Preview
GUYS AND DOLLS
Summer Stock in the City
Directed by Jim Senft
Written by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Runs until August 16
Olympic Plaza
If you can’t take a trip to the Great White Way this summer, never mind. You can still get a taste of Broadway right in the heart of downtown Calgary.
The classic Broadway musical Guys and Dolls is being performed nightly at Olympic Plaza by more than 100 students from a new arts organization called Summer Stock in the City. The production is intended to "showcase youth talent in an energetic and entertaining summer theatre event," says producer Lori Kawalauskas.
Summer Stock is a public conservatory for Calgary performing arts students. The program is run co-operatively with the High School for the Gifted at Westmount Charter School. The Summer Stock participants, who range in age from 15 to 20, attend the conservatory on weekends, evenings and full time during the summer. Since last October, the students have been dedicating themselves to the task of mounting the enduringly popular Guys and Dolls.
Based on Damon Runyon’s short story "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," Guys and Dolls has been a favourite ever since its 1950 première on Broadway, where it ran for 1,200 performances. A fast-paced, wisecracking tale of gamblers, gangsters and the Salvation Army, it includes such famous numbers as "Luck Be a Lady," "A Bushel and a Peck" and "Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat."
Summer Stock’s production boasts 350 eye-catching costumes and more than 100 set pieces. The students have been involved in all aspects of the show, from sound and lighting to stunt co-ordination.
The performers come with a range of experience. One of the more seasoned is Jill Collett, 20, who is playing the role of the heroine, Salvation Army Sgt. Sarah Brown. Collett sang at Carnegie Hall in New York this year as part of a Memorial Day presentation, where she received a standing ovation.
Summer Stock has teamed with local theatre professionals to offer the students an education in theatre (courses are accredited by Alberta Learning) while at the same time giving Calgarians a professional-level production.
Kawalauskas praises the support that Summer Stock has received from organizations such as the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts. "They have the experience and knowledge and are so willing to share ideas."
No, Olympic Plaza isn’t Broadway, but then this Guys and Dolls isn’t asking Broadway prices, either. Tickets are $10 in advance from Ticketmaster, which guarantees you a spot in the plaza’s 200-seat amphitheatre. Or you can watch the show from any vantage point on the plaza and pay what you can when they pass the hat. |
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