I guess the show itself can't be faulted, because it's a product of it's time, but I can see why it hasn't gotten a major revival in 40 years. The show is very dated, and without script changes to make the show's 60's flair more contemporary, I must say it's a relic of a bygone era.
The only thing that saved this show are two stand-out performances. The first being that of Sean Hayes, making his Broadway debut as put-upon corporate employee Chuck Baxter who lends out his apartment to executives so they can have affairs, hoping that this will lead to promotions. It does eventually, but not before he has his heart torn out when he realizes that one of his bosses is having an affair with the object of his affections Fran(played by Kristin Chenoweth). Mr. Hayes, filling the shoes of the late Jerry Orbach was absolutely fantastic in his first starring role on Broadway. He added a charm and energy to a show that was for the most part dull and lifeless. His voice sounded very tired, which makes me wonder how he'll be able to sustain the rigors of 8 shows a week, but he is forgiven since his character is onstage almost the entire show. Mr. Hayes has a very long career ahead of him as a leading man in Broadway musicals. Hopefully he'll be able to successfully make the transition from TV to stage like David Hyde Peirce did.The other standout performance goes to Katie Finneran who, in her two scenes manages to make us forget that most of us came to the show to see Broadway star Chenoweth. Finneran plays Marge MacDougall a lush whom Chuck Baxter meets at a bar on Christmas eve after finding out that Fran is sleeping with his boss. She manages to wake the audience up after the sleepy first act, before disappearing and never to be seen again. She and Hayes are the true reasons the show manages to stay afloat as long as it does.
Onto Kristin Chenoweth, I have seen Chenoweth excel in comedic parts where she is able to inflect a hint of seriousness, such as her amazing turn in The Apple Tree a few years ago, but here, I don't know if it's just that fact that she is miscast in the role, or if she is too old to be playing a young naive executive lunch room hostess, but she fails to show the audience any of the star power that made us love her in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, or her guest spots on Glee. Add to her flat performance the fact that they shoehorned two extra Bacarach/David songs into the show specifically to beef up her part, and her performance just doesn't add up. While she sings beautifully and acts incredibly, Chenoweth as Fran fails to win any of the audience over, as we soon realize her character is a sad pathetic one dimensional person who can only be happy with the love of a man.
Overall the show was meerly okay, the good performances balance out the bad ones and the out of date book. The show would have succeeded more had they brought in a new bookwriter to update the sexist reference and made them more tongue in cheek and less blatant and offensive.
Promises, Promises
Broadway Theater
1681 Broadway(at 53rd Street)
New York, NY 10036
Tickets: 212-239-6200
Book: Neil Simon
Music and Lyrics: Hal David and Burt Bacarach
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