‘Guys and Dolls’ rolls with humor, song
By Erich Murphy
Pontiac Daily Leader
Thu Jul 09, 2009, 12:05 PM CDT
Pontiac, Ill. - In theater parlance, dress
rehearsals are for getting things corrected before the
play opens. Other than the typical little loose ends that
need tightened, tonight’s opening of the Vermillion Players’ production
of “Guys and Dolls” should be a smash.
Wednesday’s final rehearsal run through gave a sizable
audience a look at what Livingston County has to offer in its younger actors
in this year’s Theater-In-The-Park children’s play.
“Guys and Dolls” is set in New York City and
focuses on four characters, a traveling crap game, other gambling and salvation.
Some may remember the 1955 movie that starred Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando.
Dakota McDaniels plays Sky Masterson, a gambler who will
bet on about anything. Brando played this role on the screen.
McDaniels displays a cool confidence on the stage that really
lends credence to the character. He plays the tough guy with brains quite well
while being able to belt out songs, including the popular “Luck Be A
Lady.”
The other main male character is Nathan Detroit, played
by Austin Bristow. Detroit, the character Sinatra played in the movie, is rather
nervous throughout because many things are going around him that he cannot
control.
He is trying to get a crap game going but there is no place
to hold it, except for a garage. The problem is the owner wants $1,000 up front
to let the game take place there.
Bristow is able to bring out the Detroit character well.
The women of object are two contrasting characters. Miss
Sarah Brown works for the Save-A-Soul Mission, a Salvation Army-type of refuge
for sinners looking to straighten out their lives.
Miss Adelaide is a nightclub singer who has been engaged
to Nathan Detroit for 14 years. She has waited long enough to be married and
has decided it’s time to go through with it.
Sarah Bertram appears quite refined in playing Sarah Brown.
Bertram’s voice is solid as a singer and she is strong as the upright
leader of the mission.
Brown’s problem is getting enough souls into the mission
to be saved. Bertram makes her character strong while being vulnerable. Bertram’s
strength is being convincing in letting the audience understand that Brown
knows who Sky Masterson is and what he represents.
The vulnerability is being able to show the audience that
Brown is not stuck up and incapable of falling for someone of Masterson’s
ilk.
Darian Stadler plays the role of Miss Adelaide very well.
Like McDaniels, Stadler seems to have been perfectly cast.
Stadler’s New York accent is very good and her singing
is tremendous. She has the confidence to carry out the dame trying to hook
her man into marriage.
The play flows well. It opens with Nicely-Nicely Johnson,
Benny Southstreet and Rusty Charlie discussing, in song, a horse race. This
lets the audience understand that a central theme is gambling.
The main game of choice is rolling the dice. Nathan Detroit
is in charge of putting together a game. He runs into problems in trying to
find a place, and then with coming up with the money for “rent.”
Detroit gets Sky Masterson, the gambler who will bet on
anything, tied into a $1,000 wager. The bet is Masterson having to take Miss
Brown to dinner in Havana, Cuba.
Meanwhile, as Detroit is trying to get his game rolling,
his fiancé of 14 years, Miss Adelaide, is pushing for marriage.
Lt. Brannigan is the cop on the Broadway beat (Broadway
is the location of the story) who is trying to keep the crap game from taking
place. Jacob Krominga is very good as the cop looking to keep the peace.
Brannigan happens to come upon a gathering of the lost souls — gamblers — and
asks some questions.
The guys say, much to Detroit’s surprise, they are
having a bachelor party. Detroit and Miss Adelaide, they say, are going to
tie the knot.
This is another problem Detroit has to face.
While the plot is unfolding, many other performances are
taking place that keep the attention of the audience.
There are 101 players in the cast. Other highlights include
the children’s chorus singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” as
well as the dancing by the different groups — such as the Hot Box Girls
and the Havana Dancers.
The play is somewhat long, taking about 2 hours, 45 minutes
for the run through. It opens tonight and will run through Sunday. The curtain
rises at 7:30 for each performance.
Given the forecast for rain Friday and Saturday, taking
in the Vermilion Players production this weekend might be a pretty good idea
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