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Pickerington North to perform 'Guys and Dolls'
(by Dedra Cordle, staff writer - April 17, 2011)
Showgirls and gamblers will be infiltrating Pickerington High School North and they hope to leave a lasting impression.
Later this month, the theater department will put on its final production of the school year, “Guys and Dolls.”
The hit Broadway show, which premiered in 1950 and won five Tony Awards, including one for “Best Musical,” is a personal favorite of theater director Margaret Lawson.
“It’s a classic story with great songs and some of the most famous characters in the history of Broadway,” she said.
Set in New York, the musical revolves around two gambling men and the women who love – and sometimes love to hate – them.
Nathan Detroit (who is being played by Blair Perry) runs a high stakes craps game and is worried that he will not be able to find a place to host some high rollers who are in town due to the recent police crackdown on local gambling establishments. Eventually he finds a place, but they require a $1,000 down payment, which he does not have.
He bets avid gambler Sky Masterson (Spencer Wetmore) $1,000 that he cannot get Sgt. Sarah Brown (Taylor Notestine), a worker at the Salvation Army and all-around good girl, to accompany him to Havana. Because he cannot say no to a bet, Sky pursues Sarah, who wants nothing to do with him – initially.
Believing that he has the bet won, Nathan tries to get the game under way before the police come and well before his very impatient showgirl fiancée Miss Adelaide (Briana Keller) finds out what he’s doing.
“It’s such a terrific musical and comedy,” said Lawson, who has seen a revival of the musical on Broadway with Nathan Lane.
Since coming to PHSN in 1978, Lawson has only had the opportunity to produce “Guys and Dolls” twice – once in 1986 and the other in 1998.
She said the fluctuating size of the theater class and the number of male actors available each year is the reason why the popular musical has only been done once a decade.
“A lot of people are needed for this show and sometimes we just don’t have the numbers,” she said.
Not this year though. Close to 100 students are working on this production and half of those are in the cast.
Lawson said the students love “Guys and Dolls” despite its size.
“They really liked the script,” she said. “But mostly I think the guys just like being slick gamblers and the girls like dressing up as cute showgirls from the 1950s.”
“Guys and Dolls” will be held at the Pickerington North Performing Arts Center, located at 7800 Refugee Road Pickerington. A free performance will be held for senior citizens at 7 p.m. April 27. Regular performances will be held at 8 p.m. April 28-30 and at 2 p.m. May 1.
Tickets, which are $10 for adults and $8 for students and children, can be reserved by calling (614) 830-2750. They also may be purchased at the door.
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