It’s Manhattan. It’s the '60s. And the city is back in full swing, in Broadway’s first-ever revival of Promises, Promises - starring Emmy® Award winner Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) as the enterprising associate on the way up, and Tony Award® winner Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked) as the cafeteria waitress whose romantic troubles have got her down. Don’t miss this smart and sexy musical based on the Oscar®-winning Billy Wilder film, The Apartment.
The creative team is a perfect cocktail: a splashy score by the Academy Award®-winning team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, including such songs as "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" and the straight-up swinging title tune… Add a book that takes turns tickling your funny bone and breaking your heart, courtesy of the legendary Neil Simon… Top it all off with a sparkling blend of direction and choreography by Tony Award® winner Rob Ashford—and you’ve got an intoxicating evening of Broadway magic.
And therein lies the problem with Hayes' key performance in Rob Ashland's intermittently amusing but emotionally unsatisfying revival. This invulnerable Chuck feels pre-packaged and self-contained. He doesn't seem to want or need anything, including that troubled waitress. And although Hayes' Chuck talks to us all night, you never really feel that anything has been revealed.
Director/choreographer Rob Ashford is less resourceful than usual and only intermittently effective; his big idea here seems to be to add dancers doing the frug in the background. It is not Ashford's fault that Michael Bennett's original staging of 'Turkey Lurkey Time,' the big first-act production number, is easily viewable on the Internet; but it is that energy and humor that is altogether missing from the current staging.
1968 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
1969 | West End |
London Production West End |
1970 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
1997 | Off-Broadway |
Encores! Concert Off-Broadway |
2010 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2017 | West End |
Off-West End Revival West End |
2018 | Off-Broadway |
Transport Group Concert Production Off-Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Leading Actress in a Musical | Kristin Chenoweth |
2010 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Katie Finneran |
2010 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Promises, Promises |
2010 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Brian Ronan |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Sean Hayes |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Rob Ashford |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Dick Latessa |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Katie Finneran |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | 0 |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Rob Ashford |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Jonathan Tunick |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Sean Hayes |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Katie Finneran |
Videos