Emily Dunn and Elicia Murray
Sydney Morning Herald

12 September 2008

In musical theatre circles, Guys And Dolls is a renowned star vehicle. Ewan McGregor and Patrick Swayze pulled in the crowds during the recent London production, as did Nancye Hayes and Anthony Warlow in the last Australian production 15 years ago.

The new Australian version, which opens in Sydney on March 12, features more famous faces, but when the young British director Jamie Lloyd first met his cast, he wondered whether they had the necessary star power. To him, Lisa McCune and Ian Stenlake from Sea Patrol, the singer Marina Prior, and the comedians Magda Szubanski, Garry McDonald and Shane "Kenny" Jacobson were all unfamiliar names.

"He actually said, 'Are you sure these people are well-known?"' McDonald told our song and dance correspondent, Louise Schwartzkoff, at the launch of the Sydney season yesterday. "I thought it was quite a compliment … There were no prima donnas in the cast and I think he found that quite refreshing."

Jacobson, who rose to fame as a lovable Port-a-loo expert in the movie Kenny, was stunned to find himself in such illustrious company, despite having won a Helpmann award for his portrayal of the gambler Nicely Nicely Johnson. "Garry McDonald has been a hero of mine for years. He was the pioneer of what we did with Kenny," he said. "And being asked to dance and sing on stage with Marina Prior is like being asked to fight a fire with Red Adair."

Along with his efforts on the stage, Jacobson is revisiting his role as Kenny in Kenny's World Toilet Tour. The series aired its first episode on Channel Ten on Wednesday night and attracted an average audience of 1.13 million viewers over half an hour, making it the 14th most watched show on the night.

Not that the star of the show is watching the numbers. "If the people that did see it enjoyed it, then personally, I'm more than happy with it," he said. "If I could predict how many people were going to watch a show, I'd be a producer or a mathematician, not an actor."