Guys and Dolls

The musical was first produced on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre, opening on November 24, 1950 (which is actually our opening night). The play enjoyed an initial run of 1,201 performances, winning five 1951 Tony Awards, including the award for Best Musical.

Musical Numbers

Act I
Runyonland (Orchestra)
Fugue for Tinhorns (Nicely, Benny, Rusty)
Follow the Fold (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)

Characters

Nicely-Nicely Johnson Tenor
Benny Southstreet Bass/Baritone
Rusty Charlie Baritone
Sarah Brown Soprano
Arvide Abernathy Bass/Baritone
Harry the Horse
Lt. Brannigan
Nathan Detroit Baritone/Tenor
Angie the Ox
Miss Adelaide Mezzo-Soprano
Sky Masterson Baritone
Others: Joey Biltmore; Mimi; General Matilda B. Cartwright; Big Jule; ensemble

Sypnosis

Act I
The story revolves around the activities of New York petty criminals and professional gamblers. Nathan Detroit runs an (illegal) "floating craps game", despite constant encouragement to "go straight" by Miss Adelaide, a nightclub singer to whom he has been engaged for fourteen years but will not marry. When a surge of "high-rollers" comes to town, Nathan is pressured to find a place to hold his floating crap game. Due to strong police activity, namely Lieutenant Brannigan, he can only find one spot, the Biltmore Hotel garage. The owner's requirement, however, is a $1,000 deposit for security, money Nathan does not have.

Trying to obtain the money, Nathan comes across Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler willing to bet on virtually anything. Nathan proposes a bet which seems impossible to lose: take a doll of Nathan's choice to dinner ...in Havana, Cuba. Specifically, Miss Sarah Brown, a straight-walking sergeant at the Save-a-Soul Mission, a local Salvation Army-like organization. Sarah resists Sky, but her Mission is in trouble, and when he promises to fill her prayer meeting with a dozen sinners, Sky manages to get Sarah to agree to the date, putting Nathan in an even worse position. Over the course of their date, Sky manages to break down Sarah's social inhibitions, and they begin to fall in love with one another.

Act II
Nathan is also struggling with his relationship with his fiancée of fourteen years, Adelaide, who has come down with a psychosomatic cold due to lack of a wedding band. Tired of his habitual lying, she walks out on him. Meanwhile Sky is having problems of his own with Sarah as their conflicting lifestyles clash. Convinced that his love for Sarah is true, Sky makes good on a bet he made with Sarah to fill her failing mission with a dozen sinners. Also, he lies about succeeding on his original bet with Nathan and pays him the $1,000. At the same time, Sky wins a bet with the guys at Nathan's crap game that results in them having to appear at Sarah's mission. Nathan also attends, but doing so nearly ruins his relationship with Adelaide.

Sarah fatefully runs into Adelaide to where the two realize that they cannot fight love any longer. Adelaide is relieved when Sarah mentions that Nathan had attended a service earlier in the night, which Adelaide thought he had been lying about.

The show ends......

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Event listed by Jonathan Diggle

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