Review by Ron Fassler . . .
As musicals go, Guys and Dolls is a show I’ve seen productions of in more venues than any other. Over the years, I’ve sat through versions by elementary, middle and high schoolers, as well as in community and regional theatre, summer stock, Broadway and London’s West End. With its infectious score by Frank Loesser and adorable cast of characters that Abe Burrows concocted from those first created by short story writer Damon Runyon, not a minute of the audience’s time is wasted. The jokes come fast and furious, the comedy numbers are funny and intelligent, and its pair of soaring romantic ballads (“I’ll Know” and “I’ve Never Been in Love Before”), are among the best ever written. Since opening in 1950, it has entertained audiences steadily over the past seventy-five years and is once again being revived at Washington D.C. Shakespeare Theatre Company, now through January 4th. Presenting Guys and Dolls in the same season as Bill Irwin’s one-man show based on the writings of Samuel Beckett, and Wendell Pierce as Othello, makes clear that this timeless musical is on the same level as a true classic.
Director Francesca Zambello has opted to set the world of Runyonland indoors instead of outdoors. Taking away Harman Hall’s proscenium and blowing out its usually hidden wing spaces stage right and left, she and scenic designer Walt Spangler have created a massive interior of an all-too-familiar Salvation Army thrift shop. Scenes that usually take place on the street have been reassigned to what is supposed to be the mission’s interior, even doubling at times as a backroom from where Nathan Detroit seemingly operates his floating crap game as some kind of unofficial headquarters, complete with fresh brewed coffee and a Barcalounger. It makes sense most of the time (emphasis on most) and certainly helps eliminate just about every single scene change usually associated with staging Guys and Dolls. Constance Hoffman’s costumes, a mix of 50s-styles and modern fashion, give off a bit of whiplash, but don’t necessarily distract either; testimony once more to how hard it is to destroy the unending good cheer this musical provides.
Taking place over a 36-hour period, the denizens of Times Square who inhabit this unique world possess their own colorful patois and codes of conduct. The lovable gamblers want to play their game without interference from the cops and Nathan Detroit only wants to get his cut of the action so he can live to plan another game another day. His woebegone fiancé Miss Adelaide, a performer at the Hot Box nightclub, only wants Nathan for a husband, burdened by a debilitating psychosomatic cold she’s endured that has been ongoing throughout the couple’s 14-year engagement. Strapped for cash to secure a deposit for the big game, Nathan bets high-roller Sky Masterson over whether the smooth operator can take out any doll, anywhere, anytime. A sure bet that Nathan will undoubtedly win because he names Sarah Brown, the Bible-quoting, do-gooder of “a mission doll.” Of course, when Sky and Sarah (predictably) fall madly for one another, all bets are off. It may sound simple, but for the last half-century, Broadway artists of every stripe have tried repeatedly—and with minimum success—to duplicate the outstanding quality of its score and the abundance of charm and economy in its book. It ain’t as easy as it looks.
With material like this, you might think it’s a slam dunk to put up Guys and Dolls and then sit back and let it do all the work. But that’s not so, particularly when you consider its last Broadway revival in 2009 was an out-and-out disaster (the less said the better). Here in Washington, D.C., it’s nice to report that a loving cast here makes for a memorable production, sounding terrific under the baton of James Lowe. The orchestra is on view all evening long through the windows of the mission far upstage, a detail that gives the show a homey feeling. And I very much liked the efficiency of Joshua Bergase’s choreography, true to the characters down to the last shuffle of their feet.
Happily, director Zambello has gone back to putting Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown front and center as the show’s central story. As was the tradition in its day, musicals had romantic leads and secondary comic ones. But the wildly popular 1992 Broadway revival, with the pairing of Nathan Lane and Faith Prince as Nathan and Miss Adelaide, led to musical comedy gold and a new template. Sky and Sarah were forced to take a back seat as if they never stood a chance against a tidal wave of audience approval for Lane and Prince that swept just about everyone else out to sea. Now with the Miss Sarah of Julie Benko (who, as an understudy, took Broadway by storm whenever she appeared as Fanny Brice during the tumultuous 2022-23 run of Funny Girl), we have an actress who can command the stage with ease. She sings great too, with a jazzy and funny “If I Were a Bell” that serves justice to the wonderful character song it is. Her Sky Masterson is handled suavely by Jacob Dickey, who at first felt a bit anachronistic in the part, but slowly smoothed the path by way of his adept crooning (his “Luck Be a Lady” is a highlight). Rob Colletti, a bearded bear of a guy, projects a strained confidence as Nathan Detroit which is right for the role. Though he often undermines his very conversational, very real talking with unnecessary shouting that gives the performance an erratic feel. Intentional or not, there’s a bit of a split personality at play that could use a firmer directorial hand from Zambello. Of this quartet, I admired Hayley Podschun’s Miss Adelaide a good deal for her devotion to keeping shtick at a minimum and still landing every joke. She sings great, moves well, and never takes her eye off the ball.
The supporting players offer a slew of original characterizations that do not disappoint. I was taken with Todd Scofield’s Lt. Branigan, whose booming voice and stage presence are entirely welcome, as is Garrett Marks’s Harry the Horse, playing the role with a slightly fey quality with offbeat line readings that garner big laughs. In addition to slyly stealing scenes, Lawrence Redmond’s Arvide winningly solos with “More I Cannot Wish You,” a song that never fails to touch me. At the performance I attended, two understudies went on as Nathan’s sidekicks Nicely Nicely Johnson and Benny Southstreet. Calvin McCullough, who usually plays Benny, took over as Nicely (and nicely nicely, too), and John Sygar, usually playing Calvin, one of the Save-A-Soul Mission soldiers, stepped into McCullough’s shoes as Benny Southstreet, and did a great job. It’s always heartening to see understudies excel when given their shot..
It was only three years ago that D.C. had another Guys and Dolls that I had a chance to see. Staged for a brief run at the Kennedy Center, the husband and wife pairing of Stephen Pasquale and Philippa Soo made a charming Sky and Sarah, and Tony Award winners James Monroe Iglehart and Jessie Mueller delighted as Nathan and Adelaide. Truth be told, if I show up in a city and Guys and Dolls is being performed, it wouldn’t take much for me to head on over, grab a seat, and luxuriate in the warmth of its glow. Even if you’ve seen it before, if you find yourself in the D.C. area, take a roll of the dice and I guarantee this Guys and Dolls won’t come up snake eyes.
Guys and Dolls is at the Shakespeare Theatre’s Harman Hall, 610 F St NW, Washington, DC now through January 4th. For further information, please click here.
Photos by Teresa Castracane.
Headline photo: Julie Benko as Sarah Brown and Jacob Dickey as Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls.
