Jay-Alexander told Playbill.com that Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie will choreograph Guys and Dolls in Concert, which will play the Bowl July 31-Aug. 2, 2009. Kevin Stites will be the musical director.
No casting has been revealed, although an announcement will be made by the end of January 2009.
Richard Jay-Alexander was formerly a Broadway actor, singer and dancer, who has since directed the critically acclaimed concerts of Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters and Betty Buckley. He was the executive director of Cameron Mackintosh's American company for a decade and was the associate director and executive producer of the original Broadway, touring and Canadian companies of Les Misérables. His recent directorial credits include Les Miserables in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl and A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop starring Amy Irving.
Best known for her Tony-winning performance as Cassie in the original production of A Chorus Line, Donna McKechnie has appeared in a plethora of musicals both on and Off-Broadway, some of which include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Company, State Fair, Can-Can, Annie Get Your Gun, I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road, State Fair and Promises, Promises. In her first full length, one-woman musical celebration, Inside the Music, McKechnie performed songs from several of these productions and offered personal anecdotes about her experiences with some of the theatre’s finest actors, directors, producers and writers. A live recording of that act was released on the Fynsworth Alley label. Simon & Schuster published McKechnie's autobiography, "Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life."
Based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon, Guys and Dolls features music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. The original Broadway production opened at Broadway's 46th Street Theatre in November 1950, running 1,200 performances before closing Nov. 28, 1953. Among the premiere cast were Robert Alda as Sky Masterson, Isabel Bigley as Sarah Brown, Sam Levene as Nathan Detroit and Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide. Blaine re-created her role for the 1955 film, which also starred Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson, Jean Simmons as Sarah Brown and Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit. The most recent Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls featured Nathan Lane and Faith Prince. That Tony-winning revival, directed by Jerry Zaks, played 1,143 performances at the Martin Beck Theatre from March 1992-January 1995.
A new Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls will begin previews Feb. 3, 2009, at the refurbished Nederlander Theatre with an official opening scheduled for March 1. The cast will be headed by Oliver Platt (as Nathan Detroit), Lauren Graham (as Miss Adelaide), Craig Bierko (as Sky Masterson) and Kate Jennings Grant (Sarah Brown).
Show times at the Bowl will be July 31 and Aug. 1 at 8:30 PM and Aug. 2 at 7:30 PM.
The Hollywood Bowl is located at 2301 North Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA. For tickets call (323) 850-2000. Visit www.hollywoodbowl.com for more information.
