Don't gamble your time and fall in love with ALT's 'Guys and Dolls'

Amarillo Little Theatre presents a romcom classic enveloping high-stakes gambling and head-over-heels love all in one with "Guys and Dolls" as their first Mainstage production of the 2022-23 season. Showings will be Sept. 8 through Sept. 25 at the Amarillo Little Theatre's Allen Shankles Mainstage, located at 2019 Civic Circle.

"This is one of those classic musicals we always try to include when creating our season, and this year we decided 'Guys and Dolls' as our classic story and production that we wanted to include. ... From the way it's written to its storyline and its well-known songs, we knew this was how we wanted to kick off our season," said Artistic Director Jason Crespin.

Based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, this Tony Award-winning favorite gambles with luck and love under the bright lights of Broadway.

With "Guys and Dolls" set in Runyon’s mythical New York City, Gambler, Nathan Detroit, tries to find the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck. Meanwhile, his girlfriend and nightclub performer, Adelaide, laments that they’ve been engaged for 14 years. Nathan turns to fellow gambler Sky Masterson for the dough, and Sky ends up chasing the straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown as a result. Follow the Guys and Dolls as they travel from the heart of Times Square to the cafes of Havana, Cuba, the sewers of New York City, and ending the night right where they belong.

"The thing that I love about this story is at the end, it's the women that decide what the story is going to be. They take matters into their own hands and decide their own future and how they are going to get it, and I think that is a cool way and a good message to end the show with, a strong message about women's voices," Crespin said.

ALT has assembled a brilliant and fun cast for this production. Jason Driver portrays the comedic gambler Nathan Detroit, with Emily Benton bringing to life the loveable Miss Adelaide as her ALT debut. The production will also include ALT veterans Dillon Kizarr and Sarah Dunn as gambler Sky Masterson and Save a Soul missionary Sarah Brown.

"My favorite thing about this story is its simplicity and its classic nature," Driver said. "It is very traditional, slapstick and comical, and the character dynamics are laid out pretty clearly. It is also a fixture of its era that offers an interesting take on guys' and women's interactions and how men didn't go for the settled comfortable life, and women had to kind of force them into that sometimes like seen in the story, which is what makes it recognizable and good."

Other new and recognizable faces in the cast include Rob Attaway, Ikaris Bard, Nels Bjork, Christy Corder, Dennis Doerr, Hugh Fristoe, Megan Gore, Zoie Hill, Saturn Horton, Camron Kelley, Stephanie Kelley, Joanna Kimbell, Justin Loe, Terry Martin, Jacob Miller, Omar Nevarez, Jenni Opalinski, Jeffrey Pickens, Evelyn Reeder, Daniel Rice, Evelyn Ruvalcaba, Bryan Scott, Charles Thomason, Jeri Tidmore, Travis Tidmore, Duffy Tidwell, Morgan Willie, Sherie Wood and Aspen Younker.

"This was a musical that premiered on Broadway in 1950 which it won a Tony Award for, and then of course was made into a movie in 1955, so the material was very well written, which we are keeping in the same style with our production. ... With this show, we are pulling out all the stops and leaning into that mid-century vibe, and that is reflected in our costumes, our sets, our dances, and even the way our cast sings with that golden age sound. It is all time appropriate. Some individuals cut their hair or grew out tiny mustaches, and I purchased time-appropriate candies for our newsstand to really embrace the time appropriate visuals," Crespin said.

Along with Crespin as Artistic Director, the production has music direction by Jennifer Akins and choreography by Shawn Walsh. Carla Fristoe serves as assistant director, with Ashley DeVoid as production assistant and Kallie Kilburn as assistant choreographer.

"Guys and Dolls" features some of Frank Loesser’s most memorable tunes, including the hilarious “Adelaide’s Lament,” the romantic “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” and the crowd-pleasing classic “Luck Be a Lady.”

"There are songs in this production that everyone knows, but they don't realize that it's from 'Guys and Dolls.' So, that is another thing, that people can come and listen to the great music that they have heard all their life, and realize where it originated from, or create a new memory and experience as they hear them for the first time," Crespin said.

This musical production is rated PG. Showtimes include Thursdays, Sept. 8, 15 and 22 at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, and 24 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, Sept. 18 and 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Season tickets are still available for the 2022-23 ALT season. Students tickets are available two for the price of one. Tickets can be reserved by phone by calling (806) 355-9991 or online at http://www.amarillolittletheatre.org.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Don't gamble your time and fall in love with ALT's "Guys and Dolls"