November 18, 2008 08:00 AM Eastern Time 

Tom Gregory Marks His Broadway Producing Debut with the American Musical Comedy Masterpiece Guys and Dolls

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Noted social, political and entertainment industry commentator Tom Gregory marks his debut as a Broadway producer with the American musical comedic gem Guys and Dolls opening at Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre. Mr. Gregory joins Tony Award-winning producers Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group, Tulchin/Bartner and Darren Bagert.

“Guys and Dolls is a theatrical message in a bottle, about hope, style, love, and music. It’s an American masterpiece beckoning the world’s most impressive talents. I’m inspired by the amazing group I’ll be working beside,” said Mr. Gregory, a respected media personality who showcases a portion of his work at www.ShowBizTom.com. He has appeared on the Clear Channel Network; CNN; Fox News; and as a weekly correspondent on Leeza Gibbons’ Hollywood Confidential, an internationally syndicated radio show heard in over 100 markets worldwide.

Mr. Gregory is also the face behind OVGuide.com, the leading source for indexing all online video on the web, ranging from YouTube to Truveo. In August, OVGuide.com was ranked the third-fastest growing web property in the U.S. Mr. Gregory, who has amassed a significant private collection of show business memorabilia added, “My passion for Hollywood’s best leads me to Broadway where stars shine bright every night. With Des McAnuff as our Tony Award-winning director, our production will move and shake the Great White Way like never before. Wait until you experience it.”

Lauren Graham (Golden Globe Award nominee for “Gilmore Girls”) will appear as “Miss Adelaide” opposite Oliver Platt (Emmy and Tony Nominee) as “Nathan Detroit” in the new Broadway production of Guys and Dolls. The first joint Broadway project by two-time Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominated choreographer Sergio Trujillo since their collaboration on the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, Guys and Dolls will begin previews on February 3, 2009 at Broadway’s newly refurbished Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41^st Street) where the musical Rent played for almost 12 years. The Opening Night Performance is March 1.

Packed with such classic hits as “Fugue for Tinhorns,” “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Adelaide’s Lament,” “I’ll Know,” “Guys and Dolls,” “More I Cannot Wish You,” “Luck Be A Lady,” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” Guys and Dolls features music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Based on “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure,” two short stories by Damon Runyon, it also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably “Pick the Winner.”

The musical comedy masterpiece was first produced on Broadway at the 46^th Street Theatre, opening on November 24, 1950. It was directed by George S. Kaufman and starred Robert Alda, Sam Levene, Isabel Bigley and Vivian Blaine. It enjoyed an initial run of 1,201 performances, winning five 1951 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The film version was released on November 3, 1955 starring Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Jean Simmons, with Vivian Blaine reprising her role. It was directed by Joseph Mankiewicz.