Sparkling Drury Lanes Revival Reminds Us Why We Love Guys and Dolls

Erica Stephan plays good-lady Sarah Brown and Pepe Nufrio plays charming gambler Sky Masterson in Drury Lane Theatre's sparkling revival of Guys and Dolls.
Courtesy of Brett Beiner

Guys and Dolls 4 stars

Has there ever been a more endearing troupe of thugs than the fast-talking Runyonesque players who populate Frank Loesser's classic 1950 tuner, Guys and Dolls?

Sure, they brag, but none seem really inclined to carry out their threats, except for one: a stranger from Chicago who attempts to impose his will with a small snub-nosed revolver which he is easily disarmed. .

The men and their female counterparts, crusaders determined to convert sinners into believers, chor girls eager to convert singles into husbands, are based on the minor league offenders, chor girls, hustlers and missionaries that Damon Runyon portrayed in his post-Prohibition Broadway tales. As characters go, they're not particularly deep. But it doesn't have to be, not with a score as wonderful as Loessers' or a book as joyful as Abe Burrows's (from the original by Jo Swerlings), notable for its delightfully distinctive, contraction-free patois. .

I didn't realize how much I missed this show (which I last saw 13 years ago) until I experienced the sparkling revival of the Drury Lane Theater under the direction of Dan Knechtges, whose lively, swinging and athletic choreography is ideally executed by a lively ensemble led by Jackson. Evans, Alanna Lovely, Pepe Nufrio and Erica Stephan, originally from Glen Ellyn.

Nathan Detroit (Jackson Evans) speaks kindly to his long-time fiancée, Miss Adelaide (Alanna Lovely) in Guys and Dolls, which runs through June 9 at the Drury Lane Theater.
Courtesy of Brett Beiner

Evans plays marriage-averse Nathan Detroit, whose charming showgirl fiancée Miss Adelaide of 14 years (great work by Lovely, especially on the thought-provoking ditty Take Back Your Mink) is tired of waiting to get married. But Nathan, organizer of the town's longtime floating craps game, has more pressing problems. He needs a venue for the game and the only venue available costs $1,000.

Pepe Nufrio's Sky Masterson delivers a passionate Luck Be a Lady in Drury Lane Theatre's Guys and Dolls, directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges.
Courtesy of Brett Beiner

In an effort to get the money, he bets Sky Masterson (the suave and subtle Nufrio whose Luck be a Lady is a resounding cri de coeur) that he can't get that missionary Sarah Brown (Stephan, a charming singer ) accompanies him. in Havana. Promising to provide him with 12 real sinners for his difficult mission to save a soul, Sky convinces Sarah, a narrow woman, to join him for dinner in Cuba.

Stephan and Nufrio have great chemistry. Their voices are also complementary as evidenced by their sincere duet Ive Never Been in Love Before, during which Sky proves himself worthy of Sarah Brown, who recognizes him for the honorable man that he is.

Nkrumah Gatling's Nicely-Nicely Johnson, left, leads his fellow players and the missionaries who want to save their souls in Drury Lane Theatre's breathtaking Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat in Guys and Dolls.
Courtesy of Brett Beiner

Thoroughly entertaining supporting performances come from Jordan Anthony Arredondo as comedic tough guy Harry the Horse; Heidi Kettenring in another fine comedic appearance as General Cartwright, who threatens to end the underperforming mission; and Nkrumah Gatling as the always pleasant Nicely-Nicely Johnson. Gatling takes the lead in the roof-raising Sit Down, You're Rockin the Boat, which was about as ecstatic as I've seen it.

Gatlings Nicely duets with Christopher Llewyn Ramirez's Benny Southstreet on the titular song, and they team up with Spencer Davis Milford's newsstand operator Rusty Charlie for the irresistible opener Fugue for Tinhorns.

Conductor and co-musical director Christopher Sargent, set designer Angela Weber Miller, and lighting designer Lee Fiskness (whose neon-accented sewer set for Luck Be a Lady is striking) also deserve kudos.

I agree with those who claim that Guys and Dolls is dated. Referring to women as dolls is as creepy as Sky's assertion that based on weight for age, all dolls are the same. Of course, that's before he met Sarah.

But it is worth noting that by the time the curtain falls, the sinners have reformed. Nathan became legitimate; Sky joined the mission. The couples marry, giving Sarah and Adelaide the men and lives they desire. Women prevail, and on their own terms.

And while that doesn't make for a feminist show, I would say that Guys and Dolls has feminist overtones. Even if it's not intentional, it's there, on the periphery. And you don't have to squint too hard to notice it.

Location: Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 530-0111, drurylanetheatre.com

Session times: 1:30 p.m. Wednesday; 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday; 7 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. from Sunday to June 9

Tickets: Starting at $94.95, dinner theater packages available

Operating time: Approximately 2h40 with intermission

Car park: Free on the adjacent land

Rating: For all ages