{"id":106941,"date":"2023-11-29T16:11:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T00:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=106941"},"modified":"2023-12-05T16:17:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T00:17:05","slug":"pick-asr-theater-sf-playhouse-bends-genders-in-superb-guys-and-dolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/pick-asr-theater-sf-playhouse-bends-genders-in-superb-guys-and-dolls\/","title":{"rendered":"PICK! ASR Theater ~SF Playhouse Bends Genders in Superb \u201cGuys and Dolls\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"By Woody Weingarten<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s virtually impossible<\/strong> to rate the new San Francisco Playhouse production of Guys and Dolls<\/em> as anything but almost perfect, not quite as good as God\u2019s long-running comic-tragedy, Mankind<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sanitized, slang-spouting characters lifted from two 1920s and \u201830s Damon Runyon short stories remain extremely likeable 73 years after the Tony Award-winning musical comedy debuted on Broadway \u2014 New Yawk gamblers and gangsters mostly, but also a couple of inept Chicago crooks\/crapshooters. And then, of course, there\u2019s Sarah Brown, the Save-A-Soul missionary heroine who proves that love can <\/em>conquer all.<\/p>\n

Frank Loesser\u2019s music (and lyrics) for this rendition \u2014 accompanied by a sprightly, hidden-onstage band under the direction of Dave Dobrusky \u2014 reaches the epitome of peppy, ideal for the holiday season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sky Masterson (David Toshiro Crane, center) and gamblers roll the dice.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Choreography by Nicole Helfer, even if somewhat derivative, hits an exciting high (with each dancer sublimely connected to all the others). Costumes designed by Kathleen Qiu appear both authentic to the era and playful (especially numbers in the Hot Box burlesque hall where Adelaide comically struts her stuff), augmented by sundry wigs concocted by Laundra Tyme\u2014some straightforward, some whimsical.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Adelaide (Melissa WolfKlain, center) performs with the Hot Box Girls (from left, Malia Abayon, Alison Ewing, Jill Slyter, and Brigitte Losey) in \u201cGuys and Dolls.\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The frequently revolving sets by scenic designer Heater Kenyon come across as exceptionally imaginative, a proverbial wonder to behold.\u00a0Yet it\u2019s the cast of the superb show \u2014 which is labeled a fable, but which adroitly delves into how one segment of society has trouble understanding another \u2014 that shines brightest.<\/p>\n

Audience faces light right up, for example, each time Melissa WolfKlain, who delightfully and deliberately squeaks as Adelaide steps onto the stage, a stripper-star who\u2019s been engaged for well over a decade to Nathan Detroit a guy whose livelihood stems from running a long-haul floating crap game. She\u2019s particularly marvelous rendering \u201cAdelaide\u2019s Lament\u201d (\u201cIn other words, just from worrying if the wedding is on or off, A person can develop a cough<\/em>\u201d), \u201cTake Back Your Mink,\u201d and \u201cMarry the Man Today\u201d (a duet with Abigail Esfira Campbell, as puritanical but seducible Sgt. Sarah Brown).<\/p>\n

Campbell sings with a purity that can make most other vocalists jealous. She\u2019s top-drawer on \u201cI\u2019ll Know\u201d and \u201cI\u2019ve Never Been in Love Before,\u201d with her acting chops becoming an ideal accompaniment to her vocals (her slinky drunk scene in Cuba is most noteworthy). Both melodies are performed, by the way, in duet with David Toshiro Crane as charismatic, cocky, sexy gambler Sky Masterson.<\/p>\n

Crane gives the Masterson character a sturdiness that makes you believe he can change from a high-roller to a guy high on life and love. His voice, too, soothes while delivering whatever emotion is required.<\/p>\n

Joel Roster acts appropriately oblivious to his doll as Nathan Detroit, the guy who can\u2019t bring himself to commit to her but who\u2019s committed to finding a gambling site somewhere.<\/p>\n

Kay Loren, who uses the pronouns they\/them, rounds out the frontline performers as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, a part usually filled by a man. Director Bill English and casting director Kieran Beccia, in fact, carefully gender-bent other actor-singers (such as having Kay Loren and Jessica Coker play Nicely-Nickely Johnson and Big Jule, respectively).\u00a0They ethnic-bent, too, with Asian Alex Hsu assuming the slick role of Irish cop Lt. Brannigan.<\/p>\n

But it takes only a minute or two for a theatergoer to fully suspended his or her disbelief and enjoy the binary and racial tampering.<\/p>\n

Underscoring what unison truly means \u2014 musically and with a racial mix \u2014 is the praiseworthy chorus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sgt. Sarah Brown (Abigail Esfira Campbell, center) tries to enlist sinners for the Save-A-Soul Mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The major plot device is about finding a location for that dice game. The subplot feels terribly familiar: Guy meets and courts girl (because he bets the then huge sum of $1,000 that he can); girl is attracted to and then turned off by guy; guy gets girl.<\/p>\n

Other don\u2019t-miss tunes include the title tune, \u201cLuck Be a Lady,\u201d and \u201cSit Down, You\u2019re Rockin\u2019 the Boat\u201d \u2014 and two exhilarating all-dance numbers, \u201cHavana\u201d and \u201cThe Crapshooter\u2019s Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only thing absent from this two hour-plus version is the thick, unpolished Lower East Side of New Yawk accents \u2014 along with the \u201cdeses\u201d and \u201cdoses\u201d \u2014 that instantly tell visitors from Boise, Idaho, that they\u2019re in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n

Guys and Dolls<\/em> has been considered by many as the ultimate musical comedy. The SF Playhouse production shouldn\u2019t disavow that opinion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dancers Chachi Delgado and Malia Abayon move fast but sensually in a Havana nightclub.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Footnote: I\u2019ve told the tale of my wife\u2019s obsession with the show for about 20 years \u2014 ever since the last time we saw it.<\/p>\n

Before watching a touring company at another San Francisco theater, she\u2019d played the entire score for me on our piano at home. She\u2019d followed by humming most of its tunes during our trip into the city from San Anselmo. And, as I did, she loved the show itself.<\/p>\n

But then she inserted a CD of the score on the way back from that performance. I knew she\u2019d adored the show penned by famed theatrical storyline fixer Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling ever since as a pre-teen she\u2019d seen the original with Robert Alda, Alan\u2019s dad, playing Sky Masterson \u2014 that final over-the-top fangirl action was much too much for me to handle.<\/p>\n

Ergo, I had some trepidation about leading her to the SF Playhouse, even as a MysteryDate, something we\u2019ve been doing for all 36 years we\u2019ve been wed. A MysteryDate, FYI, is an almost-certain way to help keep the sizzle in a relationship \u2014 an activity you arrange without your partner knowing where she or he is going until you get there. Or vice versa \u2014 that is, one arranged with you in the dark.<\/p>\n

After five years of working on it, not incidentally, I\u2019ve just finished writing a book about MysteryDates, one that can double as a travel guidebook while clobbering the myth that long-term relationships are inevitably doomed to become unexciting, monotonous, or drab. The book should be available in January. Check out https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com to be sure.<\/p>\n

-30-<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ASR Senior Contributor<\/strong> Woody Weingarten has decades of experience writing arts and entertainment reviews and features. A member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, he is the author of three books, The Roving I; Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates; and Rollercoaster: How a Man Can Survive His Partner\u2019s Breast Cancer. Contact: voodee@sbcglobal.net or https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com or http:\/\/www.vitalitypress.com\/<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Production<\/th>\nGuys and Dolls<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Book by<\/td>\nAbe Burrows and Jo Swerling<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Directed by<\/td>\nBill English<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Musical Direction by<\/td>\nDave Dubrusky<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Choreography by<\/td>\nNicole Helfer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Music\/Lyrics by<\/td>\nFrank Loesser<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Producing Company<\/td>\nSan Francisco Playhouse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Production Dates<\/td>\nThru Jan 13th, 2024<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Production Address<\/td>\nSF Playhouse
\n450 Post Street
\nSan Francisco, CA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Website<\/td>\nwww.sfplayhouse.org<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Telephone<\/td>\n(415) 677-9596<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tickets<\/td>\n$15 – $125<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reviewer Score<\/td>\nMax in each category is 5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Overall<\/td>\n4.75\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Performance<\/td>\n4.75\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Script<\/td>\n4.75\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stagecraft<\/td>\n4.75\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aisle Seat Review Pick?<\/td>\nYES!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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This story was first published on<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/aisleseatreview.com<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, which publishes independent views and reviews on Bay Area arts, destinations, and lifestyle.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Woody Weingarten, a longtime member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a>\u00a0or on his websites,\u00a0https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Woody Weingarten It\u2019s virtually impossible to rate the new San Francisco Playhouse production of Guys and Dolls as anything but almost perfect, not quite as good as God\u2019s long-running…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":4.7,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-106941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"