Interview: Melissa WolfKlain of GUYS AND DOLLS at San Francisco Playhouse Shines as Adelaide, Capping Off a Remarkable Year for the Triple Threat Performer

No matter how we celebrate the holiday season, for most of us it’s a time to come together, and San Francisco Playhouse is betting it has the right show to help audiences do just that with its new production of Guys and Dolls. Often cited as the "perfect musical," Guys and Dolls is known for its comically touching story of New York gamblers, missionaries and burlesque performers, and its unparalleled score chock full of standards like “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.” While delivering on those expectations, director Bill English is taking a fresh eye to this classic musical, setting it in Damon Runyon’s world of New York’s Lower East Side and Harlem during the 1930s. By approaching the story from a more grounded, grittier point of view, the production aims to make its tale of redemption all the sweeter.

The topnotch cast includes Melissa WolfKlain in the role of the self-described “well-known fiancée,” Miss Adelaide. WolfKlain has been a mainstay of Bay Area theater for some time now and is enjoying a truly breakout year in 2023, having gone straight from playing the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods at The Mountain Play directly into performing Val in San Francisco Playhouse’s summerlong hit run of A Chorus Line before going right into Guys and Dolls, with nary a moment to breathe in between. The Bay Area native has an extensive and eclectic list of stage credits including the national tours of White Christmas and 42nd Street, not to mention winning a Theatre Bay Area Award for Dames at Sea at 42nd Street Moon as well as San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for her appearances in Broadway by the Bay’s Singin’ in the Rain and Crazy for You.

I spoke with WolfKlain by phone recently, just as she was eagerly anticipating the show's sitzprobe in a few hours. Interestingly, given her lusty alto, smooth moves and talent for playing strong women, the role of Adelaide had not particularly been on her radar prior to this production. We talked about what she loves about this show and role, how she is approaching the iconic “Adelaide’s Lament,” what it was like to play the sexually-confident Val in A Chorus Line, what she sees as the key to sustaining a thriving career in musical theater right here in the Bay Area, and a couple of other key roles she has especially enjoyed playing. The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

 Was Miss Adelaide on your bucket list of roles you hoped to play someday?

You know what? Because my dad is a huge lover of musicals and he always loved the songs that Sarah Brown sang, I grew up singing like “I’ll Know” for him, so Miss Adelaide was never really on my radar – until it was. And then it was like, “Oh, yes! This is me. I gotta do this.” She’s just such a great part, I can’t imagine not playing this role.

Adelaide is the self-described “well-known fiancée” who’s been engaged to Nathan Detroit for 14 years. Why do you think she’s stuck with him all this time?

Well, at this point she’s getting a little, you know, long in the tooth and doesn’t know how much longer she’s gonna be attractive to men, especially in those days. He’s already “committed” to her sort of and they are engaged, so she has hope. She just loves him so much and she wants the dream, the white picket fence and the kids, and to actually commit and put a ring on it. She can’t imagine her life with anyone else.

Of course, you get to perform “Adelaide’s Lament,” which is arguably the most famous comic number in the entire history of musical theater –

I know – no pressure! [laughs]

How are you approaching that song?

I’m just really listening to what she’s saying and making it real for myself and making sure the words and the discovery of what’s going on in the number ring true. Like “What does all this jargon mean, what are these words in this book, does it apply to me? Oh, yes, it really does! Oh, shoot! I might be in trouble here.”

Guys and Dolls has one of the best scores ever, like there’s not a clunker in the bunch. What is your favorite song in the show that you don’t get to perform?

Omigosh, there’s so many. The Crapshooter’s Dance is so exciting to watch and the dancers are just killing it out there. It’s so athletic and such a great storytelling song. I just love watching that number, I’m so jealous about it. And also the dance number in Havana. Those dance numbers are just thrilling and I think it’s gonna be a big treat for the audience. I don’t get to really dance a lot in this show, which is funny because I usually am cast in dancing roles. I do have two numbers that are dance numbers, but it’s still more about the song and the singing than the dancing.

Your most recent role was Val in A Chorus Line at San Francisco Playhouse just a couple of months ago. The tone of Guys & Dolls is very different from A Chorus Line, but do you see any similarities between the characters of Adelaide and Val?

Well, I think they’re both really strong. They have really strong objectives and are willing to do whatever it takes to reach them. So they are kind of similar, but Adelaide is almost to the point of just giving up and throwing in the towel, and then it turns around, as we know.

What was it like playing a character like Val who is so comfortable in her body? Did that come easily to you? Was it intimidating?

It was intimidating. I think I have a lot of confidence in myself and I’m comfortable in my own skin, comfortable in my body. She’s really comfortable in her sexuality, too, which is fun to play because that’s maybe not who I am all the time, but there’s an aspect of my personality that is like that. And so it’s nice to be able to expand on that. I really enjoyed playing her and just finding the humanness of her too, because I feel like she can be such a stereotype, but she really is a strong person. She’s not a bimbo, she’s not like this shell of a human that’s just all body and no talent. She got the body because she’s talented and she needed the extra oomph to get her foot in the door.

Where were you born and raised?

I’m from Foster City originally, and kind of took a hero’s journey. I lived in LA and New York for a little while, and now I’m back in Foster City. My family is still here and my siblings have kids. I didn’t want to miss the family growing up cause we’re all really close. And there’s such a great theater community in the Bay Area. I have so many connections and so many people who know me and who I love to work with, so it’s so nice to be able to be here and still work in the theater.

You’re one of a group of performers I think of as sort of the unofficial Bay Area rep company, in that you’ve been able to build and sustain a career in musical theater right here. What do you think is the key to making that life work?

I think it’s really establishing relationships with theater companies and doing the galas and the fundraisers and meeting donors who are supportive and want to see you up there on the stage because they like you as people. I think being a human first is key in any business, but especially this one.

And you’re doing a favor for the theater companies and they remember those things, and it’s just all reciprocal, you know? You’ve gotta kind of put in your time. Because there’s a lot of talent out there, so what makes you stand out, what makes people want to work with you? It’s not just that you’re talented, that you can sing, that you can dance.

Do you remember the first musical you ever saw onstage?

Well… I remember my dad got me tickets to The Best of Broadway series in San Francisco when it was called that. I saw The Sound of Music tour, and I think it was Marie Osmond playing Maria. We were sitting in the balcony and I remember seeing the spike marks on the stage and I was like “What is all that?” That memory is so vivid in my mind for some reason, just seeing the spike marks and seeing all the kids, too, in the show and it was such a magical experience. And then we saw Les Mis and that just blew my mind. Blew. My. Mind. Les Mis is one of my favorite musicals, still to this day.

You’ve also done Forbidden Broadway where you got to play a bunch of famous musical theater divas. Which one was the most fun to send up?

I gotta say Carol Channing. I mean, she is such a caricature, that voice and that smile, and just her energy. She’s like joy incarnate and it’s so much fun to get to channel that.

You have an unusually eclectic resume. Ticking off just a handful of your roles, in addition to Val, you’ve also played Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Kathy Selden in Singin’ in the Rain and the title role in Peter Pan – the latter of those two twice. Now, that’s some range! Which of those roles was the biggest stretch for you?

I don’t want to say the most taxing, but as Peter Pan you get to do everything. You get to do stage combat, you get to dance, sing, act, do acrobatics, fly. It’s kind of all-encompassing, which is so rewarding. It takes a lot of energy, so kudos to Cathy Rigby who was doing it in her 60s. That woman is amazing. That was definitely one of the most fun roles I ever got to do, and the last time I got to do it was in The Mountain Play on Mt. Tamalpais. That was magical, just flying through the redwoods over a 3,000-seat amphitheater. It doesn’t get much better than that!

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Guys and Dolls will perform through January 13, 2024 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street. For tickets and more information, visit sfplayhouse.org or call the box office at 415-677-9596.

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