Guys and Dolls

In the theater world, the word Runyonesque refers to an vernacular style of formal speech and colorful slang, mixed with a type of characters, gamblers, hustlers, actors, and gangsters, combined by colorful names, "Nathan Detroit, Benny Southstreet, Big Jule, Harry the Horse, and Rusty Charlie," and his creative usage of slang, a language of the disreputable and criminal classes. Based on his short stories The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown, the love between a Gambler and a missionary girl, and Blood Pressure, the model narrative story Damon Runyon penned Guys and Dolls. Guys and Dolls is an entertaining musical comedy that tells the story of an unlikely romance that blooms between a flamboyant gambler (Sky Masterson), a stern missionary (Sarah Brown), and a charming showgirl, Miss Adelaide, who's in love with cunning crap game manager, named Nathan Detroit. This classic movie featured Marlon Brando and Ol' Blue Eyes, himself, Frank Sinatra with Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine. Robert Alda (Sky Masterson), Sam Levene (Nathan Detroit), and Isabel Bigley (Sarah) performed in the musical 1950, with Vivian Blaine returning as Miss Adelaide. 

Drury Lane Theatre brings this sin and salvation musical that's irresistibly appealing with all of the whimsical characters of Damon Runyon. Centered around Nathan Detroit and his long-suffering fiancée, Miss Adelaide, who has been waiting for a marriage proposal for fourteen years, works at the Hot Box and demands that Nathan stop gambling and get an honorable job. But Nathan, known as Detroit in the streets of Manhattan, is secretly trying to set up another crap game. Still, he needs one thousand dollars to secure a location outside the authorities' prying eyes. He hears that high-roller Sky Masterson is in town and makes a bet with Sky that he can't get a date with missionary girl Miss Sarah Brown. Leading the cast starts with the distinguished performance from Jackson Evans as Nathan Detroit and Alanna Lovely as Miss Adelaide. Evans's wit and charm were enthrallingly entertaining, and Lovely, previously at Drury Lane in Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella, was an absolute doll as Miss Adelaide. Pepe Nufrio, a native of Madrid, Spain, enrolled in business school before getting the acting bug and deciding to move to NYC to study acting. Nufrio would have made Brando proud with his performance of the savvy and charismatic Sky Masterson. Seen in Porchlight Theater's  Cabaret and Marriott Theatre's Beautiful and Dam Yankees, Erica Stephan is at the top of her game with this diverse role of proselytizer Sarah Brown, a single woman looking for love. 

Drury Lane's Guys and Dolls was enjoyable and well-executed. However, certain scenes needed more energy, particularly the Sit Down; You're Rockin' The Boat performance. I've seen other musicals smash the number, getting the audiences more engaged. While the song was well-sung by Nkrumah Gatling (Nicely-Nicely Jones) and choreographed was great, the execution could have captured the exuberance and enthusiasm that the number is known for. Gene Weygandt's (Arvide Abernathy) singing More I Cannot Wish You, was exceptional and provided the warmth connected with this amazing song, and even in a limited role, Heidi Kettering had a standout performance as General Matilda B. Cartwright. The sound was a little off during the press night, and the background pictorial view of Manhattan looked faded and needed a better visual effect of one of America's entertainment capital of the world. Still, overall, this is a production worth seeing. 

⭐⭐⭐

Drury Lane Theatre

Guys and Dolls

Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows

Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser

Direction and Choreography by Dan Knechtges

Now through June 9, 2024

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