GUYS AND DOLLS

Vintage Theatre: February 14 to March 23

                L-R: Jessica Sotwick and Nicole Cherecwich

It may be cold outside, but Vintage Theatre's production of GUYS AND DOLLS is the HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN!!! It's the perfect antidote to the doldrums created by the evening news.

Let it be known from the outset that this review is going to be a flood of accolades!

    Carter Edward Smith's direction of this superbly entertaining show is sensationally well done. His casting is phenomenal! All four leads are outstanding, and the talented ensemble fills the stage with turbo-charged dancing and singing. 

     With book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling and Music by Frank Loesser, the musical "Guys and Dolls" is based upon two short stories by Damon Runyon. In 1950 this musical won the Tony for Best Musical, and was adapted for the screen in 1955 starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons.   The show is chock-full of great old songs, that have long been considered golden standards. "Luck Be a Lady," "A Bushel and a Peck" and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" are just a few of these. Runyan's stories all take place in the twenties and thirties in New York City.  The characters are for the most part, gamblers and gangsters. Well, except for the pious folk who run the Save-a-Soul Mission on Broadway.

     Nicole Cherecwich is enchanting as Sarah Brown, the Mission Doll. It's obvious that Ms. Cherecwich has had operatic vocal training. With her singing of"I've Never Been in Love Before" and "If I Were a Bell I'd Be Ringing," this actor unspools a voice that's a ribbon of musical delight. 

    Justin Milner delivers Sky Masterson's vocals with power! His singing of "My Time of Day" is magnificent!

    Jessica Sotwick's acting and singing in the role of Miss Adelaide is exceptionally well delivered. This actor has a natural comic flair. Her singing of "Take Back Your Mink" and "Adelaide's Lament" are musical theatre ice cream.

    Scotty Shaffer's acting in the part of Nathan Detroit is a comic delight. "Sue me," the duet he has with Ms. Sotwick, is hysterical.

  Brian Trampler gives us Arvide's "More I Can Not Wish You," with heart-opening tenderness.

     David Kincannon knocks it out of the park with his outrageously fun delivery of "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat!"   

The talents of Cooper Kaminsky (Benny Southstreet), Patrick Brownson(Harry the Horse) and Eliot Clough(Lieutenant Brannigan) spice things up considerably.

 Transporting us to New York City in the 1930s, Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry's costume design is spot-on. 

Dallas Slankard's choreography exhilarates.

Tanner Kelly's music direction is ear-pleasing indeed!  

     Brendan T. Cochran's sun-splashed urban set design conspires with Emily Maddox's lighting design to create a visually delightful evening.

for tickets call 303-856- 7830 or go online at vintagetheatre.org

MORNING AFTER GRACE

MINERS ALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

January 24 - March 2

 L-R: Kevin Hart, Tammy Meneghini and Dwayne Carrington (photo credit:McLeod 9 Creative)

Morning After Grace by Carey Crim is a little gem of a play now on view at the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center. (If you haven’t experienced a play at this venue, you need to. Lisa DeCaro and Len Matheo have co-created a magnificent new facility.) 

 

     In this play, a one-night stand following a random meeting at a funeral provides the set-up. 

     Shortly after meeting Abigail (Tammy Meneghini) and Angus (Kevin Hart), we as audience learn that the deceased was Angus’s wife. Grief is compounded by guilt when it is made evident that their marriage was unraveling, and his late wife was having an ongoing affair. 

     Abigail’s gift is of the therapeutic variety, and she sets about attempting to begin the healing process. 

       Ollie, a longtime friend and neighbor of Angus, played brilliantly by Dwayne Carrington, provides warmth and laughter in his portrayal of a man who, late in life, has still not come to terms with his being gay. Struggling with his inability to tell his father, Ollie provides another opportunity for Abigail to extend a helping hand. 

      This play is a tragicomedy of the reality therapy variety, and it merits your attendance!!! We all must deal with grief and anxiety in our lives, and this play delves into the subject with compassion and clarity. 

     Director Abby Apple Boes paces the play in such a way as to keep us as audience engaged throughout. The director’s casting is impeccable. 

           Kevin Hart has been a Colorado favorite for many years. His performance in Christopher Durang’s “The Actor’s Nightmare” still resonates. His Willy Loman in The Edge Theater’s “Death of a Salesman,” was outstanding.

     Ms. Menighini’s portrayal of the adult Scout in Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s indelible production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” was luminous indeed. 

     Mr. Carrington has delivered numerous indelible performances in everything from Vintage Theatre’s “The Scottsboro Boys” to “Ain’t Misbehavin.” You really must go and see the magic that these three actors deliver as an ensemble.

     Jonathan Scott McKean has created a very well-executed set for the show. The lighting by Vance McKenzie is especially well done. 

     Having swept the Marlowe Awards with their astonishingly well produced stage version of Stephen King’s “Misery” last season, it’s no surprise that Miners Alley Performing Arts Center’s “Morning After Grace” is so poignant.

     I hope you get a chance to see this heart-tugging play!

 

For tickets call 303-935-3044 or go online at minersalley.com

 

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