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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Guys and Dolls Also see Richard's reviews of Young Frankenstein and Terms of Endearment
Now in its own 40th season, Stages St. Louis seems to open a tunnel back in time with a magical new production in which those same love-struck mobsters and missionaries are made new again under the direction of James Monroe Iglehart at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. And somehow, two and a half hours in, by the final bows, you've been tricked into a far truer understanding of the phrase "smash hit." With an eleven-piece live band, for somebody my age, a masterful Guys and Dolls like this becomes a hypnotic, mystical device. You look deep inside it to find out who you've become, after a lifetime spent humming the show's catchy tunes. Music director Dolores Duran-Cefalu deals out a cartoonishly high deck of nothing but aces from the pop hits of Frank Loesser, with a book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling based on the "deze-dem-doze" short stories of Damon Runyon. But there are also three or four slightly bizarre moments where two performers just sing at full blast, straight into each others faces. And somehow, in each case, those forceful duets are a siren's song to abolish the outside world. Like all the legends, there's a quest–not for the Golden Fleece, or Canterbury, or a great white whale, but just for a place to shoot craps. Our 1950s Jason is the hapless schemer Nathan Detroit–though the show putters along happily for a full ten minutes before he ever makes an entrance. Which is when things suddenly take flight, in the manner of grand opera, as a rich full chorus sings his praises just for showing up. Matthew Schatz is excellent in the role played on screen by Frank Sinatra in 1955, this time opposite the wily Katerina Papacostas as Adelaide, who's wiser in life, but a fool for his love as a singer in a nightclub. Together they struggle toward the altar in a way that's both hilarious and (thanks to director Iglehart) refreshingly naturalistic. Choreographer Lindsay Joy Lancaster keeps the action swirling, especially with dancers Paul Giarratano and Anna Chin in the show's big Havana nightclub scene. Ms. Lancaster sets the bar elegantly high in the opening action with a smoothly dimensional "Runyonland." And Tamar Greene (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), Wesley J. Barnes (Benny Southstreet), and Reagan Pender (Rusty Charlie) are thrilling in the next big number, the "Fugue for Tinhorns," an ode to the racetrack. Mr. Greene and Mr. Barnes are the show's secret weapon as Nathan's henchmen, with the former stopping the show with "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat." It's a blessedly multi-racial affair, with the sweetly operatic Lindsay Roberts Greene (real-life spouse of this show's Nicely-Nicely) as Sister Sarah Brown, pursued (on a bet) by the sharp-eyed Sam Harvey as Sky Masterson, compelling as the smoothest of all high-rollers. Later you're so caught up in the action that Mr. Harvey's biggest number takes you by surprise, halfway into act two. You'll cherish each moment, but perhaps not be surprised by all the silvery singing of this Sister Sarah, whose spinning high notes further free us from thought. Mr. Harvey and Mr. Schatz and Ms. Papacostas each catch us unawares when they too go well above the common vocal range in the show. But the revelation of their great techniques comes upon us suddenly, like playing cards hidden up the sleeve. With Ms. Greene, you can hear that breathtaking talent a mile away. Stages also gets enviable results from a gallery of favorite local actors, with the always-emblematic Zoe Vonder Haar in a "trousers role" as Big Sal, towering as a Chicago gangster even in spite of her diminutive 5'4" stature. John Flack once again shows a mesmerizing flair for the antique style in "More I Cannot Wish You" as Sarah's grandfather, Arvide Abernathy, deeply engraving lots of heartfelt tenderness into his big scene. Steve Isom is perfect as the ferocious Lt. Brannigan, but with a whimsical deflating joke in his final moments, along with funny back-up coming from Patrick Blindauer as Angie the Ox. And an actress I recently praised for her intensely visceral style (in Myth of the Ostrich), Pamela Reckamp, unexpectedly reveals a gently piercing, spiritual side as the Salvation Army's General Cartwright. It's all strangely riveting in a fresh new way. Every moment sluices pleasantly into our ears, and presses warmly into our eyes. Ann Beyersdorfer gives us double for our money in her set design, and Sean M. Savoie's lights help out a lot, including a perfectly matched subterranean grate effect projected down from the grid in act two. And Tim Kent's colorful costumes are like a 1950s update of Edward Hopper-style suits and dresses, everywhere you look. Guys and Dolls, produced by Stages St. Louis, runs through August 23, 2026, at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 210 East Monroe Ave., St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.stagesstlouis.org. Cast: The Guys: The Dolls: The Hot Box Girls: Swings: Dance Captain: Paul Giarratano* The Stages Orchestra: Production Staff: * Denotes Member, Actors' Equity Association Company Management Assistant: Greg Mose Director of Education and Outreach: Crissy Nordin Staff for Guys and Dolls: Properties Supervisor: Rachel Seabaugh Assistant Lighting Supervisor/Board Operator: Haley Simmonds Assistant Costume Shop Manager: Wes Wyman Wig Supervisor: Sarah Mahooti Sign Language Consultants: Mickey Schuchart & Eric Driskill Audio Description Consultants: Mindseye |
