Theater Review | ‘Guys and Dolls’ at Santa Barbara City College Garvin Theatre
Big-Band Style Music, Affable Gamblers, and Charming Romance Fuel This High Energy Classic Musical
The SBCC Theatre Group’s production of the Broadway classic Guys and Dolls truly captures the bold, triumphant spirit of traditional American musical theater. Full of clever, catchy tunes by the great Frank Loesser, SBCC’s production is well-performed by a talented cast of actors devoted to the show’s style and form. Guys and Dolls, which runs at the Garvin Theatre through July 29, is directed by Katie Laris and choreographed by Christina McCarthy and Gianna Burright.
In this tale of post-war New York City, Nathan Detroit (Raymond Wallenthin) searches for a place to host his underground craps game without alerting suspicious police lieutenant Brannigan (Brian Harwell) or his long-time fiancé, night-club singer Adelaide (Felicia Hall). Nathan finagles a potential venue for the game at the Biltmore garage, but it’ll cost him a thousand dollars in cash up front — money he hopes to gain in a “can’t-lose” bet with high-roller Sky Masterson (Nick Ehlen). The bet is that Sky can’t seduce straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown (Anikka Abbott) into a dinner date … in Havana. Peppered with jaunty, big-band style music and infused with the likability of these affable gamblers, Guys and Dolls is stylish, wry, and genuine.
The production has an excellent cast, featuring the comic (and vocal) talents of Tyler Gilbert and Nicholis Sheley as Nicely-Nicely and Benny Southstreet, Nathan’s bumbling buddies. Hall and Abbott (as the “dolls”) have well-trained musical theater voices that express the emotional color behind the lyrics. Though the title song, “Guys and Dolls,” features Benny and Nicely-Nicely good-naturedly poking fun at men who bend to the wills of their lady friends, the romances between Adelaide and Nathan, and Sky and Sarah show the audience flawed partners making an honest effort to be better versions of themselves. A charming classic, Guys and Dolls is a crisp, high-energy theatrical diversion not to be missed.
Guys and Dolls is at the Garvin Theatre at Santa Barbara City College through July 29. theatregroupsbcc.com/current-season/Guys-and-Dolls-A-Musical-Fable-of-Broadway
