Theatre and Dance to present ‘Guys and Dolls’

Published November 6, 2019

The Department of Theatre and Dance will present the musical “Guys and Dolls” Nov. 15-17 and Nov. 22-24 in the Drama Theatre in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The show is directed and choreographed by guest artist Keith Andrews, with musical direction by Nathan R. Matthews, associate professor and director of music theatre, who will also conduct the production.

 The musical, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, will be presented in a full production with orchestra and newly designed sets, lights and costumes. The cast and designers are students from the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Set in post-World War II New York City and Havana, “Guys and Dolls” focuses on two sets of main characters: a gambler “guy” and a mission “doll,” and a second gambler and his nightclub performer fiancée of 14 years, as well as a variety of denizens in New York City’s Times Square.

The show’s score includes such classic Broadway songs as “Luck Be a Lady,” “If I Were a Bell” and “I’ve Never Been in Love Before.”

The musical, which opened on Broadway in 1950, won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, and has seen five revivals on Broadway. The subsequent film starred Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.

Andrews has directed and choreographed nationwide, including the national tour of “The Full Monty” and regional premieres of “On Your Feet,” “Rock of Ages,” “Flashdance” and “The Wedding Singer.” In New York City, he directed the world premiere of “A Wall Apart,” a new rock musical featuring new songs by Lord Graham Russel of the band Air Supply.

Matthews is a contributing author to “The Oxford Handbook of Sondheim Studies” and a former member of the music staff of the Santa Fe Opera. He is also the founding producing artistic director of the Riverside Opera Ensemble in New York City, where he has developed and produced new works of music theater. He has collaborated on Broadway and across North America with such artists as Anne Hathaway, Mark Hamill, Dixie Carter and Christiane Noll.

Tickets for “Guys and Dolls” are $20 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online and at the door one hour before the show.