Review: GUYS AND DOLLS at The Wick Theatre

You Wanna See Brilliance?

There's a lovely presentation of a beloved old musical at Boca Raton's Wick Theatre, a paean to Manhattan's gamblers and girls, and of course, I'm talking GUYS AND DOLLS.

For the theatrically bereft this classic of American theater is based on the short stories of Damon Runyon, a New York City newspaperman of the 20s and 30s who wrote about the lower lifes of Broadway.

GUYS AND DOLLS opened on Broadway back in 1950 and at the Wick it's just as fresh, funny and delightful as if it had been written yesterday. And the music. Ah, the music. With this cast the brilliance runneth over.

With The Fugue for Tinhorns with Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Shaun Rice), Benny Southstreet (Taylor Wright) and Rusty Charlie (Kevin Robert Kelly) "I've got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere...", through Follow the Fold with the Save-a-Soul Mision marching band, Sarah Brown (Aaron Bower), Arvide Abernathy (Peter Galman), Calvin (Frank Vomero), Martha (Sarah Nathan), and Agatha (Sarah Kawalek) "Follow the fold and stray no more..." GUYS AND DOLLS hits a peak and never sags a bushel or a peck for the next two hours.

Wayne LeGette plays Nathan Detroit who runs a floating crap game in New York. The Oldest Established "The Biltmore garage wants a grand, but we ain't got a grand on hand..."

Sky Masterson, a gambler who'll bet on anything (what color tie you wearing?) is played by Timothy John Smith. My Time of Day "My time of day is the dark time, a couple of deals before dawn..."

A little loathe Nathan Detroit has been engaged to Miss Adelaide (Lauren Weinberg) for 14 years: Adelaide's Lament "In other words, just from waiting around for that plain little band of gold, a person can develop a cold..."

Are the memories coming back? Of Sky and Nathan's bet in re the Havana night with one Miss Sarah Brown? Adelaide and the Hot Box Girls with Take Back your Mink "...what made you think I was one of those girls?" And the wonderful ear worm of Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat..."And the devil will drag you under, by the sharp lapel of your checkered coat..."

Oscar Cheda is Harry the Horse who brings Chicago gangster Big Julie (John Galas) in to Manhattan to scam Nathan. Elizabeth Dimon is the formidable General Cartwright who insists the Save-a-Soul Mission hall be filled. Oops, with gamblers.

So this is a musical. So its gotta have dancing guys and dolls, and these troupes are the very best. The dolls are gorgeous, and the guys are handsome and they sing and dance their way to musical heaven. And here's a happy hint for next time you're in the theatre: watch out for Brody Awalt, a tall red headed Guy who danced with such precision and enthusiasm he popped right out from even this talented group.

Of course Frank Loesser wrote the memorable music and lyrics and Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows wrote the book.

This terrific production at the Wick was directed by Jeffrey B. Moss with brilliant musical direction by James Olmstead and equally brilliant choreography by Kelly Shook. More brilliance from scenic designer Randel Wright, costumes by Gail Baldoni, lights by Kirk Bookman and sound by Justin Thompson. And of course it's Brilliant with a capital B for the cast.

GUYS AND DOLLS plays through April 9 at the Wick Theatre, 7901 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton. 561-995-2333 http://thewick.org

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