Victoria Operatic Society

Guys and Dolls, at the McPherson Playhouse, Nov. 21 – 30 (
)
«Who doesn’t like ‘Guys and Dolls’?», I once rhetorically asked an audience of 5 — 12 year old little leaguers. Actually, I was asking their parents at that point, the irony getting better traction amongst them. As out-​of-​place as the question was then (I won’t go into the context that made it a reasonable question), it revealed a near-​universal truth: this is a fun musical with songs you know (if not always knowing how you know them) and love (even if they don’t sound exactly as you remember them).
The 1950 winner of 5 Tony Awards is familiar to many: Nathan Detroit needs a bit of Sky Masterson’s Vegas money to get him into the Biltmore Garage to run his next incarnation of the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York («’cause things being what they are, the back of the police station is out»). Going against his central principle of gambling his own money (Nathan perfers to make his money the old fashioned way — by taking the house’s share), he bets Sky $ 1000 that he can’t get the focused and pure Miss Sarah Brown to fall for him. While Sky gets the girl, he willingly loses the bet and Nathan sacrifices his second most-​cherished principle: bachelorhood.
The Victoria Operatic Society does a great job in bringing «Guys and Dolls» to life, with the help of a few solid performances. First of note is Jeff Stephens in the role of Sky Masterson, and his ability to channel the spirit of Brando from the 1955 film version. Tara Britt, as Sarah Brown, has the right mix of certitude and self-​doubt that keeps you on her side and not dismissing her as prissy.
Craig Wilson (Nicely Nicely Johnson) really enjoys being on stage — and it’s fun to watch how much he understands the musical’s setting. Mark Marquette (Benny Southwest) brings a bit of the ‘Old Blue Eyes’ to the stage (Sinatra always wanted to be Sky — «Luck be a Lady» was a staple of his Vegas Rat Pack days — but had to settle for being the film version of Nathan in Brando’s shadow). A personal favourite was George Morfitt (as Big Jule) for his ability to accurately portray my father (though I know for a fact that he’s never met my father).
All in all, it’s a probable twelve-​to-​seven that you’ll leave humming an old tune.