Guys and Dolls coming to Paso Robles
Guys and Dolls stars Sarah Brown (Tara Brinkman) from left, and Sky (Tony Costa) who end up falling in love despite their
differences. Adelaide (Kristen Saunders) and Nathan Detroit (Chad Stevens) at right, finally decide to take the gamble on marriage after a 14-year engagement. Photo by Laurie Zenobio.
Guys and Dolls, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy featuring one of the great musical scores in the history of American theatre, comes to The Berg Auditorium in Paso Robles June 27 – July 19, 2014. Wine Country Theatre’s Executive Director Cynthia Anthony will direct the production.
When Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway in 1950, it became one of the great successes of Broadway history, running for 1,200 performances and winning five Tony Awards including Best Musical. It was subsequently made into the beloved film starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.
First performed on Broadway in 1950, and later a film in 1955, Guys and Dolls is a spirited musical based on books written by Damon Runyon with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It tells the story of a gambler, Nathan Detroit who runs a “floating” crap game, much to the disgust of his long suffering fiancé of 14 years, the Hot Box night club singer, Adelaide.
To raise the money to pay for a venue for his crap game, he bets $1000 on what he believes is a sure thing. Sky Masterson, a high rolling, suave gambler boasts that he can have any girl he wants. So Nathan bets him that he can’t get the local “Save A Soul” missionary, Sarah Brown to come to dinner with him in Havana. She is reluctant, so Sky, in turn, guarantees that he will provide 12 “genuine sinners” for her midnight prayer meeting in return for a dinner date.
Confusion, mayhem and hilarity ensue as gangsters, singers, sinners, show girls and Salvation Army saviors collide in this fable of Broadway that is sure to entertain with memorable songs such as “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”, and “Luck be a Lady” made famous by icon, Frank Sinatra. Famed critic Walter Kerr wrote of the 1955 Broadway revival – “Guys and Dolls is one of the most exhilarating musicals ever written for the American Theatre.”
The cast of Guys and Dolls stars Chad Stevens as “Nathan Detroit;’ Kristen Saunders, the recent star of Wine Country Theatre’s debut show It Had To Be You, as “Miss Adelaide”; Tony Costa as “Sky Masterson”, and Tara Brinkman as “Sergeant Sarah Brown”. The top-notch supporting cast is led by Jacob Shearer (who played Emile in last summer’s hit South Pacific as ”Nicely-Nicely”, Matt Davis as “Benny Southstreet”, Larry Conklin as “Lt. Brannigan”, Bret Boyle as “Big Jule”, Garrett Larson as “Rusty Charlie”, Beth Marshall as “Alma Abernathy”, and Iris Conklin as “Mimi, the Hotbox Dancer”. Paso Robles native, Cactus Harris, earning his Master’s Degree in Conducting, returns home to lead the large cast of local singers and dancers including Evan Camancho, Grant Larsen, Clinton Loya, Joseph Whittington, James Sloane Reneau, Julia Schulte, Hannah Fitzpatrick,, Amanda Campbell, Mercedes Delaroca, Jacob Bausch, Janine Elich, Sarah Evans, Salina Judd, and Olga Siebrass.
Founded in October of last year, Wine Country Theatre is a community based theatre dedicated to nurturing the talents of local artists and developing local audiences. Wine Country Theatre is established under the nonprofit status of Project Theatre Foundation in Paso Robles.
Performances will be held at the Berg Auditorium, located on the campus of the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation, 3201 Spring Street in Paso Robles on Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. from June 27 to July 19, 2014. In addition, a matinee performance will be presented Saturday, July 19 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available at WineCountryTheatre.com. General seating ticket prices are: $25; $15 for students. For other information about this production or Wine Country Theatre, please contact Cynthia Anthony (805) 610-0786.
Comments
