By Carl Baggese
Let’s get this out of the way first. I haven’t written a
review for quite a while; possibly since dinosaurs roamed the earth. However,
since all my fingers still work and I haven’t forgotten where the keys are on
the keyboard, after going to the opening of Modesto Performing Arts' production
of “Guys and Dolls” last night and seeing all those familiar faces from MPA, mixed with new ones, if I didn’t write this I would always feel I should have.
So, Jon Duran, this is for you and all those who toil unseen behind the scenes
to give an audience a show.
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| LtoR: Randi Linee as Sarah Brown, Curtis Nelson as Sky Masterson, Daniel Chavez as Nathan Detroit and Laura Jensen as Adelaide in MPAs' "Guys and Dolls." |
“Guys and Dolls” is called a musical fable of Broadway. It
opened in 1953, which puts it at the beginning of one of musical theatre’s
golden eras. It is based on the irascible characters of Damon Runyon and his fantasy
world of gamblers, crooks, nightclub cuties, and denizens of the dark, who all
speak in a vernacular that lacks conjunctions and sounds stilted to the average
ear. There are the guys: Harry the Horse, Nicely Nicely Johnson, Nathan
Detroit, Sky Obediah Masterson, Big Jule, Lt. Brannigan and others. Then the
dolls: Sarah Brown, Miss Adelaide, and the Hot Box girls. These are all
loveable innocents who never heard of Martin Scorsese and his world of
violence.
The book for the show is based primarily on Runyon’s “The
Idyll of Sarah Brown,” telling the story of the Save-a-Soul mission and its
need to conjure up sinners to redeem their souls. A few other stories were
adapted by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and characters brought with them
included Nathan Detroit and his floating crap
game as well as Miss Adelaide, his long suffering girlfriend, plus some
of the other low lifes of a Broadway that never existed outside of Runyon’s
fantasy world. Burrows was the primary architect of the tightly-woven book for
“Guys and Dolls” and devised it under the watchful eye of esteemed director,
George S. Kaufman. When they added the music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, the
show became magical with a group of songs that inevitably were bound for that
musical bellweather listing on the Hit Parade.
In its 62-year existence, “Guys and Dolls” has been revived
five times on Broadway, was made into a movie with Marlon Brando and Frank
Sinatra, has seen countless amateur productions across the country, and given
us lasting musical gems such as “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “If I Were a
Bell,” “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rockin' the Boat,” and even
“Adelaide’s Lament.” Loesser would go on to write his great operatic work next,
“The Most Happy Fella,” and end his musical theatre career with a Pulitzer
Prize for “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.”
Last night’s performance was not a first for MPA. They’ve
done the show before in 1979 and, most recently, in 1994. Paul Tischer has
directed all three productions, and he should be credited for the cohesiveness
of a production that skips all over New York City, travels to Havana and takes
a detour into the city sewers. Through it all, this production flows
faultlessly from scene to scene.
Something really needs to be added about Paul, and that is
that our community owes such a large debt of gratitude to this man. When
Modesto Performing Arts was in its infancy as Modesto Youth Theatre back in
1968, no one could have believed that 47 years later the company would still be
vibrant, alive and producing musicals, children’s theatre and plays. There is
really only one principle reason for its survival and existence, and that is
Paul Tischer. His perseverance, and his passion for musicals and theatre in
general, is why MPA still exists and why so many local performers have prospered. He has also helped launch many performers
towards their careers as professionals. If you run into him before a
performance or during intermission, a polite thank you would be in order.
So, let’s take a look at the cast. This is a very large
show, so there are quite a few of them. The ensemble is very good, with the
male dancers’ best moments during the “Crapshooters Dance.” The Hot Box girls
are perfectly matched and work well in their two songs with Adelaide, “A Bushel
and a Peck” and “Take Back Your Mink.” The show’s opening sequence, meant to
convey the rush and hubbub of New York’s Times Square seems a bit sparse for my
taste and a little bit repetitive, but Noble Dinse’s painted drops, here and
throughout the show, are pretty eye-popping.
For the principal performers, I think that Daniel Chavez as
Nathan Detroit caught the character’s quirks without fail and he sang well.
It’s always good when humorous dialogue still elicits audience laughs and
chuckles, no matter how dated it is. Laura Jensen as Miss Adelaide sparkled.
This is a role that, in previous incarnations, I have seen performed
brilliantly (Sharon McKnight) and badly (nameless). It can be yelled until your
ears hurt, or it can be subtly delivered with great understanding, and that’s
how it is done here. Jensen’s portrayal is both sympathetic and hilarious and
she blends very well with Chavez.
Curtis Nelson and Randi Linee are very good as Sky Masterson
and Sarah Brown. Nelson is in fine voice for the big songs, though I lost him
during “Luck Be a Lady” because the orchestra was so loud. He has charm and can
act quite well. Randi has a soaring voice, very close to Isabel Bigley’s on the
original cast album. While I’ve gotten use to a less operatic version of
Sarah’s songs, nothing is wrong with the way she delivers them, and you always
recognize her character’s determination. I only wish that she had been directed
to totally abandon her uptight nature during “If I Were a Bell” and thrown off
that damn hat (at least in this one scene) to let her hair down. Both
performers blend quite well in singing and acting.
Standouts in the smaller roles include Phil Fincher, a
stalwart performer with MPA, as Nicely Nicely doing a fine job with “Sit Down,
You’re Rockin’ the Boat;” and what a great, memorable and warm moment Carl Bengston
has as Arvide, Sarah’s grandfather, during “More I Cannot Wish You;” Michael
Johnson was perfect as Lt. Brannigan, especially delivering the shows funniest
line with adroit timing.
Some of the choral work needs to be polished – there were
uneven moments during “Fugue for Tinhorns” and “The Oldest Established,” but that
could have been opening night nerves. There is also an appreciation for live
music rather than pre-recorded music in theatre. MPA’s small pit crew under the
direction of David Braceros is very good. They started out a little shaky with
the overture, but soon found their stride and complemented the singers very
well. My only caveat is the “Luck Be a Lady” number, where they were a bit too
loud.
Costumes for this production are period perfect thanks to
the efforts of Tara Roe. Choreography by Hollie and Heather Bettencourt seems
pretty basic, with some frenzied work during the Havana sequence. The
aforementioned drops by Noble Dinse and the rest of the settings fit the show
perfectly, since this is as old-fashioned as it gets with the way the show
progresses through its book and its various locales. All the performers are miked, and the sound at the Gallo Center is great - so my simple suggestion is that there is no need to yell the lines.
Old-fashioned musicals may not be for everyone. It’s from
the Rodgers and Hammerstein school, not the Sondheim. “Guys and Dolls” tells a
straightforward, comic story with sometimes cartoonish characters. It is
musical comedy. It doesn’t try to be anything other than that and MPA has
captured its essence. Last night, there were laughs, there was applause, there
was appreciation for a job well done.
The show plays today at 2 p.m. and again Aug. 14 and 15 at
7:30 p.m. and Aug. 16 at 2 p.m. All performances are in the Foster Family
Theatre at the Gallo Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Modesto.
About Me: As I said, I haven’t written reviews for a
while, but now that I’ve retired from my day job, I may do it a little bit
more. I wrote for the Turlock Daily Journal from 1969 through 1989, starting as
a summer intern, creating and then editing the arts and entertainment portion
of the paper, writing reviews and articles about local and out-of-area theatre. Prior to that, I began writing reviews for MJC’s student newspaper, “The
Pirates’ Log” in late 1967. I also served in various capacities from producer
to public relations and marketing in many theatre companies over the years,
including a stint as board president for Modesto Performing Arts in the late
1980s.