Matthew RischLast night I witnessed Barrington Stage's current production, which is a winner. Director John Rando has managed to capture all the vigor and excellence of the original production.
Leslie KritzerThe cast, which featured Michael Thomas Holmes as Nathan Detroit, Morgan James as Sarah Brown, Leslie Kritzer as Miss Adelaide, and Matthew Risch as Sky Masterson, couldn't have been better They all can sing and act with verve and portray their characters as Damon Runyon, the author of the original stories, might have wished.
Morgan James, as Sarah, should get special mention. It was so good to hear someone who can really sing take the part. Isabel Bigley, the original Sarah, had a break in her passaggio that became legendary and the source of many parodies in the song 'I'll know'. Apparently Frank Loesser slapped her at one point during rehearsals because she wasn't singing the song the way he wanted it sung. Now that's showbiz.
Michael Thomas HolmesThe supporting cast was equally good, especially Daniel Marcus, who sang the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson and stopped the show.
I didn't care much for the orange and black sky-scrapers which didn't much look like 1940's New York, but otherwise the set worked very well.
I also was lucky enough to see the 1976 revival of the show which featured a dynamite all-black cast.
But this group was right up there with the best!
After having heard Lucie Arnaz caterwaul her way through a solo evening a while ago, it was refreshing to hear a talented cast of Broadway singers who know how to sing!
