Westcoast Black Theatre puts a twist into classic musical ‘Guys & Dolls’

“Guys & Dolls” has been one of the most beloved and funniest Broadway musicals since it first opened in 1950. Now, some young artists at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe are making discoveries about a show many of them didn’t know as they prepare to open the company’s new season.

The musical, based on Damon Runyon stories about hard-edged gamblers and the women who love them in New York, has been a favorite since its Broadway debut in 1950. It introduced such songs as “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat,” “Adelaide’s Lament” and the love ballads “I’ll Know” and “If I Were a Bell.” Asolo Repertory Theatre staged a production in 2016.

But those songs are going to sound a little different for those who know the show. This production is based on a 1976 Broadway revival with an all-Black cast and some updated arrangements that gave the music a more swinging, jazzier sound.

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“They took the score and updated it in terms of instrumentation,” director Jim Weaver said. “They incorporated electronic keyboards and synthesized sounds and they basically transferred the story from Times Square to Harlem, but all the characters were the same.”

The show itself is new to at least some of the cast.

“I was not familiar with the show at all before I was cast,” said Brian L. Boyd, who plays the high-rolling gambler Sky Masterson, whose life is upended when he falls in love with the prim missionary Sarah Brown.  "I had to do my own research. I asked a lot of peers if they were aware of the show, and I heard great reviews about it.”

Boyd said he started by listening to the music and was initially concerned that he wouldn’t get into it. “But after the first week of rehearsals and enjoying this amazing cast we have, I’m in love with this musical now,” he said.

Boyd has appeared in several Westcoast productions, including a leading role in “Raisin” in 2018 and “Eubie” in 2021. He stars opposite Kirstin Angelina Henry, who makes her Sarasota debut as Sarah.

Henry knew only a couple of songs from the show and mistakenly thought she would be singing “Adelaide’s Lament,” which is performed by the nightclub star Miss Adelaide, the long-suffering fiancée to the gambler Nathan Detroit.

“Once I realized I didn’t sing that song, I had to do a lot of work to figure out who Sarah was.” She started by watching the 1955 film that starred Marlon Brando as Sky and Jean Simmons as Sarah.

“I realized that Sarah is the kind of character I don’t usually get to play. I’ve done a lot of shows during my college career but more of them were contemporary or I was a bad girl. Playing a missionary is a different thing to wrap myself around, but it’s also been really awesome to bring in the liveliness in her.”

Boyd and Henry star along with Marta McKinnon as Adelaide opposite Warren G. Nolan Jr. as Nathan, who keeps Adelaide on edge about when they’re going to get married after more than a dozen years of engagement.

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The cast also includes Leon S. Pitts as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Lee Hollis Bussie, Aaron Pottenger, Michael Mendez, Carvas Pickens, Michael Charles, Brentney Stephens, Jai Shanae and Derric Gobourne Jr. Christopher Jordan serves as musical director and leader of a six-person band. Donna and Mark Buckalter are designing the sets, lighting is by Michael Pasquini, costumes are by Darci Collins.

Boyd says he sees similarities between himself and Sky.

“He’s silky smooth, at times underhanded, and he knows how to use his charm to get his way. I feel there’s a bit of irony and faith that he can’t run from,” Boyd said, noting that Sky’s given name, Obediah, “means servant of God. To walk in fate’s door and run into someone who is actually a servant of God is meaningful.”

Weaver, who is also the theater’s education director and artistic associate, said the production is an opportunity “to expose younger artists to a classic piece of musical theater” while keeping it fresh and new for the audience.

And he said transferring the setting to Harlem in the 1950s adds new layers of meaning to aspects of the story.

“Segregation was still an issue,” he said. “They didn’t have as much access to financial support and in some ways it justifies why these characters would be going about gambling and hustling and trying to survive.”

‘Guys and Dolls’

Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling. Directed and choreographed by Jim Weaver. Runs Oct. 5-Nov. 20, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $50, with discounts for full-time students and active military. 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: ‘Guys & Dolls’ gets a swinging twist in Westcoast Troupe production