Guys and Dolls at HCT

Last night I saw HCT's wildly entertaining production of the old favorite Guys and Dolls and I thoroughly enjoyed it! The story, which is a bit dated but still a lot of fun, revolves around the romantic struggles between Nathan Detroit (Blake Barlow), who runs the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York, and Miss Adelaide (Kelly Pulver), his long-suffering fiancee of fourteen years, as well as Sky Masterson (Preston Taylor), a charismatic professional gambler, and Sarah Brown (Jisel Soleil Ayon), an uptight sergeant with the Save-a-Soul Mission who is trying to reform him. When Nathan Detroit bets Sky Masterson that he can't take Sarah to Havana, chaos ensues! All four leads give wonderful performances but I found Taylor to be incredibly appealing as Sky, especially in "Never Been In Love Before," and I laughed out loud at Ayon's drunken antics in "Havana" and "If I Were a Bell." The choreography in this show is fantastic and "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat" are absolute showstoppers! I also really enjoyed Miss Adelaide's performances of "Bushel and A Peck" and "Take Back Your Mink" with the Hot Box dancers. The period costumes are a lot of fun, particularly all of the patterns used in the men's suits (I loved the pinstripes) and all of the details on the Save-A-Soul Mission uniforms. I am almost always impressed with the set design at Hale but Kacey Udey really outdid himself with this show. I loved the bold primary colors used in Mindy's Cafe, the Hot Box, and the Save-a-Soul Mission and I loved the contrast with the tropical pastel palette used in the Havana scenes. The projections on the giant LED screens are very well-done and enhance, rather than detract from, what is happening on stage. Finally, the technical aspects of this show are also outstanding. There are set pieces coming in from the wings, up from the pit, and down from the rafters for nearly every scene and it is quite impressive how seamlessly this happens (especially so early in the run). This is a fun, colorful, and energetic show that everyone will enjoy (the tween sitting next to me loved it) and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It plays on the Young Living Centre Stage through August 14.

Note:  Also, don't forget Always Patsy Cline playing on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through August 28 (go here for tickets).