BRIGHT STAR Choreographer Josh Rhodes to Helm GUYS AND DOLLS at The Old Globe Next Summer

The Old Globe today announced the first production of its 2017 Summer Season: Guys and Dolls, a musical fable of Broadway. Based on the stories and characters by Damon Runyon, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, Guys and Dolls will be directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, returning to the Globe after the great successes of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, which he directed, and Bright Star, which he choreographed.

This classic musical will run July 2 - August 13, 2017, with Opening Night on Friday, July 7, presented in association with Asolo Repertory Theatre.

Guys and Dolls tops Entertainment Weekly's list of the Greatest Musicals of All Time, and for good reason: it's everything we love in musical theatre. Now fast-rising director/choreographer Josh Rhodes returns to the Globe to direct our first-ever production of this Broadway masterpiece.

Nathan Detroit needs some serious dough to keep his "oldest established permanent floating crap game" going. He's also got his hands full with his marriage-minded girlfriend Adelaide. But when Nathan makes a bet with high-roller Sky Masterson, his problems appear to be solved. Based on Damon Runyon's famous tales of small-time hoods and showgirls, Guys and Dolls is filled with some of the most wonderful showtunes ever, including "Luck Be a Lady," "I've Never Been in Love Before," and the irrepressible anthem "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat." Guys and Dolls will put a spring in your step and a smile on your face and remind you how much fun it is to see a top-notch Globe revival of a classic American musical!

The original production of Guys and Dolls received what might be the most unanimously ecstatic reviews in Broadway history and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The 1992 revival received four more Tonys, including Best Revival. In 1951, the year after it opened, it received a record-breaking $1 million for the motion picture rights and was made into a beloved film starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. The classic songs, which have become part of our national heritage, also include "Adelaide's Lament," "Sue Me," "A Bushel and a Peck," "If I Were a Bell," "Fugue for Tinhorns," "More I Cannot Wish You," "Take Back Your Mink," and many more.

"Guys and Dolls holds a special place in the hearts of everyone who loves musical theatre," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "Song for song, scene for scene, moment for moment, it's a perfect of example of what a musical can be. For all of us at the Globe, the chance to share with our audiences a shiny and spectacular new revival of this bona fide classic is a rare treat. Add to that the chance to have Josh Rhodes back in our building to dazzle with his wit and invention, and it's frankly an embarrassment of riches. We are beyond thrilled to have this amazing show at the center of our 2017 Summer Season."

The creative team of Guys and Dolls includes Lee Savage (Scenic Design), Brian Hemesath (Costume Design), Paul Miller (Lighting Design), Kevin Kennedy (Sound Design), and Sinai Tabak (Music Director). The full creative team and casting will be announced at a later date.

Frank Loesser (Music and Lyrics), one of America's great composer/lyricists, began his songwriting career during the Depression as a lyricist, contributing songs to Broadway revues and nightclub acts. His work with composer Irving Actman in the 1936 revue The Illustrator's Show led to a songwriting contract in Hollywood, where he spent the next 11 years working with such composers as Burton Lane, Jule Styne, Arthur Schwartz, and Hoagy Carmichael. Some of his film songs from that period include "Two Sleepy People," "Jingle Jangle Jingle," and "I Don't Want to Walk Without You." The first song for which Mr. Loesser wrote both words and music was "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition," written during his World War II service. His Hollywood work after the war included the hit songs "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year," "A Slow Boat to China," and the 1949 Oscar-winning song "Baby, It's Cold Outside." In 1948 Mr. Loesser was approached by fledgling Broadway producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin to write music and lyrics to George Abbott's libretto for an adaptation of the classic BranDon Thomas play Charley's Aunt. The new musical, which starred Ray Bolger, was called Where's Charley? and was a hit. This led to Mr. Loesser's next show, the hugely influential and successful Guys and Dolls in 1950, also produced by Mr. Feuer and MR. Martin, with a script by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling. In 1956 Mr. Loesser wrote the libretto, music, and lyrics for his next show, The Most Happy Fella, adapted from Sidney Howard's play They Knew What They Wanted. This impressive score contains over 30 musical numbers and makes extensive use of operatic techniques and forms, including recitative, arias, duets, trios, and choral numbers. In 1960 he provided the score and was co-librettist for Greenwillow. In 1961, Mr. Loesser wrote the score for the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. His last show, Pleasures and Palaces, closed in 1965 during out-of-town tryouts. For more information on Frank Loesser, please visit frankloesser.com.

Abe Burrows (Book) studied to be a doctor and an accountant and had a career in sales before becoming a successful radio script writer and writer/performer of musical parody numbers. His first Broadway libretto was Guys and Dolls, co-written with Jo Swerling, with a score by Frank Loesser. Among the musicals for which Mr. Burrows provided librettos are Make a Wish; Can-Can and Silk Stockings, both with scores by Cole Porter; Say, Darling; and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which he also directed, with a score by Frank Loesser. Mr. Burrows's non-musical plays include Cactus Flower, which he wrote and directed, and Forty Carats, which he directed.

Jo Swerling (Book), born in Russia in 1897, was a playwright, screenwriter, and vaudeville sketch writer. Mr. Swerling's long career began as a reporter and feature writer in New York and Chicago.

Josh Rhodes (Director and Choreographer) most recently directed the Globe production of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, following his work as choreographer on the highly acclaimed Bright Star (also Broadway, 2016 Astaire and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding Choreographer) and Working (also at Broadway Playhouse in Chicago, Drama Desk Award-winning production at Prospect Theater Company in New York). He recently directed Spamalot (The 5th Avenue Theatre, Gregory Award nomination), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Casa Mañana), and Broadway Bares XX and XXI. As a choreographer, his other Broadway credits include Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (Outer Critic Circle, Astaire, and Drama Desk Award nominations), It Shoulda Been You, and First Date. On stage and screen Mr. Rhodes choreographed Company starring Neil Patrick Harris (PBS/Screenvision) and the Emmy Award-winning productions of Sweeney Todd and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (New York Philharmonic/PBS). He also choreographed Zorba! (City Center Encores!), Broadway: Three Generations (The Kennedy Center), and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Helen Hayes Award nomination). His other stage credits include John Kander's The Landing (Vineyard Theatre), On the Town (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Annie Get Your Gun starring Patti LuPone (Ravinia Festival), Barnum (Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota Magazine Theater Award), They're Playing Our Song starring Jason Alexander (Reprise Theatre Company in L.A.), Stars of David(Philadelphia Theatre Company), Academy (Maltz Jupiter Theatre), 1776 (Paper Mill Playhouse), Chess and Dreamgirls (North Carolina Theatre), Beautiful Girls (Manhattan School of Music), All Singing! All Dancing!, Legends!, and Broadway by the Year: The Broadway Musicals of 1954 (The Town Hall).

Damon Runyon, born in New York City in 1880, was an American short-story writer, journalist, and humorist. He was the archetype of the tough, hardnosed street reporter who fraternized socially with gangsters and hoodlums. He began in the newspaper business as a child and went on to cover news, sports, politics, and crime during his time in the business. He also published verses and short stories in national publications such as Harper's Weekly and McClure's. He wrote his first book in 1911, a collection of poems entitled The Tents, and began covering World War I the following year. By the 1920s, Mr. Runyon had developed his own distinct style as a prolific author, and beginning in the late 1930s, he also began writing and producing movies in Hollywood. Mr. Runyon's works served as the basis for 29 feature films, including Little Miss Marker starring Shirley Temple (1934), Lady for a Day directed by Frank Capra (1933), The Lemon Drop Kid starring Bob Hope (1951), and Pocket Full of Miracles with Bette Davis (1961). In all, Mr. Runyon's literary legacy includes over 700 stories, novellas, plays, articles, essays, and poems. Among his best-known works is Guys and Dolls, which was adapted to the stage as a musical on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances. It was then brought to film in 1955 starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Vivian Blaine, and Jean Simmons. The musical has been staged in over 25 countries and is performed over 3,000 times annually in high schools, universities, community and regional theatres, making it one of the most produced musicals of all time.

Tickets to Guys and Dolls are currently available by subscription only. Season subscriptions offer substantial savings with special subscriber benefits. Single tickets for most shows begin at$37. Subscription packages can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the box office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.Guys and Dolls performances begin on Sunday, July 2, and continue through August 13, 2017. Performance times: Previews: Sunday, July 2 at 7:00 p.m., Monday, July 3 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 5 at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 6 at 8:00 p.m. Opening night is Friday, July 7, at 8:00 p.m. Regular performances: July 8 - August 13: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday and Friday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. There will be an added preview performance on Monday, July 3 at 7:00 p.m., and no performance on Tuesday, July 4 at 7:00 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and younger, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more.

Don't miss the many humanities-based events surrounding each production-including Insights Seminars, Post-Show Forums, and Subject Matters. Ongoing outreach and value-added programs include the New Voices Festival and Behind the Curtain workshops in the community. Watch for details of exciting new guests to be announced for In Conversation with Barry Edelstein and for pioneering arts education programs including the Free Student Matinee Series, Sensory-Friendly Performances, and Grinch Children's Initiative. The Old Globe is an internationally recognized cultural icon striving to serve its audiences with the best possible theatrical experiences while providing year-round education and community programs for the citizens of San Diego County.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdooR Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

Now in its 58th season, Asolo Repertory Theatre is recognized as one of the premier professional theatres in America and one of the largest in the Southeastern United States. One of the few select theatres in the nation that performs in true rotating repertory, Asolo Rep's highly skilled Acting Company and extensive craftsmanship bring to life this unique performance method that gives audiences the opportunity to see multiple productions in the span of a few days. Asolo Rep presents up to 15 productions each season including contemporary and classic works and provocative musical theatre experiences. A theatre district in and of itself, Asolo Rep is committed to expanding its reach into the community, furthering its collaboration with the best theatre artists working in the industry today and cultivating new artists through its affiliation with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Michael Donald Edwards and Managing Director Linda DiGabriele, Asolo Rep's ambitious theatrical offerings and ground-breaking education and outreach programming engage audiences and ensure its lasting legacy for future generations.