Opening night for the Hofstra University Drama Department’s “Guys and Dolls” was sensational. The show, set in the 1950s, effortlessly transports the audience into a world of colorful suits and effervescent dances. This musical humorously contrasts the lives of gamblers and showgirls with the lives of conservative Christian missionaries.
“[Guys and Dolls] is the quintessential musical comedy,” said Christopher Dippel, director and professor of drama.
The story centers around Nathan Detroit’s craps game. Nathan, played by Lucca Lofaro, a senior theater arts major, has been engaged to leading lady Miss Adelaide for quite some time and is sneaking around to locate a venue to host illegal craps games. Meanwhile, conservative Christian missionaries are low on their quota of reformed sinners. Notorious gambler Sky Masterson, played by junior theater arts major Andrew Heitmann, takes a bet from Nathan that he can get any girl to go to Havana, Cuba, with him. The girl Nathan chooses is none other than the leader of the mission, Sarah Brown, played by Bree Kuliga, a freshman theater arts major.
Lofaro’s comedic timing as Nathan plays off his co-stars perfectly. The relationships established between these beloved characters feel real. Dippel said the characters “are all out for themselves, but they can’t function without each other.” Actors Heitmann and sophomore theater arts major Mallory Alvarez, in the role of Miss Adelaide, bring the story alive. Sarah’s relationship with Sky creates a humorous banter that the audience can’t help but fall in love with. Heitmann’s charisma and presence on stage pulls the audience into Sky’s world and encourages them to root for his reform.
The song “Adelaide’s Lament” is both a laugh generator and a tear-jerker. Alvarez’s performance as Miss Adelaide surpasses expectations. Her voice, mannerisms and the love she has for Nathan spills over the lip of the stage and touches the audience.
“[Alvarez] is phenomenal. She is a force to be reckoned with,” Dippel said.
Kuliga uses her talent to embody a very different type of character, exhibiting more restrained and controlled mannerisms in her performance of “If I Were a Bell.” This number also builds into a harmony between her and Miss Adelaide during “Marry the Man Today,” in which they find common ground based on their troubles with men.
The choreography, which drives the story in songs like “Havana” and “The Crapshooters’ Dance” is impeccable. The energy onstage is palpable due to a strong ensemble cast. The collaboration between Dippel, music director Kerry A. Prep and choreographer Meredith R. Van Scoy successfully brought the story of “Guys and Dolls” to life on the Hofstra stage.
“The more heads that get involved, it gets more complicated, but it gets enriched,” Dippel said in regard to the show’s large production team.
Beyond choreography, Van Scoy’s costumes bring the audience into a 1950s world filled with over-the-top visuals. Alvarez stuns in a purple dress at the beginning of “Entr’acte/Take Back Your Mink,” only for an onstage quick change to reveal a purple corset paired with fishnets and black ruffle shorts while her back-up dancers, known as the “Hot Box Girls,” enter in black hoop skirts with sheer overlays. The men’s suits are never a stereotypical solid black and white, but instead are an array of pinks, reds, browns, purples and oranges.
The whimsy of the show is enhanced by the forced perspective of the set and light-up floating signs. From the paint on the windows of the mission to the sunset backdrop of Havana, the world of “Guys and Dolls” was very well executed. The set, designed by technical director and professor of drama Jim Hart along with the artistry of senior drama production major Maya Alschuler-Pierce, successfully takes the audience back to simpler times. The scenery blends a perfect balance of eye-catching elements that support the world of the show.
The lovable characters, sinners and saints alike, are sure to tug on the heartstrings audience members didn’t even know they had. This show was worth the watch.
