Lane and Prince vs. Platt and Graham

The title's a misnomer- obviously there's no competition, but I just wanted to give my little spiel about things.

The recent revival of "Guys & Dolls" is the only production of that musical I have seen, and going into it, I didn't really have that much expectations. I didn't really have any previous knowledge about the show or its characters or how it's supposed to be staged or anything like that. I just knew that I was going to see a supposedly good musical.

I was less than impressed. But I figured that maybe it was because it was still in previews at the time, or maybe I was still slightly bitter about any show other than "Rent" being at the Nederlander, so I didn't pay it any mind. But when the reviews rolled around last week, I was not really surprised on the fact it got trashed, but how much it got trashed. And I noticed many reviews mentioned the contrast between this revival and the 1992 revival staring Nathan Lane and Faith Prince.

So, a few minutes ago, I just happened to come across a YouTube video of Lane and Prince performing Sue Me during the Tonight Show. Oh. My. Goodness. It was fantastic. So much better than what I saw on that Nederlander stage. Lauren Graham and (especially) Oliver Platt now seem so dull and bland in comparison. I had no idea what I was missing. So this is how it's supposed to be done! Who cast Graham and Platt as those two? And what were they on? Seriously, it's like they didn't even try.

I really needed to rant about that, because I'm just amazed at how much potential this production had, and they failed quite epically.

By the way, I also saw a video of SDYRTB. Why did they change the arrangement? It was fine the way it was (although Mary Testa interrupting it is very, very entertaining =D)

~Ash was here

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Clearly, the winners are Maurice Hines and Alexandra Foucard.

Faith and Nathan on the Tonight Show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAkKPPsfZH0

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Not to mention "Bushel and a Peck"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KrMDqTw1Bc&feature=related

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Faith Prince was amazing.
I won't bother going to the recent revival.

Nathan Lane and Faith Prince are genius in that clip. I really wish I was alive to have seen that revival. everything about it seem perfect. Speaking of which from all the photos and videos I have seen the costumes are stunning. I was so surprised to find out it was not nominated for costume design. Was this a shock at the time?

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South Fl Marc--I agree with you 100%---I won't be going to this revival for that reason--no one can compare at all to Lane and Prince in those roles (IMO).

Faith certainly wasn't playing anything close to her Adelaide characterization in A CATERED AFFAIR.

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I'm always shocked by Vivian Blaine's beauty, especially since I first saw her as an older woman, seeing her in photos of the original production of GUYS & DOLLS I'm always amazed by how stunning and sexy she was. Given my ignorance, I first thought that Krakowski was a bit of non-traditional casting (being used to the Faith Prince mold) and now I realize that in casting her they were going back to the Blaine mold.
The pictures of Blaine in "A Bushel and a Peck" (there's a bunch of fantastic pictures of the original production on ibdb.com) are fascinating, and seeing her with a robe, center stage, delivering "Adelaide's Lament" can't be described...and that's just a picture, how I envy those who got to see her deliver the number back in the days.
A pity that what we have now is Graham and Platt pooping all over the roles. I simply can't stand what I've seen Graham do with "Bushel and a Peck" (does she realize she has to be somewhat sexy or appealing? Who buys her as the headliner of a burlesque theatre?) and "Sue Me" (does her Adelaide suffer from a brain disorder that keeps her from walking right?) is just sacrilegious.

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allofmylife, I'll give you that you can argue Nathan Lane was playing "Nathan Detroit Lane," but Faith Prince's choices as Adelaide were very much specific to that character.

What other roles has she ever played where she is doing "vocal ticks" such as the ones she implemented in GUYS AND DOLLS?

Considering she'd only done two previous Broadway shows when she played Adelaide (a Tony-nominated feature as Tessie Tura in JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY and a supporting role in the short-lived NICK & NORA,) I don't see how you could have even identified enough of a "pattern" in her work to say she was playing herself.

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Updated On: 3/8/09 at 01:35 PM

The same goes for Faith Prince. Those little vocal ticks in the "Bushel and A Peck" number are fun, but they are Faith, not the character.

I might say they were the choice of the director, Jerry Zaks. But I wasn't in the rehearsal room. Neither were you.

They may have been a choice Zaks made or a choice Faith made.

If the Loesser's estate approved the production, which I'm sure they're thrilled they did, then it's up to them whether the revival would have been approved by its creators. Not you.

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Wait, so Sue Me isn't supposed to be the number where we grow to hate the characters with a burning intensity? Huh. Could have sworn that was the intention after viewing the latest revival. Interesting to see I was wrong after watching Lane/Prince.

I just hate when people presume to know more than the originators.

It appears that the only person here doing just that is you.

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