minute tickets for this on the 20th, despite what I have read here, but I think I might forget it all together. Sadly, Shrek looked better, and I dislike the movies. But, Christoper Sieber drew me in.

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:01am

I enjoyed hearing the stage guy say "I'm on it..I'm on it" as he rushed the microphone out.
I thought the number was so-so, until Mary Testa started in, then it took off and our viewing crowd loved it.

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:03am

I enjoyed the terrible tour performances more than that ****

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:07am

Mary Testa needs a one-woman off-Broadway spin-off show.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 12:10am

I'll never understand what anyone likes about Mary Testa in this show.

I remember when I questioned this back when the show came out, another BWW poster described her performance as "vile." That's the perfect word to describe her in G&D.

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 8:43am

I actually kind of liked the number. I wasn't expecting much and the mic situation seemed to cinch it, but then Titus Burgess sailed into the song without missing a beat. The number was slow to start but finished well, although I found Mary Testa to be her usual, hoggy / hammy self. She's so over the top even Yankee Stadium's roof is to low for her.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 8:50am

I was looking forward to seeing more of Mary Testa.

BTW, does Titus always look so mad at the end? Or was that just a response to the moment?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 9:14am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XE-vFyGKu0&feature=PlayList&p=C8E5A9F47702E0F0&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=8

The Tony performance of the same number from the 1992 production.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 9:18am

Usually they wouldn't have done the same number, but I think that they were desperate and that number is getting the best reviews of the show.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 9:24am

I've been on the fence about seeing G&D, but that number did absolutely nothing to make me more likely to see it.

[Trish2]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 9:35am

This is the problem when the choreographer of the show is dong two other projects at the same time.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 9:37am

Why were they doing the Fosse's "Mein Herr" choreography during that number?

[Myron]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:02am

Correct. "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" was not one of the better songs in the production. Why didn't they feature a number with the entire cast (Nathan, Adelaide,etc)?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:06am

Made me want to see the show even less-if that was possible.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:13am

I would have liked to see more of "Luck Be a Lady," (yes, I know it was in the opening number) especially since "Sit Down..." was performed previously on the Tonys. But I give props to Tituss for doing a good job despite having microphone issues at the beginning.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 10:15am

It was crap. colorless and boring. This number should remind people of why they LOVE musicals. I was extremely underwhelmed.

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:18am

This is how the number should be done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8i1Hzr6YJg

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:19am

Or maybe this version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu1Bw7lfv7s

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 11:33am

I really wish we had gotten the London production.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/8/09 at 1:18pm

The number was really bad.
What the hey was Titus singing at the end?
It certainly didn't sound like Loesser.
And how could the choreographer ever justify what the men were doing with those chairs?
Has anyone ever been to a spiritual revival where they lifted chairs?
And why would Titus walk along them?
Just terrible.
Give me Stubby Kaye anyday.