GUYS AND DOLLS – Book by Abe Burroughs and Jo Swerling; Music by Frank Loesser; Directed by Carter Edward Smith. Produced by Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton, Aurora) through March 23. Tickets available at 303-856-7830 or Vintagetheatre.org.
Oh, no, not another one of those old pieces from ancient times. Might as well do SOUND OF MUSIC or FIDDLER Again! Oh, well, I like Vintage and have to trust them to do a good job. Wait! What? They got Jessica Sotwick as Adelaide!! And Justin Milner as Sky? That hottie that stole ONCE UPON A MATTRESS! OK – hold the curtain! I’m there . . . .
I should learn not to prejudge a show because of its age. There’s a reason audiences don’t leave the theatre humming after a contemporary production. And why almost everyone can name two or three songs out of the shows written in the 1900’s? They are pure joy to listen to and great fun to watch. The stories are compelling, the emotions authentic, and the jokes corny. The Damon Runyon-type characters ring a bell; we’ve seen them in a dozen movies and they probably remind you of your Uncle Shorty. The moment they started singing “I got a horse right here; his name is Paul Revere,” they had me.
Keywords: “Sit down, you’re rocking the boat” – floating crap game – trip to Havana – Salvation Army doll – Bushel and a Peck – post nasal drip. Ah, it all comes back now, doesn’t it? But please don’t forget “More I Cannot Wish You” sung by Sister Sarah’s grandfather to her, so beautifully done by Brian Trampler. One of the most beautiful songs ever written.
This show has found wonderfully rich characters to play wonderfully rich characters. The guys looking for a place to have a crap game have those faces, those bodies that say – without a word – “I been around.” Grant Bowman (Big Jule ) – Patrick Brownson (Harry the Horse) – Cooper Kaminsky (Benny Southstreet) – David Kincannon (Nicely Nicely) – Scotty Shaffer (Nathan Detroit) – all have seen the other side of thirty but can belt a song and dance a jig or two with the young guys. So proud of them – and of Carter for casting them – and Dallas Slankard and Danielle Morris for teaching them the dances. They all did great.
Nicole Cherecwich is a relative newcomer to Denver theatre but here’s hoping we see a lot more of her. Her bell-like soprano lit up the stage; her natural grace made her a perfect Sister Sarah, innocently led astray by that dastardly Justin Milner as Sky. They worked well together, making sugar and spice a dish to enjoy. The duet between Sarah and Adelaide – “Marry the Man Today: – was a show-stopping melding of styles.
Speaking of Adelaide – here she comes, folks. Anyone who saw Jessica Sotwick as Ursula in LITTLE MERMAID at Parker Arts or Mrs. Lovett in SWEENEY TODD at Stagedoor Theatre in Conifer knows that she can take a small role and make it big. And a big role and blow a hole in the back wall of the theatre. As Adelaide, she was loving and familiar with Scotty Shaffer as Nathan, her fiancé of 14 years. She could melt into tears at yet another postponement of the wedding bells; she could sing and dance her legs off as the star of the Hot Box Girls; her anger knew no bounds when betrayed again by a pair of dice. She will take a simple line, adorn it with her own touch – a twist, a sneer, a smile, a sneeze – and the line takes on a whole new meaning. She makes watching her a surprise and a delight in every scene. I keep telling her I’m her #1 fan; I can’t understand why she keeps backing away.
Well, I was wrong. Everything about this “tired” old show is fresh and new and delightful. Carter Edward Smith has come into his own as a director and has a bright future ahead of him.
A WOW factor of 9.25!!