Promises, Promises, a musical by Burt Bacharach and Neil Simon at the Broadway Theatre. Starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. Once upon a time, a Broadway Show meant a glamorous evening, great stars, beautiful girls, smart sets, colorful costumes, gorgeous chorus lines and rousing dance numbers, and more. That was the Broadway musical for our parents, the Broadway for which a table at Sardis still held glittery promise. That kind of musical is almost never seen today, but low and behold in this sizzling revival of Promises, Promises, we get our parents' Broadway, and that's just swell.
Start with the stars: Sean Hayes, making his Broadway debut, connects with the audience from his first pantomime with adding machine as nerdy C. C. Baxter. Whether soliloquizing directly with audience members, delivering his Bacharach solos with verve, or harmonizing effectively with the adorable Kristin Chenoweth as the love-lorn Fran Kubelik, Hayes has an effortless comedic presence and charm: he will win the Tony. Chenoweth gets a huge round of applause when she walks on the stage, she is a very big star in this town and for those hold-outs who may have resisted her in the past, they will surely capitulate. This is a score perfectly suited to her vocally and stylistically -- the songs could have been written for her. She'll be the toast of the town when the show opens and, unless Barbara Cook takes it, Chenoweth should get her second Tony. All of the roles are well cast, but special mention should be made of Katie Finneran as the show stopping Marge.
The dances by Rob Ashford are sensational, right from the curtain opener which had us grinning with pleasure. The direction is just about flawless, except that the show drags a little about half way into the second act, too many songs. "Wanting Things" should probably be cut altogether.
The sets and costumes are perfection, right out of "Mad Men." This show is going to be a smash, a sell-out Pajama Game type of smash. Don't miss this.
Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade. A-