Ezra Spurrier Photography
Reviewed by Dana Martin
Altadena Music Theatre
Through October 20
Where’s the action? Where’s the game? The 1950’s Broadway classic, Guys and Dolls, based on story & characters by Damon Runyon, book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows, music & lyrics by Frank Loesser, shoots its shot at the Altadena Music Theatre this October.
Nathan Detroit (Justin Anthony Long), chronically anxious hustler is scheming and planning his next game; the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York. Until now he has successfully evaded the law and his fiancé of 14 years, Adelaide (Margaret Spirito), who has a chronic head cold with psychosomatic symptoms and has spent the last decade lying to her mother about her non-existent wedded bliss. Nathan is fixated on finding the money he needs to pay off a guy to host his illegal crap game. It just so happens that high roller Sky Masterson (James Byous), known for making outlandish bets, is in town and Nathan attempts to fix a bet so that Sky can’t win: He bets on Sky not being able to woo a “doll’ — in this case Sergeant Sarah Brown (Elizabeth Eden) of the Save-a-Soul Missionaries of Broadway — to join him for dinner in Havana, Cuba. In order for Sky win the bet he does what any respectable gambler would do and promises to deliver 12 genuine sinners to Sarah’s midnight prayer meeting the following evening; sinners he’ll have to win, of course, in a bet.
Guys and Dolls lands firmly in the entertainment and nostalgia categories and it a prime example of the golden age of American Musical. First produced on Broadway in 1950, the story and characters are full of wit and humor. The story itself is most definitely outdated and a relic of its time, but endearing nonetheless. Many of the songs are still recognizable classics like a “Bushel and a Peck” and “Luck Be a Lady” and “If I Were a Bell.”
The cast embraces the cartoonish, over-the-top musical style with pizazz and handles the heavy lifting of supporting multiple scenes, songs and dance numbers admirably. Long’s Nathan Detroit is reliably zany. Spirito’s Adelaide is excellent, especially when she explores the character’s pain and inner world. Byous’ slick Sky Masterson is cool, calm and collected. Eden’s straightlaced Sarah Brown is sweet and stalwart. Robert Manion is entertaining as Benny Southstreet, Nathan’s loyal sidekick/fixer. Jalen Friday explores exaggerated vocal delivery as Nicely Nicely Johnson that doesn’t quite land within the scenes but nails a rollicking 11 o’clock number, “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat.”
Director Doug Kreeger guides the production with a steady hand. Some of the transitions are rocky and a few scenes fall flat, but it’s an ambitious musical that is fully realized. Set designer Andrew Hull creates a strategically cluttered NYC street corner with billboards representing the story’s various scenes and locales with the orchestra placed right in the center of the action. Nico O’Connor’s choreography is concise and looks good on a variety of ability levels. Billie Oleyar’s lighting is somewhat general but does what it can in the outdoor amphitheater venue. Brian Celestino sound is well-mixed and an excellent quality for the venue. Michael Mullen’s costume design is bright and flashy, and perfect for the story’s style. Music Director Chris Wade gets much out of the cast, while the orchestra is at-times tentative.
Guy and Dolls is rooted in a binary, outlandish world where the dolls want marriage, the guys want to gamble all night long and avoid the ensnarement of matrimony, and everyone wants to steer clear of the missionaries. The lasting endearment of this story is found somewhere right in the middle of these evil-looking sinners and pious bible thumpers. The musical’s innocuous characters are ultimately non-threatening, even when shooting craps in a sewer or in the back of a mission. Ultimately souls are indeed saved, but the sinning is way more fun.
Altadena Music Theatre, Charles Farnsworth Amphitheater, 568 Mt Curve Ave, Altadena; Thu-Sun at 8:00 pm. https://www.altadenamusictheatre.com/cabaret2023 Running time: 2 hrs 30 minutes with one intermission.
