Fans of musical theater are sure to be familiar with the Tony-award winning Guys and Dolls, which ran for 1,200 performances on Broadway and spurred a 1955 movie starring Marlon Brandon in the lead role and Frank Sinatra as his sidekick. Town & Gown theater will present its production of this timeless classic based on Damon Runyon’s well-loved stories this June, and patrons who see the show are in for a real treat.
Guys and Dolls is a musical comedy that tells the overlapping stories of high-roller Sky Masterson and lovable rapscallion Nathan Detroit, who runs a floating craps game that’s frequently the target of the local police captain. Needing $1,000 to rent the only safe place in town for his game, Nathan proposes a bet which requires Sky to take a young lady of Nathan’s choosing on a date to Havana, Cuba. Sky takes the bet and must convince Sarah Brown, leader of the Save-a-Soul Mission, to accompany him on the date. She agrees and romance blossoms. In the meantime, Nathan neglects his relationship with Adelaide, his fiancé of 14 years, to his detriment. With classic songs such as “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Luck Be a Lady,” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” the show will have audiences singing and dancing along in their seats.
The large cast of Guys and Dolls features a mix of Town & Gown veterans who will be instantly recognizable to patrons and some new faces gracing its stage for the first time. Director Bunny Stanphill is thrilled to bring this classic musical to life for Town & Gown audiences. As Stanphill explains, “This show is a love letter to a time that never was. Like most nostalgic shows…, it takes a small part of history – the prohibition era and the criminals it produced – and remembers that time for how we wanted it to be and not necessarily how it was.” With productions like this one, Stanphill says, “We can erase the bad and enhance the good.”
Guys and Dolls will run from June 1st to 5th and June 8th through 12th. Tickets will go on sale Monday, May 30th and can be obtained by calling the box office at (405) 372-9122 or visiting the theatre’s Web site at www.townandgown.org. Tickets prices are $16 for adults, $14 for students, and $14 for seniors attending either Sunday matinee performance.
