Weston Playhouse's GUYS & DOLLS Begins Tonight

Continuing a full tilt schedule of summer entertainment, Weston presents the legendary Broadway blockbuster Guys and Dolls on the MainStage starting tonight, July 31. Based upon characters and stories by Damon Runyon, and memorialized in film by the likes of Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, Weston's production features a requisite all-star cast and an iconic score which includes some of Broadway's most memorable songs, such as "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat."

Written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, Guys and Dolls first premiered on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre in 1950. It ran for 1200 performances - one of the most successful musicals in American theatre history - and accrued five Tony's including best musical and choreography. With award-winning revivals on Broadway in each of the last four decades, the show tells the story of a high-rolling gambler, a show girl, a Salvation Army gal, and the proprietor of New York's most coveted floating craps game, and the exploits which take them from the heart of Time Square to the sidewalks of Havana.

Weston founding director Malcolm Ewen directs the four principal roles along with an additional 19 'triple threat' performers who act, sing, and dance their way through the colorful, hilarious, and high-energy classic. True to Weston's tradition, the full cast line-up represents the best of Broadway and Hollywood alongside premiere regional talent and the up-and-coming performers of Weston's Young Company. Sean Palmer (HBO's Sex and the City, Bway's The Little Mermaid) and Jeff Award-winning actress Andrea Prestinario join Weston returnees Sam Lloyd Jr (Desperate Housewives, Scrubs) and Marissa McGowan (Bway's Les Mis, A little Night Music) as the unforgettable headliners, Sky Masterson, Sarah Brown, Nathan Detroit, and Miss Adelaide.

Ewen's creative team includes choreographer Michael Raine, music director Larry Pressgrove, costume designer Karen Ann Ledger, and sound designer Ed Chapman - all of whom worked on Weston's critically-acclaimed 2014 production of A Chorus Line. They're joined by scenic designer Howard C. Jones and Lighting Designer Ann G. Wrightson, who create a set that completely captures the gritty, glamorous streets of Runyon's 1950's New York.

Sponsored in part by the Four Columns Inn, Guys and Dolls runs July 31 through August 22 on Weston's MainStage at 12 Park Street. Show times are Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 pm, and Sunday at 3. The production runs two hours and forty minutes, with intermission. Pre-show Piano and Cocktail Bar are available in the Cabaret lounge for one hour prior to curtain. Reservations for dinner at West Town Eatery, or for post-show Cabaret, can be made by calling the box office. Tickets to Guys and Dolls begin at $30, and student tickets are half-price. Purchase by phone (802-824-5288) or online at westonplayhouse.org.

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is an award-winning non-profit theatre nationally known for its multi-stage summer season, and its education and new works program. A $10 million capital campaign is underway, with plans to build a year-round cultural center for Southern Vermont - a theatre arts incubator with retreats, workshops, and a new studio theatre at Weston's Walker Farm.

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