Light Opera’s ‘Guys’ could make a missionary rethink her position

By Erin Fleming
Light Opera Works celebrates the holiday season with another classic gem of the American musical theatre canon, the Tony Awarding: Guys and Dolls.

What’s playing at the Cahn Auditorium?

I’ll tell you what’s playing at the Cahn Auditorium…Musical about New York gambler Nathan Detroit trying to organize a craps game while Adelaide his fiance thinks his criminal activity is on a moratorium.
That’s what’s playing at the Cahn Auditorium.

What’s the news in Evanston?

I’ll tell you what’s the news in Evanston…Story about a guy betting another guy that he can woo the prim and proper missionary, Sarah Brown, and get her on a plane to Havana, way outta town ‘cause he’s got the luck of Sky Masterson.
That’s what’s the news in Evanston.

What’s happening on the Light Opera Works stage?

I’ll tell you what’s happening on the Light Opera Works stage…Amazing 24-piece orchestra conducted by Shawn Stengel, fantastic choreography by Clayton Cross, a book with some clever innuendo, directed by Rudy Hogenmiller so that’s it’s appropriate for any age.
That’s what’s happening on the Light Opera Works stage!

Take the family to see Guys and Dolls. It’s a big, bold, Tony Award-winning American musical featuring the classic songs “Bushel and a Peck,” “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”

The creative team (Scenic Designer Adam Veness, Costume Designer Brenda Winstead, Lighting Designer Andrew H. Meyers, Sound Designer Aaron Quick) create bold, colorful postcard pictures of New York City and Cuba—the perfect backdrop for big production numbers like “The Crapshooter’s Dance” and “Havana” that showcase the outstanding dancers.

The wonderful cast takes on this lavish production as a well-oiled ensemble. Standouts include Sarah Lawson, absolutely winning as Miss Adelaide, the long-suffering fiance of Nathan Detroit, played by Steve Silver. Lawson’s rendition of “Adelaide’s Lament” is hilariously infectious. Elizabeth Telford shines as the conflicted Sarah Brown, lighting up the house with her slightly intoxicated and full-throated number “If I Were A Bell.” And, speaking of innuendo, Justin Adair’s Sky Masterson is charming enough to make any missionary rethink her position.

It’s a fun show with time-honored themes of love vs. independence and a deceptively simple message: if a guy finds redemption, either in finally getting married or going on the straight and narrow…call it dumb, call it clever, but you can get odds forever—that the guy’s only doing it for some doll.

Light Opera Works presents “Guys and Dolls” through January 3 at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Street, Evanston. More information and tickets ($34-$94, patrons under age 21 pay half price) are available online here or by phone at (847) 920-5360.