By Kimberly O'Gorman for the Long Beach Press Telegram
'Guys and Dolls' looks at 1950s New York

Described by director Nick DeGruccio as "one of the most perfectly written and constructed musical comedies of our times," "Guys and Dolls' opens Saturday at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.

"Every single line or word (of the play) gives us information or moves us along," says DeGruccio, who directs the Musical Theatre West production of the popular musical, which includes the songs "Luck Be a Lady," "If I Were a Bell," "Sit Down You' and "Rocking the Boat."

Set in New York in the 1950s, "Guys and Dolls' takes us into the life of habitual gambler Sky Masterson (played by Kevin Earley). Sky will bet on anything, as long as he's sure to win. And win he does, time and time again. So when his buddy Nathan Detroit (Patrick De Santis) bets him that he can't get ANY woman to go to Havana, Cuba, with him, Sky can't resist and bets $1,000. But there's a catch: Nathan gets to pick the girl, and he picks Sarah Brown, a sergeant in the Save a Soul Mission, who's committed to God and to saving sinners.

Sarah's mission is going under, and she needs to fill up the midnight prayer meeting. In comes Sky, promising 12 sinners for the meeting if she'll agree to have dinner with him - in Havana, Cuba, of course.

Tami Tappan Damiano plays Sarah, a passionate and motivated woman, she says, "with a deep sense of philanthropy."

"It's interesting how these two strong, passionate people try to find a way to come together," says Damiano, 35. "He's passionate about gambling, she's passionate about the Bible, and (they) try to find a way to make that work."

Even though the show is a comedy, director DeGruccio says, "It's still all about people searching for love."

As it happens, Sky and Sarah aren't the only ones searching. Nathan has been engaged to the lovely Miss Adelaide (Bets Malone) for 14 years. Most girls would have dropped him long before, but not the long-suffering Miss Adelaide. So while Sky and Sarah search their souls, Nathan and Miss Adelaide have some trials ahead as well.

Though DeGruccio has seen "Guys and Dolls' (written by Damon Runyon with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser) many times and has actually performed in it a few times, this is his first time as director of the show. And rather than directing it as "cartoony or caricature-type theater," DeGruccio says he's chosen to honor the original work by giving the characters, time and situation depth and reality.

"By going back to the source and basing it in some sort of reality and recognizing the comedy of these particular characters Ñ the way they speak is very distinct Ñ this show (captures the essence) of what I think New York was at that time in that little section on Broadway."

Earley, who first played Sky Masterson at El Camino College in 2002, agrees: "Rather than Dick Tracy characters that you laugh at and find funny but don't relate to, (you have) real characters, more relatable to the audience."

Earley has been in musical theater since he was 5 years old. He enjoys playing a "smooth talker' like Sky. "It's a fun time and a really fun show," Earley says.

7/17/2005

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