{"id":2445857,"date":"2019-06-30T21:35:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T03:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=308708"},"modified":"2019-06-30T21:35:00","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T03:35:00","slug":"review-guys-and-dolls-at-theatre-aspen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/review-guys-and-dolls-at-theatre-aspen\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u2018Guys and Dolls\u2019 at Theatre Aspen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Theatre Aspen’s “Guys and Dolls” runs through Aug. 17 at the Hurst Theatre.<\/strong>
Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

When \u201cGuys and Dolls\u201d opened on Broadway in 1950, it launched a theatrical juggernaut. The show ran for 1,200 performances, won the Tony Award for Best Musical, a New York Drama Critics Award and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama (which sadly went unbestowed because writer Abe Burrows was under investigation at that time from the House Un-American Activities Committee).<\/p>\n

Over the ensuing decades there have been numerous revivals on Broadway and in London\u2019s West End. Today, nearly 70 years after its debut, the show remains a favorite of summer stock, community theaters and drama departments everywhere.<\/p>\n

All of which means, even if you are the most casual of theater-goer, you have likely seen \u201cGuy and Dolls,\u201d perhaps more than once, possibly featuring your kids.<\/p>\n

So why see it now within the close confines of the Theatre Aspen tent?<\/p>\n

Because if you don\u2019t, you will miss out on one of the most exuberant evenings of the summer season. The production is so crisp and confident, so redolent with nostalgia and romance that only the stonehearted could remain impervious to its pleasures.<\/p>\n

The ensemble, which includes more than a half-dozen Theatre Aspen apprentices expertly hoofing it alongside seasoned pros, delivers a raft of classic showtunes \u2014 \u201cLuck Be a Lady,\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll Know,\u201d \u201cTake Back Your Mink,\u201d \u201cSit Down, You\u2019re Rockin\u2019 the Boat\u201d among them \u2014 with verve and unalloyed joy.<\/p>\n

For readers raised in a cave or who have somehow otherwise missed this treasure of the American theater, here\u2019s the quick skinny: The musical was based on the stories and characters of Damon Runyon, namely the sundry small-time gangsters, two-bit hustlers, strippers and ladies of the night who populated the seedy environs of mid-20th century mid-town Manhattan.<\/p>\n

It harkens back to a time and social milieu in which men were \u201cguys\u201d \u2014 that is, when they weren\u2019t \u201cmarks\u201d \u2014 and women were \u201cbroads,\u201d \u201cdames\u201d or \u201cdolls.\u201d Gender roles were clearly defined; the concepts of political correctness and gender fluidity were a long way from entering the public conversation.<\/p>\n

In the world of \u201cGuys and Dolls,\u201d everyone gets by any way they can, often just left of the law. Craps and cards are king. Men live for the game; women live for the men.<\/p>\n

Enter center-stage Sky Masterson (an agile Tony Roach), the highest of all the high rollers. There isn\u2019t a bet Sky won\u2019t take or make, including how high his own fever will spike when he gets the flu. Sky is slick, only slightly louche, and the last thing he ever intends to do is fall for a doll. After all, what woman could hold a candle to pocket aces?<\/p>\n

Along comes flinty Sarah Brown (a suitably prim Sarah Marie Charles with the voice of a cherubim choir). Sarah leads the Save a Soul Mission, which has decamped in the center of the 49th Street action. The area is rife with sinners. However, the mission risks closure from the home office if Sarah doesn\u2019t start delivering converts. The problem is that as soon as she opens her mouth to preach the gospel, the so-called sinners scatter like cockroaches under the glare of a bare bulb.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, upping the plot\u2019s ante, resident bookie and keeper-of-the-action Nathan Detroit (an irresistibly endearing Blakely Slaybaugh) is besieged with problems of his own. He is short the wad of cash needed to secure a place for the big game. Mob boss Big Jule (Chad Fornwalt) is breathing down his neck. And to top things off, Miss Adelaide, Nathan\u2019s fiancee of a scant 14 years, is putting the screws on to really truly finally tying the knot. (How much heat can one poor guy take?) In a fit of desperation posing as inspiration, Nathan bets Sky that he can\u2019t get missionary Sarah to go on a date with him \u2014 to Havana. So completely does Sky Masterson believe in the power of his own charm that he leaps at the bet. Game on: The romp ramps up and the mishegas proceeds apace.<\/p>\n

There are so many outstanding performances in the show it\u2019s difficult to highlight just a few. But Julie Kavanagh as Miss Adelaide deserves special mention for her ability to navigate the outer reaches of character without tipping over into caricature. And Ray DeMattis as Sarah\u2019s uncle Arvide is proof that no role is too small to be noteworthy. In his brief appearances on stage he is consistently alive, attuned and tender. \u201cMore I Cannot Wish You\u201d is the show\u2019s most touching number.<\/p>\n

Chief among the challenges of staging large cast musicals in Theatre Aspen\u2019s intimate space is the fact that there is simply not a lot of surface area around which to move a multitude of bodies. But under Hunter Foster\u2019s<\/a> deft direction, in tandem with Lisa Shriver\u2019s spirited choreography (including some impressive close-quarters gymnastics), this production pulls it off with aplomb. The band, under the musical direction of Eric Alford, is outstanding. Its inconspicuous positioning in the wings (versus upstage behind a scrim as with past productions) gives this production room to live and breathe on David Arsenault\u2019s sharply appointed set. While some larger musicals have felt almost too large for Theatre Aspen\u2019s small venue, \u201cGuys and Dolls\u201d feels just right.<\/p>\n

During his curtain speech the night, Theatre Aspen\u2019s producing director Jed Bernstein shared with the audience that Cy Feuer \u2014 who with Ernest Martin conceived and produced the original Broadway show \u2014 had been his mentor. Bernstein had always wanted to mount \u201cGuys and Dolls\u201d in Feuer\u2019s honor. Now he has. And it is a tribute of which he can be proud.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theatre Aspen’s “Guys and Dolls” runs through Aug. 17 at the Hurst Theatre.Courtesy photo When \u201cGuys and Dolls\u201d opened on Broadway in 1950, it launched a theatrical juggernaut. The show ran for 1,200 performances, won the Tony Award for Best Musical, a New York Drama Critics Award and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama (which sadly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2445857","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-20 15:50:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2445857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2445857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2445857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2445857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2445857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}