Asolo Rep Delivers Broadway-Worthy Production of Guys and Dolls

In stark contrast, Sister Sarah Brown runs the Save A Soul Mission for the obvious purpose of setting the spiritually diminished men of midtown streets and dark denizens on a straight and narrow path. To her dismay, the Mission was not overflowing with the riff raff needing and wanting salvation, preferring the illicit revelries of the clubs and dens of midtown. The Mission was in peril of extinction.

The four main characters include Sky Masterson playing opposite Sister Sarah, who is very proper to the point of prudishness. It doesn't stretch the imagination to see that their lifestyles and purposes were, least to say, not compatible. They sing the beautiful duet, I'll Know. When the man meeting her image of perfection comes along, she'll know. He replies with the lyrics "mine will come as a surprise to me ... mine I leave to chance and chemistry." His view is possibly the instincts of a gambler or maybe a more tender attitude of the heart.

Nathan Detroit, also a gambler and leader of a floating crap game, and Miss Adelaide play very funny roles having been in an absurdly comic fourteen year engagement. Nathan, who perpetually tried to reassure Miss Adelaide that they would get married, continued to show more devotion to his profession than to his fiance. This left Miss Adelaide in perpetual discouragement and sad laments in song. Yet she persisted in her devotion to Nathan. Miss Adelaide's other engagement is that of an actress who, how can one say, performs a nightclub act at the "Hot Box" which would not likely save any of the souls in her audience! Ms. Veronica Kuehn is a knockout in her portrayal of Miss Adelaide.

Then there's the music! Without the score and lyrics of the great and prolific Frank Loesser, Guys and Dolls would not be what it has been since its opening in 1950. It played 1,200 performances at NYC's 46th Street Theater, garnering five Tony Awards. Many NYC and West End revivals have been done and it's a staple of regional theaters. Loesser wrote most of the score and lyrics to Swerling's initial book which the producers, Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, deemed inadequate. Abe Burrows was brought in and the book was revised to integrate with Loesser's existing music and lyrics. This was and is an unconventional approach. Musical productions normally integrate, that is the book comes and the music and lyrics follow. Burrows later said that the "fourteen songs were all great, and the new book had to be written so that the story would lead into each of them." This resulted in musical theater magic and a testament to the talents and collaboration of these creative artists.

The conception and theatrical adaptation of Guys and Dolls by Feuer and Martin was largely based on Damon Runyon's short stories, The Idyll of Miss Sara Brown and Blood Pressure. Runyon had a long and colorful history. He worked with his dad as a reporter out west. After moving to NYC, he continued his work in the press on all kinds of topics and was well known nationally as part of the Randolph Hearst empire. However, he became best known for his short stories dealing with the lower elements of New York; elements which he knew and fraternized with first hand. He wrote with a ground level realism of those gritty, illicit parts of life in NYC, but with humor about its idiosyncrasies.

As usual the quality of the professionals Asolo Rep brings together is amazing. In this production, Mr. Josh Rhodes directs and choreographs, set design is by Mr. Lee Savage, lighting design is by Mr. Paul Miller, costumes are the work of Mr. Brian Hemesath, sound by Mr. Kevin Kennedy, and Mr. Sinai Tabak as musical director. Loesser's music is typically 'big' and he wanted it played and sung that way. The performers, including dancers/chorus, and orchestra were up to that challenge. There are many talented people up front and behind the stage I've not identified in this review. The excellence of the work of the entire Company was evident at Friday night's opening. Together they lit the stage ablaze with high energy, skill and fun.

Following the overture, Nathan Detroit starts by needing $1,000, which he doesn't have to rent a hotel garage space for an important gambling event. Mr. Chris Hoch well displays Nathan's anxiety throughout and particularly on this night of of the big game and not to forget the pressure he is always under from Miss Adelaide. This is a very high energy role which Hoch maintains for his extended periods on stage. Meanwhile, Nathan finds an underground sewer for the big game. Sky arrives and proposes a roll of the dice, in which either of the gamblers get $1,000 each or, should Sky win, their markers obligate them to attend a redemption service at the Mission. Sky rolls and wins. They all flock to the Mission and in so doing satisfy Sky's earlier marker to Sister Sarah to bring in sinners.
Nicely-Nicely is energetically and skillfully played by Mr. Todd Buonopane. His performance during the service of Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat with the singing and choreography of the ensemble not only rocked the boat, but the audience, as well. It' s one of those lift the roof off the house kind of pieces. Extraordinary!

As Mr. Rhodes correctly observed, this is a story of "fractured relationships and everyone's negotiations in getting back on track with the one they love." This is the bedrock of the musical, but bedrock in a coat of great writing, music, design and entertainment. Today's fractious world should take more heed of the need for love and reconciliation and beauty. Thanks Asolo Rep for bringing this story to our community in a presentation that rivals the very best!