
A beloved classic, Guys and Dolls won five Tony Awards in 1951, including Best Musical, and the 1992 revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival. The 1955 film adaptation received four Academy Award nominations, and the announcement of another film, and the possible casting of Channing Tatum as "good old reliable" Nathan Detroit and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as gambling mastermind Sky Masterson, has left many excited.
Tatum and Gordon-Levitt demonstrated their singing and dancing skills at the recent Oscars broadcast, and with these two box-office draws possibly cast, many are wondering who will play the leading ladies in the movie. Nathan's fiance of 14 years, Hot Box dancer Adelaide, was originally played on Broadway by Vivian Blaine, and she reprised the role for the film. Playbill.com asked readers to suggest who would best inhabit the stage of the Hot Box night club and charm—and sneeze—her way through the movie and into people's hearts.
Click through to see which bubbly blondes and brunettes - and even a redhead or two - our readers picked:
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Megan Hilty |
Mike Martinelli: Megan Hilty. She was wonderful on "Smash."
Alex De Witt: Megan Hilty of course.
Hilty was a popular choice with many of the readers. Her starring role on "Smash," as well as on Broadway in Wicked and 9 to 5, have proven her song and dance skills onstage and screen.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Kristin Chenoweth |
Richard Hunt: Kristin Chenoweth. She plays the perfect smart "dumb blond"!
Andrea Mays: Kristin Chenoweth... She's got the pipes and superb comic timing. Also old enough to play Adelaide, who is supposed to have a few miles on her.
Kristin Chenoweth, also a bubbly blonde on stage and screen, was another top pick. Chenoweth, a Tony-winning Broadway star who made guest appearances on "Glee," certainly has the vocal skills and the comedy chops to play Adelaide.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Jane Krakowski |
Another Broadway vet who has also starred on television, Krakowski played the part in the London revival of the show. A Tony winner for her role in Nine, Krakowski has proven on "30 Rock" that she has the dumb blonde role down pat.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Nina Arianda |
||
Photo by Joan Marcus |
Arianda took on another iconic blonde part when she played Billie in the Broadway revival of Born Yesterday, which nabbed her a Tony nomination in 2011. In 2012 she won the Tony for her performance in Venus in Fur, which also showed her comedic chops, as well as her sexier side. We know she'd look great in the Hot Box costumes!
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Sutton Foster |
||
Photo by ABC Family/Andrew Eccles |
Triple-threat Foster could dance up a storm in "Bushel and a Peck" and has the comedy chops to make Adelaide a real laugh riot. And, as we know from the 2011 revival of Anything Goes, she looks great as a blonde!
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Kristen Bell |
Kristen Bell, known for her role as teen detective on "Veronica Mars," has shown her singing and dancing skills on awards shows and in the films "Reefer Madness" and "Burlesque" and has performed on Broadway in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She could give the role a more sarcastic edge.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Zooey Deschanel |
||
Photo by Scott Kirkland/FOX |
Zooey Deschanel, the star of "New Girl" and the band She and Him, could bring her signature quirkiness to the role.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Madonna |
Madonna has already immortalized one blonde icon on film with her starring turn in the movie adaptation of Evita —a turn as Adelaide could show a surprising new side of her.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Lady Gaga |
Lady Gaga would return to her roots by playing Adelaide, which she performed in a high school production of Guys and Dolls. Maybe she could help design Adelaide's Hot Box costumes as well, to add a new edge to the movie.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Christina Applegate |
Applegate's spunky blonde personality would be well-suited to the role of Adelaide, and, after seeing her on Broadway in Sweet Charity, we know she can dance.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Taylor Swift |
Country singer Taylor Swift is no stranger to singing about her love interests, just like Adelaide. But could she pull off the New York accent?
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Kelli O'Hara |
||
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN |
This would be fun casting against type! O'Hara has played many ingenue roles on Broadway, and seeing her in a more sexy part would be delightful.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Katie Finneran |
Finneran is known for her roles in comedies, and she won the Tony in 2002 for her role as Brooke Ashton in Noises Off and in 2011 for her hilarious turn as drunken barfly Marge MacDougall in Promises, Promises. After playing the drunken villain Miss Hannigan in the Broadway revival of Annie, Adelaide might be a nice change for her!
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Scarlett Johansson |
Johansson has recorded albums but has never sung on a Broadway stage. A musical role would be exciting for her - and for us!
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Jessie Mueller | ||
Photo by Joan Marcus |
A rising star on Broadway, Mueller has been busy in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Nice Work If You Can Get It, but she might have to go to Hollywood for this role.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Vivian Blaine |
For more traditional casting, this might be the only way to go. Blaine, who made her Broadway debut as Adelaide and played the part in the movie as well, is considered iconic in the role. This option might cause some complications with smooth editing and film quality, though.