Guys and Dolls

A musical fable of Broadway based on a Story and Characters by Damon Runyon.
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling.

Since its premiere in 1950, Guys and Dolls can lay claim to being one of Broadway’s longest running musicals and a perennial favourite among lovers of musical theatre. And it’s no wonder. The antics of Nathan Detroit and his “oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York” are irresistibly timeless. His world of gamblers and their “dolls” comes vividly to life with more than a dozen toe-tapping songs including “Luck Be a Lady”, “Marry the Man Today” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”.

Director:  Brian Richmond (Chair)
Musical Director:  Don Horsburgh (Guest Artist)
Set and Costume Designer:  Ed Kotanen (Guest Artist)
Lighting Designer:  Michael J. Whitfield (Guest Artist)
Choreographer:  Gwen Dobie (Guest Instructor, replacing Scott Malcolm on leave)
Dialect Coach:  Ned Vukovic (Faculty)
Stage Manager:  Jen Braem
Assistant Lighting Designer:  Eugene Mendelev
Assistant Director:  Alistair Newton

Featuring:  Cameron Anderson, Sebastien Archibald, Melissa Bates, Anne-Marie de la Giroday, Victor Dolhai, John Ellingson, Mack Gordon, Trevor Hinton, Katie Hood, Leah James, James Kot, Eva Markvoort, Kathlene McGuinness, Jason Moldowan, Alistair Newton, Kaitlyn Regehr, Kate Richard, Karen Taylor, David Ward, Kholby Wardell, Kassia Warshawski, Chris Wilson, Colby Wilson, and Jesse Young.

Held over until November 27
Previews: Nov. 2 & 3 at 8 pm ($5 after 5 pm)
Evening performances: Nov. 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 at 8 pm
Matinee: Nov. 20 at 2 pm

Pre-Show lecture: Nov. 5 at 7 pm (Free to public)

HOLD OVER PERFORMANCES: Nov. 24 at 8 pm, Nov. 25 at 8 pm, Nov. 26 at 8 pm and Nov. 27 at 2 pm

 

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MEDIA REVIEWS

“This show has lots of soul.” 

-Robert Mitchell (CBC Radio)

“Neither of us were disappointed.  In fact, the play was so absorbing that I only noticed my right leg had fallen asleep when I stood up for intermission.  The lively song-and-dance numbers were seamlessly interwoven into a plot filled with tough-talking gamblers, righteous missionaries and humorously dysfunctional relationships.  Though the play’s overt gender wars may have been retro enough to enrage a few die-hard feminists, the story is undeniably charming, as it fuses edgy humour with traditional values.”

-Michelle Martin (The Martlet)

“While not an outstanding success, this production boasted a number of fine moments on Thursday night.  Some scenes are terribly clever—the best example being the whirlwind trip to Cuba, complete with wittily conceived silhouettes (dancers, airplane, Christopher Columbus), hoofers who actually know how to dance, and a sharply executed night-club brawl.
Credit goes to choreographer Gwen Dobie, who also has a leading hand in other stand-out scenes.  The Hot Box Dolls look like a million bucks during Act II’s ‘Take Back Your Mink’ number, in which the chorus doffs its minks and gowns.”

-Adrian Chamberlain (Times Colonist)

“From splashy background scenes to snappy, humorous characters, Guys and Dolls is a passionate musical that definitely deserves a loud applause.”

-Andrea Clark (Nexus)