Eastside Catholic School will debut “Guys and Dolls” tomorrow night at the Lyceum Theatre in Skyline High School, with shows running through Sunday.
“Guys and Dolls” premiered on Broadway in 1950 and ran for more than 1,200 performances before winning a Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1955, it was made into a movie starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine. The broadway play is an adaptation of Damon Runyon’s short stories, featuring singing and dancing gangsters and gamblers, with some romance involved of course.
Stephanie Wolff, an Eastside junior, takes center stage as Miss Adelaide.
“I’m really excited that we got this group of people together and formed this family,” she said. “We’re going out there and using all of our talent to make this art up on stage.”
When auditioning, Wolff was asked to do the “Adelaide voice”. Unfamiliar with the Adelaide character and the play in general, Wolff made something up and ended up with her first lead role.
“I’m very nervous,” she said. “I’ve always kind of been in the background.”
Wolff said that for the past couple of weeks, the “Guys and Dolls” cast has been practicing until 8 or 9 p.m., and before every performance, the cast joins together for a group prayer and shake-down to relieve stress, calm nerves and get them ready for the stage.
Evan Welsh, an Eastside junior, plays one of the lead males as Nathan Detroit.
“It’s a lot of work,” he said. “But it’s really rewarding. We’ve got such a great cast…and we’ve put a lot of work into this play. It came out really well.”
Welsh said the drama program at Eastside Catholic struggles with space — the “Guys and Dolls” cast had to rehearse in a classroom before being moved up to the wrestling room, then the school gym, and then finally the Lyceum Theater at Skyline a week before performances.
“It’s a big adjustment and we have to make it really fast…and we’ve done that, which makes it really great and really fun,” he said.
Tom Taylor, Eastside Catholic’s drama teacher and director of “Guys and Dolls,” said this is his second show, first musical at the school.
“I am most looking forward to when the students are finally able to share all of their hard work with the audience. To see everything finally click together and to observe the student’s reaction to that is truly rewarding for me,” he said.
Eastside Catholic will present “Guys and Dolls” at 7 p.m. March 21-22 and 6 p.m. March 23. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students with their ASB card. Skyline is located at 1122 228th Ave.
