The cast of Musical Theatre West’s Guys and Dolls
The set of the early 1950s musical, which is based on short stories written by Damon Runyon in the 1920s and 1930s (in particular, “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” ), is like a dime-store novel cover come to life. Before the musical even begins, the bright background colors and clothes (the gamblers wear plaid, red and yellow suits with accompanying hats) and glowing, neon bulb-dotted black-and-white comic book-style buildings tell the story. For anyone who doesn’t know, it is about gamblers trying to play craps games, a $1,000 bet to get a pious soul-saver to accompany a charming (they’re always charming) gambler to (pre-Castro) Havana for dinner, love, a couple with a 14-year-engagement, and more love. Throw in some Bacardi rum, a gun-toting gangster and a psychosomatic cold, and you’ve got yourself a much loved musical.
There’s a reason it’s stuck around so long, garnering: a Tony Award; a 1955 musical with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine; and many revivals. It’s incredibly entertaining and full of fun, upbeat songs (ala composer-lyricist Frank Loesser), quick wit and charismatic characters. MTW does a good job of playing up the musical’s strengths. The musical numbers are all well done (my favorite was the toe-tapping “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” ) thanks to a talented cast of leads and supporting characters.
Madison Claire Park, who plays Sarah Brown, looks a lot like Jean Simmons did in the movie adaptation, and she has a lovely voice that sometimes veers into the operatic range. She also plays a good drunk. Jeremiah James as Sky Masterson has an easygoing charm, while Bree Murphy is show-stoppingly good as Miss Adelaide. While some gamblers mumbled through or dropped their working-class New York accents, Murphy’s was pitch-perfect and consistent. From the way she played up her funny lines to her beautiful voice, she was an excellent Adelaide and an audience favorite.
There were some other nice touches as well, like the casting of several older actors as extras. Transitions were done creatively, with the flight home from Cuba represented with “no smoking” and “fasten your seatbelts” neon signs and a captain announcing their landing.
The only problem I had with the musical was the story itself. Whisking someone off to another country and encouraging her to get drunk (but “heroically” not taking advantage of her), is uncomfortable to watch, especially in the era of #MeToo. And yes, that’s looking at Sarah and Sky’s dinner through a modern lens, but that kind of thing should never have been OK. Of course, there are plenty of other sexist moments, but they don’t have a “rapey” undertone, so they’re easier to overlook (though, should they be?).
It is always interesting, however, to be reminded that for Americans, Cuba was a quick getaway before it became a part of the Cold War narrative, a narrative that we’re still living out today. The spectre of Communism doesn’t just hang over this scene, it also affected the musical. In 1951, Guys and Dolls was selected as the winner of the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, but it never received the prize because the House Un-American Activities Committee had targeted the musical’s writer, Abe Burrows. So it was decided that Guys and Dolls wouldn’t receive the award, and no one took home the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year.
That’s no slight against MTW’s production though. Their Guys and Dolls is faithful to the film, which means it’s everything the movie was— fun, entertaining, creative and sometimes problematic. That doesn’t mean you can’t see it and enjoy it; I did and I recommend you do too. It’s just something to consider as they turn down the lights and you escape into a world that’s not as harmless as it seems.
Guys and Dolls continues at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., through Sunday, March 4 with performances at 8pm on Fridays and 2pm and 8pm on Saturdays. Other performances will be on the following days and times: Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1pm and 6 pm; Thursday, March 1 at 8 pm; and Sunday, March 4 at 1 pm. Tickets start at $20 and are available at the Musical Theatre West ticket office, by calling (562) 856-1999, ext. 4, or online at musical.org.
