Nicely Nicely Johnson- Character Analysis(looking for tips!)

[Soaring29]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 1:33am

Calling all Guys And Dolls fans and anybody who has played Nicely Nicely: How would you describe the character? Traits, motivation, the body types that are perfect for the role, importance of the  role in the show as a whole, ect. 

[Soaring29]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 3:09am

I am not ignorant of any of the stuff I asked about- I merely wanted to hear some opinions/info  which I would value very much. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/18/17 at 4:14am

One of the easiest roles to reserach. Everything you need to know is in the script. It's a great part. 

Updated On: 10/18/17 at 04:14 AM

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 10/19/17 at 2:30pm

I played Nicely-Nicely in high school. I was overweight, loud and hyper which fit the role well. That's not, however, the only way to play him.

We learn he bets on horses (Fugue for the Tinhorns), helps Nathan organize the games (Oldest Established), gets distracted by food (I was eating my groceries!), feels ambivalent about romance (Guys and Dolls) and can make up a story in a pinch (Sit Down).

Your take on the character will color your performance of the latter two songs. I've seen Nicely's who are cynical and deadpan mocking the romantics and manipulating the church goers. However a positive Nicely can also treat those songs as turning points. "Guys and Dolls" can be sympathetic and "Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat" can go from a tall tale to a moment of revelation about his aimless life. It only matters so much as the show's not about him. Still it offers some fun objectives for the performer to play. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/19/17 at 4:33pm

It’s a 1950’s musical comedy. How much character is there to analyze? He had a weird dream about a boat. That’s about it.

I think the best way to approach the role is to make him a really sweet, friendly guy. He’s usually played as fat, but any extreme body type (really tall, really short, really skinny) could do.

[gracespens]

Posted: 11/8/22 at 12:19pm

I think that it's indeed one of the easiest characters to analyze. Everything is in the script!

[gennymorgan]

Posted: 11/9/22 at 7:25am

gracespens said: "I think that it's indeed one of the easiest characters to analyze. Everything is in the script!"
Totally agree with you! Actually, he was the first person ever I analyzed. When I received that task I was confused because usually, it's not that easy to analyze a character, from a book or a play, but I managed to do it. First of all, I decided to find some examples online, just to see how others write such a paper. And I came across this online page https://graduateway.com/essay-examples/character-analysis/ which was the main helper. There are a lot of writing with analysis of different characters, and these examples helped me to understand how to write such analysis correctly. And you know, it was interesting to write about Nicely Nicely Johnson, a great character.

Updated On: 11/10/22 at 07:25 AM