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For other uses, see Guys and Dolls (disambiguation).
Guys and Dolls
Original Cast Recording
Music Frank Loesser
Lyrics Frank Loesser
Book Jo Swerling
Abe Burrows
Based upon The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown by Damon Runyon
Productions 1950 Broadway
1953 West End
1955 film
1976 Broadway revival
1982 West End revival
1992 Broadway revival
1995 Las Vegas
2005 West End revival
2008 Australia
Awards Tony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Book
Olivier for Outstanding Musical
Tony Award for Best Revival
Drama Desk Outstanding Revival
Olivier for Outstanding Musical

Guys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon.1 It also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably "Pick the Winner".

The musical was first produced on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre, opening on November 24, 1950 and directed by George S. Kaufman. It starred Robert Alda, Sam Levene, Isabel Bigley, and Vivian Blaine. The play enjoyed an initial run of 1,201 performances, winning five 1951 Tony Awards, including the award for Best Musical. Decca Records issued an original cast recording on LP; it was later reissued on CD by MCA. The original London production opened at the London Coliseum on May 28, 1953 and ran for 555 performances. The show enjoyed numerous award-winning revivals and tours and has become a popular choice for school and community theatre productions.2

On November 3, 1955 the film version was released, starring Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, and Jean Simmons, with Vivian Blaine reprising her role. It was directed by Joseph Mankiewicz.

Contents

Original production background

Isabel Bigley, who played Miss Sarah Brown, wrote an article about the frustrations and accomplishments that took place throughout the creation of Guys and Dolls. Among other things, she claimed that Frank Loesser physically assaulted her for not singing his songs the way he believed she should. Loesser's daughter, Susan, wrote in her biography of her father, "During a tantrum that became a Broadway insiders' legend, he [Frank Loesser] actually slapped Isabel Bigley in the face when she failed to sing his way. Like his explosion with the chorus, his attack on Isabel was over in a flash."3

A 50th-anniversary NPR retrospective on the making of the original Broadway production included Blaine's recollections of Miss Adelaide being created specifically to fit Blaine into the musical after Loesser and Loewe decided she was ill suited to play the buttoned-up Sarah. In the same retrospective, host Scott Simon observed that "Adelaide's Lament" is "often considered a perfect comic song" and offered a clip of lyricist Fred Ebb's analysis of its appeal:

“ Here's a girl who's got a cold all through the play and she says she has a cold 'cause somebody isn't going to marry her. That's a very rich comic notion. And she's got these hilarious punch lines. You know, "if she's getting a kind of name for herself and the name ain't his; if she's tired of gettin' the fish eye from the hotel clerk." Every line in it is worth something. It means something; has impact. It has vitality. It has humor and charm and appropriateness. And I don't know how you can get much better than that. ”

—Lyricist Fred Ebb4

Revivals

Guys and Dolls has enjoyed many revivals, on Broadway and elsewhere.

New York's City Center presented 16 performances of the show from April 20th to May 31st in 1955. The cast featured Helen Gallagher as Miss Adelaide and Walter Matthau as Nathan Detroit. There was another presentation at City Center--15 performances from from April 28th to May 9th--in 1965. The show starred Anita Gillette as Sarah Brown, Alan King as Nathan Detroit, Sheila MacRae as Miss Adelaide, and Jerry Orbach as Sky Masterson.

There was a major Broadway revival in 1976 at The Broadway Theatre, which featured an all-black cast, including Robert Guillaume as Nathan Detroit, and Motown-style musical arrangements by Danny Holgate and Horace Ott, which was directed by Billy Wilson. It ran for 239 performances.

A 1982 London revival was directed by Richard Eyre and played at the Royal National Theatre's largest auditorium, the Olivier Theatre. The principals were Bob Hoskins (Nathan), Julia McKenzie (Miss Adelaide), Ian Charleson (Sky), and Julie Covington (Sarah).

A 1992 Broadway revival, directed by Jerry Zaks,and starring Peter Gallagher, Faith Prince, Nathan Lane and Josie de Guzman, played at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 1,143 performances.

In 1995, a Las Vegas, Nevada production, performed without intermission, starred Jack Jones, Maureen McGovern and Frank Gorshin.

The 2005 West End revival opened at London's Piccadilly Theatre in June 2005 and closed in April 2007. This revival, directed by Michael Grandage, starred Ewan McGregor (Sky Masterson), Jane Krakowski (Miss Adelaide), and Douglas Hodge (Nathan Detroit)5. American actors Patrick Swayze (2006) and Don Johnson (2007) appeared as Nathan Detroit after Douglas Hodge left. Alex Ferns also appeared in this production in 2007. According to playbill.com this production, which had been scheduled to begin previews on Broadway in February 2008, has been indefinitely postponed.6

A new production of Guys & Dolls opened in Melbourne, Australia on April 5, 2008. The show stars Lisa McCune, Marina Prior, Garry McDonald, Ian Stenlake, Shane Jacobson and Magda Szubanski, and is playing at the Princess Theatre.

A new production of Guys & Dolls is playing at Portland Center Stage in Portland, Oregon through 11/02/2008.

Another Broadway revival starring Oliver Platt as Nathan Detroit is scheduled to open on March 1, 2009 at the Nederlander Theatre with previews beginning on February 3. Lauren Graham(in her Broadway debut) has been announced to play Miss Adelaide, Craig Bierko as Sky Masterson and Kate Jennings Grant as Sister Sarah Brown. Des McAnuff was announced as the director, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo. 7

Synopsis

Act I

The show opens with three small-time gamblers, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Benny Southstreet, and Rusty Charlie, arguing over which horse will win tomorrow's race. ("Fugue for Tinhorns"). They are soon confronted by the band members of the Save-a-Soul Mission, a local Salvation Army-like organization, who encourage them to quit the evils of gambling. ("Follow the Fold").

The gamblers and missionaries go their separate ways, and Nicely and Benny are confronted by the local policeman, Lt. Brannigan. Nathan Detroit arrives and, after insulting Brannigan, talks to his sidekicks about how his plans for his illegal "Floating craps game" are going. As a convention of "high-rollers" is coming to town, Nathan is pressured to find a place to hold the game. Due to Brannigan's strong police activity, he has found only one likely spot, the Biltmore Hotel garage. The owner's requirement, however, is a $1,000 security deposit, which Nathan does not have. ("The Oldest Established")

Nathan encounters Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler willing to bet on virtually anything. Nathan proposes a bet which he believes he cannot lose: Sky must take a doll of Nathan's choice to dinner- in Havana, Cuba. Nathan chooses Miss Sarah Brown, a straight-walking sergeant of the Save-a-Soul Mission. Sky accepts, and asks Sarah out.

Sarah rebuffs him, telling him that he isn't the kind of man she would go out with. ("I'll Know") Fortunately for Sky, Sarah's mission is in trouble. When he promises to fill her prayer meeting with a dozen sinners, Sarah agrees to the date.

Nathan, certain that Sky will lose the bet, arranges to use the garage. Meanwhile, Miss Adelaide, a nightclub singer, finishes her performance in the Hot Box nightclub ("A Bushel And A Peck"). Nathan has been engaged to Adelaide for fourteen years, but so far has managed to avoid tying the knot and Adelaide's constant encouragement that he "go straight." When Adelaide soon finds out Nathan is running the craps game again, she reflects on a medical book she's been reading, which tells her that the chronic cold she suffers is a psychosomatic reaction to her frustration with Nathan's failure to commit to her. ("Adelaide's Lament")

In a Havana nightclub Sky charms Sarah (helped by a milkshake secretly spiked with Bacardi), and finds the slightly-tipsy Sarah beginning to fall in love with him. ("If I Were A Bell"). Sky is surprised to find himself falling in love too, and can't bring himself to take advantage of Sarah while she's under the influence. They return to America, and Sarah, sober now, and Sky express their newfound love. ("My Time of Day"/"I've Never Been in Love Before") Unfortunately, their romantic moment is ruined when they see gamblers running out of the mission--which is where Nathan, unable to secure the garage, was holding the craps game.


Act II

Adelaide performs another song at the Hot Box. ("Take Back Your Mink") Her cold still plagues her, and she is nearly fed-up enough to dump Nathan at last. ("Adelaide's Second Lament")

Sarah confides her love for Sky to her foster father and founder of the Save-A-Soul Mission, Arvide Abernathy. Instead of scolding Sarah or condemning Sky, Abernathy expresses his faith in Sky's inherent goodness and urges Sarah to follow her heart. ("More I Cannot Wish You").

Determined to prove his love for Sarah, Sky attends the floating crap game (which is now being held in the sewers) and lies to Nathan, telling him that he failed to take Sarah to Havana. He pays the thousand-dollar bet. He then stakes everything on a single roll of the dice: if he loses, he will pay every man at the game a thousand dollars, but if he wins, they must all attend a prayer meeting at Sarah's mission. ("Luck, Be a Lady") He tosses the dice .

Afterwards, Nathan's relationship with Adelaide crashes when he tells her that he cannot elope with her that evening as promised, because he must attend the prayer meeting. Tired of his never-ending lies and excuses, Adelaide walks out on him. ("Sue Me").

When the General of the Save-A-Soul mission, who is attending the prayer meeting, almost leaves due to the lack of sinners, all of the gamblers shuffle in. Moments later, Brannigan comes in, and Nicely Nicely testifies to prove that the gamblers were sincere in attending the meeting. ("Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat").

After the meeting is over, Sarah fatefully runs into Adelaide, and in mutual sympathy they realize that they cannot fight love any longer ("Marry the Man Today"). Adelaide is overjoyed when she learns that Nathan really was at the prayer meeting, and hadn't lied to her after all.

The show ends happily with Nathan and Adelaide's long-awaited wedding ("Finale"), Nathan having gone (almost) straight. They are joined by Sky, who has abandoned gambling and joined the mission, and his new bride Sarah.

Characters

Musical numbers

Act I
  • "Runyonland" (Orchestra)
  • "Fugue for Tinhorns" (Nicely, Benny, Rusty)
  • "Follow the Fold" (Sarah, Mission Band)
  • "The Oldest Established" (Nathan, Nicely, Benny, Guys)
  • "I'll Know" (Sarah, Sky)
  • "A Bushel and a Peck" (Miss Adelaide, Hot Box Girls)
  • "Adelaide's Lament" (Miss Adelaide)
  • "Guys and Dolls" (Nicely, Benny)
  • "If I Were a Bell" (Sarah)
  • "My Time of Day/I've Never Been in Love Before" (Sky, Sarah)
Act II
  • "Take Back Your Mink" (Miss Adelaide, Hot Box Girls)
  • "More I Cannot Wish You" (Arvide)
  • "Crapshooters' Ballet" (Orchestra)
  • "Luck Be a Lady" (Sky, Guys)
  • "Sue Me" (Miss Adelaide, Nathan)
  • "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" (Nicely, Company)
  • "Marry the Man Today" (Miss Adelaide, Sarah)
  • "Finale" (Company)

Historical cast information

The following table shows the principal casts of the major productions of Guys and Dolls:

Cast of major productions of Guys and Dolls
Nathan Detroit Miss Adelaide Sky Masterson Sister Sarah Brown Nicely-Nicely Johnson Arvide Abernathy Big Jule Harry the Horse Benny Southstreet Rusty Charlie
Original 1950 Broadway Production Sam Levene Vivian Blaine Robert Alda Isabel Bigley Stubby Kaye Pat Rooney B.S. Pully Tom Pedi Johnny Silver Douglas Deane
Original 1953 London Production Sam Levene Vivian Blaine Jerry Wayne Lizbeth Webb Stubby Kaye Ernest Butcher Lew Herbert Tom Pedi Johnny Silver Douglas Deane
1955 Film Frank Sinatra Vivian Blaine Marlon Brando Jean Simmons Stubby Kaye Regis Toomey B.S. Pully Sheldon Leonard Johnny Silver Murray Vines
1976 All Black Cast Robert Guillaume Norma Donaldson James Randolph Ernestine Jackson Ken Page Emett “Babe” Wallace Walter White John Russell Christophe Pierre Sterling McQueen
1982 Royal National Theatre, London Bob Hoskins Julia McKenzie Ian Charleson Julie Covington David Healy John Normington James Carter Bill Paterson Barrie Rutter Kevin Williams
1992 US Broadway Revival Nathan Lane Faith Prince Peter Gallagher Josie de Guzman Walter Bobbie John Carpenter Herschel Sparber Ernie Sabella J.K. Simmons Timothy Shew
2005 London Production Douglas Hodge Jane Krakowski Ewan McGregor Jenna Russell Martyn Ellis Niall Buggy Sevan Stephan Norman Bowman Cory English
2008 Melbourne Production Garry McDonald Marina Prior Ian Stenlake Lisa McCune Shane Jacobson Russell Newman Magda Szubanski Adam Murphy Wayne Scott Kermond Troy Sussman
2009 US Broadway Revival Oliver Platt Lauren Graham TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Awards and nominations

  • Original 1950 Broadway production
  • 1965 Broadway revival
  • 1976 Broadway revival
    • 1977 Tony Award
    • 1977 Theatre World Award
    • 1977 Drama Desk Award
      • Outstanding Actor in a Musical — Robert Guillaume (nominee)
      • Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical — Ernestine Jackson (nominee)
  • 1992 Broadway revival
    • 1994 Theatre World Award — Burke Moses (Winner)
    • 1992 Tony Award
    • 1992 Drama Desk Award
      • Outstanding Actress in a Musical — Faith Prince (Winner)
      • Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical — Walter Bobbie (nominee)
      • Outstanding Choreography — Christopher Chadman (nominee)
      • Outstanding Director of a Musical — Jerry Zaks (Winner)
      • Outstanding Costumes — William Ivey Long (Winner)
      • Outstanding Lighting Design — Paul Gallo (Winner)
      • Outstanding Set Design — Tony Walton (Winner)
      • Outstanding Revival (Winner)
  • 1982 London production
  • 2005 London production
  • 2008 Melbourne production
    • Helpmann Awards (2008)
      • Best Musical — (nominee)
      • Best Actress In A Musical — Marina Prior — (nominee)
      • Best Supporting Actor in a Musical — Shane Jacobson — (Winner)
      • Best Choreography in a Musical — Rob Ashford — (nominee)
      • Best Sound Design — Chris Full, John Scandrett and Nick Reich — (nominee)
      • Best Direction in a Musical — Michael Grandage and Jamie Lloyd — (nominee)

Notes

  1. ^ "Damon Runyon". Authors. The eBooks-Library. Retrieved on 2008-07-20.
  2. ^ TIME magazine reported in its May 26, 2008 issue, p. 51, that this musical tied (with Anything Goes) as the tenth most frequently produced musical by U.S. high schools in 2007.
  3. ^ Loesser, Susan. A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life (2000), p. xix, pp. 108-109, Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0634009273
  4. ^ Scott Simon (host). "Creation of the musical Guys and Dolls, Weekend Edition Saturday, National Public Radio, November 25, 2000
  5. ^ "Adelaide's Lament: London Guys and Dolls Closes April 14", playbill.com,
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Guys and Dolls Revival Unlikely for Spring", playbill.com, September 11, 2007
  7. ^ Jones, Kenneth."Bierko and Grant Will Create Chemistry in Broadway's Guys and Dolls",playbill.com, December 2, 2008

References

  • Susan Loesser (1993): A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life. Donald I. Fine, New York ISBN-0-634-00927-3.
  • Davis, Lee. "The Indestructible Icon" in ShowMusic, Winter 2000-01: 17-24, 61-63

External links


v • d • e
Tony Award for Best Musical

Kiss Me, Kate (1949) · South Pacific (1950) · Guys and Dolls (1951) · The King and I (1952) · Wonderful Town (1953) · Kismet (1954) · The Pajama Game (1955) · Damn Yankees (1956) · My Fair Lady (1957) · The Music Man (1958) · Redhead (1959) · The Sound of Music / Fiorello! (1960) · Bye Bye Birdie (1961) · How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1962) · A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963) · Hello, Dolly! (1964) · Fiddler on the Roof (1965) · Man of La Mancha (1966) · Cabaret (1967) · Hallelujah, Baby! (1968) · 1776 (1969) · Applause (1970) · Company (1971) · Two Gentlemen of Verona (1972) · A Little Night Music (1973) · Raisin (1974) · The Wiz (1975)
v • d • e
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical

South Pacific (1950) · Guys and Dolls (1951) · Hello, Dolly! (1964) · Fiddler on the Roof (1965) · Company (1971) · Two Gentlemen of Verona (1972) · A Little Night Music (1973) · Candide (1974) · Shenandoah (1975)
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Frank Loesser musicals
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