Want to spend a night with gamblers, nightclub performers, and soul-saving do-gooders?<!—->.

Tuesday, March 05, 2002

Want to spend a night with gamblers, nightclub performers, and soul-saving do-gooders?

If so, you’re in luck.

Ironton High School students are gearing up to bring "Guys and Dolls" to the school’s stage.

The decision to bring this Broadway smash to the high school was a difficult decision to make, Kathryn Price, the play’s director said. She explained that the cast is composed of some veterans who have performed in the school’s production over the last few years.

About 50 students make up the cast, Price said, with an additional 28 students working in the crew. The play’s public opening is at 8 p.m. March 22. Students will perform six runs, with three performances for students throughout the county.

Price said about 1,000 students are expected at the first school performance on March 20.

"Guys and Dolls" was the fifth longest-running Broadway musical of the 1950s. The play is based upon "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," a short story written by Damon Runyon. Music and lyrics were written by Frank Loesser.

The play revolves around Nathan Detroit, played by IHS student Patrick Milleson, the organizer of "The Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York." Detroit bets fellow gambler Sky Masterson, played by Andrew Cronacher, that he can’t make the next girl he sees fall in love with him and go to Havana.

The tricky part – the next girl he sees happens to be Miss Sarah Brown, played by Randa Collins, a pure-hearted member of the "Save-A-Soul Mission," a Salvation Army-esque group.

"Guys and Dolls" opened at the 46th Street Theater on Nov. 24, 1950 and had 1,200 runs.

The original cast featured Robert Alda, Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene and Isabel Bigley.

A 1955 film version included big-name performers such as Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Jean Simmons.

The play features several well-know musical numbers, including "Fugue for the Tinhorns," "Luck Be a Lady," and "Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat."