Guys & Dolls

The Community Players' presents a lively, colorful production of "Guys and Dolls," the Broadway musical mainstay about gambling men and the women who try to save them from their wicked ways, where everyone in the audience is a winner.

With music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, the now timeless classic, "Guys and Dolls," made its Broadway premiere in 1950 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Featuring the songs "Luck Be a Lady," and "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat," the 1955 film version starred Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, and countless stage revivals have since followed, most recently in 2009.

Directed and choreographed with style and finesse by Timothy Reid, "Guys and Dolls" takes us back to 1920s gangster era New York City and introduces high roller Nathan Detroit (Ed Benjamin), desperately seeking a venue and cash for his floating crap game. Detroit bets gambler master and ladies man, Sky Masterson (Erich Dethlefsen), a thousand bucks that he can't possibly persuade the pristine Sarah Brown (Christina Masson), a member of the Save-A-Soul mission, to have dinner with him in Havana.

Meanwhile, Detroit has been engaged for fourteen years to sexy nightclub singer, Miss Adelaide (Taryn Mallard-Reid), suffering from a chronic cold (as sung in "Adelaide's Lament," a show highlight), who wrongly assumes her fianc�e's card shark days were behind him. Sky, however, appears to be turning over a new leaf when his trip to Havana with Sarah turns out differently from the expected ("I've Never Been in Love Before").

It's no surprise this musical fable has stood the test of time, because it is a winning combination of lighthearted comedy and touching romance, during an exciting, memorable and particularly jazzy period in history, when men were "guys" who affectionately referred to their ladies as "dolls."

This classy production is loaded with extravagant song and dance numbers that burst with energy and flair, from the splashy "Havana" to the sultry "Take Back Your Mink." The real showstoppers are "The Crapshooters' Dance" and Ken McPherson, a charming Nicely-Nicely, leading the cast in "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat."

Masson delivers an especially earnest performance as Sarah and the terribly charismatic Dethlefsen shows remarkable stage presence as Sky. Sarah and Sky, however, are upstaged by Mallard-Reid and Benjamin, who effectively and respectively own the stage by stealing every scene as the smitten, unsuspecting damsel, Miss Adelaide, and her not-too-soon-to-be hooligan husband, Nathan Detroit.

Simply stated, The Community Players' awesome production of "Guys and Dolls" hits the jackpot.

"Guys and Dolls" continues through April 26 at Jenks Auditorium, Division Street in Pawtucket. For information or tickets, call 401-726-6860 or visit The Community Players' website.