The West Virginia University Division of Theatre and Dance and Division of Music will present “Guys and Dolls,” a musical fable of Broadway, April 14-17, at the WVU Creative Arts Center’s Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre.
With music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, “Guys and Dolls” is rich with classic tunes such as “Fugue for Tinhorns,” “Take Back Your Mink,” “I’ve Never Been In Love Before” and “Luck Be a Lady,” and is considered one of the greatest musicals in American Musical Theater.
Based on short stories by famed writer Damon Runyon, “Guys and Dolls” is a singing and dancing extravaganza that spans the gritty streets of 1950s New York City to the nightclubs and casinos of decadent Havana.
Runyon was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era—humorous tales of gamblers, hustlers, actors and gangsters. His stories were in a distinctive vernacular style: a mixture of formal speech and colorful slang, almost always in present tense and always devoid of contractions.
The original 1950 Broadway production featured Robert Alda as Sky Masterson, Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide and Stubby Kaye as Nicely-Nicely Johnson.
The musical ran for 1,200 performances and won five 1951 Tony Awards, including the award for Best Musical.
Blaine and Kaye reprised their Broadway roles in the 1955 film version of “Guys and Dolls,” starring Marlon Brando as Sky, Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit and Jean Simmons as Sarah Brown.
There have been five Broadway revivals of this fabled musical—in 1955, 1965, 1976, 1992 and 2009—along with numerous productions on London’s West End.
WVU’s production features four graduating seniors in their final performances with the Division of Theatre and Dance and Division of Music: Chasdan Mike Ross, of Martins Ferry, Ohio, as Sky Masterson; MaryJoanna Grisso, of Morgantown, as Sarah Brown; Brandon Pro of Morgantown, as Nathan Detroit; and Laura Peters, of Salisbury, Md., as Miss Adelaide.
Directed by Theatre professor Lee Blair, with musical direction by Music professor Robert Theime and choreography by WVU Director of Dance Yoav Kaddar, “Guys and Dolls” will be shown in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre of WVU’s Creative Arts Center, April 14-16 at 7:30 p.m. and April 17 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com , the CAC or Mountainlair Box Offices, or by calling 304-293-SHOW.
For more information on this production of “Guys and Dolls,” please call 304-293-2020 or e-mail theatre@mail.wvu.edu.
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CONTACT: Prof. Lee Blair, College of Creative Arts
304-293-2020, Theatre@mail.wvu.edu
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