Due to a chest infection, Patrick Swayze--previously announced to make his debut in the West End revival of Guys and Dolls on July 10th--will now begin performances as marriage-dodging gambler Nathan Detroit on July 24th.
Swayze will remain with the smash production at the Piccadilly Theatre through September 23rd (he was originally set to play Nathan through September 2nd). Claire Sweeney ("Brookside," West End's Chicago), however, joins Guys and Dolls as Miss Adelaide as planned; she will begin performances on July 10th for a limited eight-week run. Sweeney was cast in the UK tour of Guys and Dolls, which will kick off in Glasgow in September; she will perform in the tour for its first three months.Swayze, who made his Broadway debut as Danny inGrease, has also appeared on Broadway in Goodtime Charley andChicago (as well as in that show's tour). His film credits include Donnie Darko, To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, Point Break, Ghost, Steel Dawn and Dirty Dancing, which will be seen on the West End as a new stage musical beginning in September. He was also seen in its recent sequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.
Guys and Dolls, directed by Michael Grandage,
is playing an extended run at the Piccadilly Theatre through December
30th, 2006 (closing was previously announced for September). According to previous reports, plans are
also currently being made for it to bow on Broadway sometime during the
2006-2007 season. Guys and Dolls opened in London on June 1st, 2005 with a lustrous cast in tow--Ewan McGregor (as
Sky Masterson), Jane Krakowski
(as Miss Adelaide), Russell (as Sarah Brown) and Douglas Hodge (as
Nathan Detroit). The show, which has been a big commercial hit, also
received a strong
critical reception. Directed by Grandage and choreographed by
Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford (who will reunite for the upcoming London Evita revival), the show is a somewhat grittier
interpretation of the classic musical, which is set in a New York world
of gamblers, gangsters, chorus girls and Sarah Brown, a Salvation Army girl who
wants to reform all of them. Of course, Sarah also
falls in love with gambler Sky Masterson.
The production currently features Sally Ann Triplett as Miss Adelaide, Adam Cooper as Sky Masterson, Kelly Price as Sarah Brown and Neil
Morrissey as Nathan Detroit. Cooper and Price will stay on in their roles past July 10th.The musical is produced by the Donmar Warehouse, The Ambassador Theatre Group and Live
Nation in association with Arielle Tepper
and David Binder, Tulchin/Bartner Productions and IC
Productions.Visit www.guysanddollsthemusical.com for more information.