"Good ol' reliable" Nathan Detroit (actor Harry Bouvy, center, blue) is surround by a bevy of gambling buddies that are seeking a hot spot for their floating crap game in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A stylish gang of gamblin' guys clamor for the perfect roll-of-the-dice in the "oldest established, permanent floating crap game in New York" during the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Actor Kirsten Wyatt takes center stage as the Hot Box Nightclub headliner, Miss Adelaide, in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Sky Masterson (actor, Steel Burkhardt) and Sarah Brown (actor, Leah Horowitz) make an unlikely but perfect "pair of hearts," in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A gambling guy, Nathan Detroit (actor, Harry Bouvy), spends quality time with his delightful doll, Miss Adelaide (actor, Kirsten Wyatt), in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Actor Leah Horowitz takes center stage as the conservative mission "doll" Sarah Brown in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
"Former" gambler, Nicely-Nicely Johnson (actor, Wayne W. Pretlow, above) takes center stage and "testifies" amidst a gang of gamblin' guys during a show-stopping number in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A stylish gang of gamblin' guys clamor for the perfect roll-of-the-dice in the "oldest established, permanent floating crap game in New York" during the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A sure bet!?! "Good ol' reliable" Nathan Detroit (actor Harry Bouvy, left) futilely attempts to outwit the suave and savvy Sky Masterson (actor, Steel Burkhardt, right) in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
A perfect pair. Sarah Brown (actor, Leah Horowitz, left) and Miss Adelaide (actor, Kirsten Wyatt, right) share the spotlight as they discuss the intricacies of love and marriage with gambling guys in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
"Former" gambler, Nicely-Nicely Johnson (actor, Wayne W. Pretlow, above) takes center stage and "testifies" amidst a gang of gamblin' guys during a show-stopping number in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Sky Masterson (actor, Steel Burkhardt) and Sarah Brown (actor, Leah Horowitz) make an unlikely but perfect "pair of hearts," in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Sky Masterson (actor, Steel Burkhardt) and Sarah Brown (actor, Leah Horowitz) make an unlikely but perfect "pair of hearts," in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Gambler, Nathan Detroit (actor, Harry Bouvy), and nightclub star, Miss Adelaide (actor, Kirsten Wyatt), make an unlikely but perfect "pair of hearts" in the Great Lakes Theater and PlayhouseSquare co-production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. The production runs through June 30, 2013. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
From the Director...
Guys and Dolls is regarded by almost everyone in the theater community as one of the greatest musical comedies ever written. Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling created a show that audiences the world-over continue to flock to. Everyone who I spoke to about the show always said the same thing — “I love that show!” I am no exception and I like to think that I have many similar connections to Damon Runyon who wrote the original stories that this musical is based upon.
Damon Runyon was born on Oct. 4, 1880 in Manhattan, Kansas. His various jobs included newspaper journalism, organizing a minor league baseball team and a stint in the army. He moved to New York at the relatively late age of 30 and fell in love with the city. Ironically, he made his fame and fortune writing short stories about Broadway low-lifes and these stories and characters were adapted into the musical Guys and Dolls – most notably, the short story The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown. As one reads these stories, the humanity and humor that reverberate through these characters comes rushing off the page. Runyon was writing for an audience that was in the midst of the Great Depression and needed relief. Does this sound relevant or what? He delivered in droves. As with the musical, Guys and Dolls, you believe that these characters are REAL.
I too left the Midwest to go to New York, partly to start a career in theatre, but also because I had fallen in love with a city that I thought existed in popular media...which of course includes Guys and Dolls. My intro to the show came when I was in high school and was in the chorus at Elyria Summer Theatre. I had yet to visit New York by that point, but somehow I wanted to live in a city where a chorus girl talked like a dame and a gangster spoke like a philosophy student. Did I know that this did not exist? I’m sure I did, but the power of the world that Damon Runyon had created was overwhelming. So sue me! When researching the show I came across this quote from the author, James Breslin, “Damon Runyon invented the Broadway of Guys and Dolls and the Roaring Twenties, neither of which existed, but whose names and phrases became part of theater history and the American language.” I was vindicated!
20 years since moving, I am honored to return to my hometown and celebrate the two cities that mean the most in my life — New York and Cleveland.
Dan Knechtges
Director, Guys and Dolls
Harry Bouvy*
Nathan Detroit
Great Lakes Theater debut: Harry most recently played Hannibal Lecter in the off-Broadway smash, Silence! The Musical. He was Sir Robin in the Las Vegas company of Spamalot, and Carmen Ghia in the national tour of TheProducers (Helen Hayes nomination). Regional credits include Pittsburgh Public Theater, City Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Virginia Stage and Hartford TheaterWorks; and two seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, in shows that include Angels in America, The Clockmaker, Art, Snakebit, Last Night of Ballyhoo, Stones In His Pockets, Hamlet; and four one-man shows: I Am My Own Wife, Chesapeake, Fully Committed and This Wonderful Life. Film: The Producers. TV: The Good Wife, 666 Park Avenue, Law & Order, Sex and the City and All My Children. www.harrybouvy.com. Great Lakes Theater debut: Harry most recently played Hannibal Lecter in the off-Broadway smash, Silence! The Musical. He was Sir Robin in the Las Vegas company of Spamalot, and Carmen Ghia in the national tour of TheProducers (Helen Hayes nomination). Regional credits include Pittsburgh Public Theater, City Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse,...
Steel Burkhardt*
Sky Masterson
Great Lakes Theater debut: Steel is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. Steel was blessed to be a part of the cast of the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair and went on to play the role of Berger in the West End production in London, the first national tour (Helen Hayes nominee), and another stop on Broadway (Summer of Love in 2011). Steel was last seen in Scott Wittman’s critically acclaimed Juke Box Jackie at La Mama Experimental Theater. Much Love to his Purple house family, as well as T. E. and his NYC Tribe. AEA Great Lakes Theater debut: Steel is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. Steel was blessed to be a part of the cast of the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair and went on to play the role of Berger in the West End production in London, the first national tour...
Phillip Michael Carroll*
Lieutenant Brannigan
Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Phil is thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Hanna Theatre. Recent roles include Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden in Next to Normal and Mitchell Green in The Little Dog Laughed at the Beck Center, as well as Victor/Max in Cabaret and Curtis in Taming of the Shrew with GLT. Other favorites include Rapunzel’s Prince (Into the Woods), Taylor (Brooklyn The Musical), Phantom (Phantom of the Opera--non-union world premiere), and Terry (Sideshow). Phil is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Phil is thrilled to be returning to the beautiful Hanna Theatre. Recent roles include Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden in Next to Normal and Mitchell Green in The Little Dog Laughed at the Beck Center, as well as Victor/Max in Cabaret and Curtis in Taming of the Shrew...
Zach Cossman
Harry the Horse/Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Zach’s previous credits include Lost Boys: The Musical (NY Workshop);Jake in Band Geeks: The Musical (regional premiere); Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street;Leaf Coneybear in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee;Theodore Laurie in Little Women;Harold Bride in Titanic;Dwayne in 9 to 5;Paul in RENT;Fender in Hairspray; Lord Evelyn in Anything Goes;andBeadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd. Thanks to my family and Sarah for their love and support. Special thanks to Tony! Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachCossman www.ZachCossman.com Great Lakes Theater debut: Zach’s previous credits include Lost Boys: The Musical (NY Workshop);Jake in Band Geeks: The Musical (regional premiere); Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street;Leaf Coneybear in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee;Theodore Laurie in Little Women;Harold Bride in Titanic;Dwayne in 9 to 5;Paul in RENT;Fender in Hairspray; Lord...
Beth Crandall*
Mimi/Hot Box Girl/ Ensemble/Dance Captain
Great Lakes Theater debut: Beth made her Broadway debut in the revival of West Side Story. She then went on to Dance Captain the Broadway first national tour of West Side Story, traveling the country for over a year. Beth also served as Dance Captain for the first national tour of Wonderful Town. Favorite regional credits include Carousel at Goodspeed Opera House, Disney’s High School Musical at Paper Mill Playhouse, West Side Story at Barrington Stage Co, Oklahoma! at Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars and The Music Man at Merry-Go-Round Playhouse. She also toured inter-nationally as Anybodys in West Side Story, performing in six European countries, Israel and Japan. Beth graduated with honors from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in theater. Love to Mom & Dad. Proud member of AEA. www.BethCrandall.com. Great Lakes Theater debut: Beth made her Broadway debut in the revival of West Side Story. She then went on to Dance Captain the Broadway first national tour of West Side Story, traveling the country for over a year. Beth also served as Dance Captain for the first national tour...
Aled Davies*
Arvide Abernathy
Twelve seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Previously for GLT: Scrooge/Samuels in A Christmas Carol, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Major Metcalf in The Mousetrap, Vincentio in The Taming of the Shrew, Duke of Milan in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Brabantio in Othello,The Earl of Caversham in An Ideal Husband,Sheriff Reynolds in Bat Boy: The Musical, Oberon/Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, YourChairman in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, SeaCaptain/Priest in Twelfth Night, Solinus/Dr. Pinchin The Comedy of Errors, Dorn in The Seagull,Duncan/Old Siward in Macbeth, DeputyGovernor Danforth in The Crucible, King ofFrance in All’s Well That Ends Well, Mr.Witherspoon in Arsenic and Old Lace, Escalus in Measure for Measure, Prospero in The Tempest,David Bliss in Hay Fever, Senex in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Boyet in Love’s Labour’s Lost, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Julius Caesar in Julius Caesar,Claudius in Hamlet, Cleante in Tartuffe, Leonatoin Much Ado About Nothing, Buckingham in Richard III and Topper in A Christmas Carol. Aledhas been a proud and appreciative member ofActors’ Equity Association since 1984. Twelve seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Previously for GLT: Scrooge/Samuels in A Christmas Carol, Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Major Metcalf in The Mousetrap, Vincentio in The Taming of the Shrew, Duke of Milan in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Brabantio in Othello,The Earl of Caversham in An Ideal Husband,Sheriff...
Leah Horowitz*
Sarah Brown
Great Lakes Theater debut: A native New Yorker, Leah is excited to experience Cleveland and Great Lakes Theater for the first time! Leah was most recently seen on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies as Young Heidi, a role she played through the show’s three incarnations at the Kennedy Center, Broadway and at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. She can also be heard on the Grammy-nominated cast recording. Other Broadway credits include Cosette in Les Miserables; White Christmas; The Woman in White; Fiddler on the Roof; La Cage Aux Folles; and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Other New York and regional work includes the recent Carousel with the NY Philharmonic; Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel) at Sacramento Music Circus; Merrily We Roll Along (also cast recording) and Where’s Charley? at NY City Center Encores!; Showboat (Magnolia - Kevin Kline award nominee) and Les Miserables (Cosette) at the St. Louis Muny; Leonard Bernstein’s MASS with the Baltimore Symphony (Grammy-nominated recording); Les Misérables (Cosette) at the Marriott Lincolnshire in Illinois and at TUTS in Texas; and the world premiere of Ordinary Days (Claire) at Pennsylvania Centre Stage. For more, please visit leahhorowitz.com. Love to husband Matty back in NYC! Great Lakes Theater debut: A native New Yorker, Leah is excited to experience Cleveland and Great Lakes Theater for the first time! Leah was most recently seen on Broadway in the acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies as Young Heidi, a role she played through the show’s three incarnations at...
Ben Liebert*
Big Jule
Great Lakes Theater debut: Ben is excited to be back in Cleveland after playing Boq here on the first national tour of Wicked, a role he also played on Broadway. Favorite roles include Eugene on the international tour of Grease, Nicky/Trekkie in Avenue Q, Henry in Next to Normal, Lefou in Beauty and the Beast, Reuben in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Dizzy in the East Coast premiere of Roger Bean’s Summer of Love. Ben originated the role of Salee in The Christmas Rose at Carnegie Hall, opposite Lee Roy Reams, and recently played the title role in Icarus, produced by the Jim Henson Carriage House. He holds his B.F.A. from New York University, studied at the International Theater Workshop in Amsterdam and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity. Thanks to the family, K, the Roster and Dan for thinking outside the box. Find out more at benliebert.com Great Lakes Theater debut: Ben is excited to be back in Cleveland after playing Boq here on the first national tour of Wicked, a role he also played on Broadway. Favorite roles include Eugene on the international tour of Grease, Nicky/Trekkie in Avenue Q, Henry in Next to Normal, Lefou...
Jose Luaces*
Joey Biltmore/Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Jose is thrilled to join the Guys and Dolls company at Great Lakes Theater. Broadway and NYC credits include A Christmas Story,Big Fish (Workshop), All That Glitters (Workshop), Venus Flytrap, Malvolio’s Revenge. Tours: 101 Dalmatians, Reel to Real. Regional: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat and Fiddler on the Roof (Theater of the Stars), Altar Boyz, Footloose, La Cage (Actors Playhouse), She Loves Me (Caldwell Theater), West Side Story (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Cats, Aida,Disney’s Aladdin (Seaside Music Theater). www.JoseLuaces.com Great Lakes Theater debut: Jose is thrilled to join the Guys and Dolls company at Great Lakes Theater. Broadway and NYC credits include A Christmas Story,Big Fish (Workshop), All That Glitters (Workshop), Venus Flytrap, Malvolio’s Revenge. Tours: 101 Dalmatians, Reel to Real. Regional: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat...
Jon-Paul Mateo*
Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Jon-Paul is so happy to be a part of Guys and Dolls here at Great Lakes Theater. A New York native, he teaches dance not only in the city but across the Country. Broadway credits include: All About Me (starring Dame Edna), The Wedding Singer (ensemble) and HOT FEET (ensemble). Off Broadway: Naked Boys Singing (the entertainer). Regional Credits include: West Side Story (Bernardo), La Cage Aux Folles (Chantal), Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson). Tours: The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. T.V and film credits include: “I Am Legend”, “Job”, “Across The Universe”. He has danced, sang and choreographed for companies such as Universal Orlando, Disney World, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Norwegian cruise line. He was also a soloist at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, France. Thanks Mom for your guidance and thanks Kim for always loving your crazy little brother. Great Lakes Theater debut: Jon-Paul is so happy to be a part of Guys and Dolls here at Great Lakes Theater. A New York native, he teaches dance not only in the city but across the Country. Broadway credits include: All About Me (starring Dame Edna), The Wedding Singer (ensemble)...
Bailey Carter Moulse
Hot Box Girl/Ensemble
Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Bailey is delighted to be returning to Great Lakes Theater! GLT and Idaho Shakespeare Festival credits include Fritzie in Cabaret, Tourist Kid/Servant Joseph/Bridesmaid/u/s Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, and u/s Wendy, Beatrice in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Regional: Evil Dead (Shelly), Bye, Bye Birdie (Alice). Other: Lizzie Borden workshop (Bridget Sullivan), Ordinary Days (Deb), Goblin Market (Lizzie), Dog Sees God (Marcy), The Odd Couple (Cecily Pigeon). Resident actor with D’Vine Comedy, a New York-based sketch comedy group. BM from Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. Many thanks to The Krasny Office. Endless love and appreciation to Mom, Dad and Sam. Three seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Bailey is delighted to be returning to Great Lakes Theater! GLT and Idaho Shakespeare Festival credits include Fritzie in Cabaret, Tourist Kid/Servant Joseph/Bridesmaid/u/s Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, and u/s Wendy, Beatrice in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Regional: Evil Dead (Shelly),...
Sarah M. O'Connor*
Martha/Hot Box Girl/Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Sarah is thrilled to follow the fold to Cleveland! She is a Jersey girl and proud graduate of Syracuse University. Tours: Young Frankenstein (Inga cover). Regional: 9 to 5 (Maria), Meet Me in St. Louis (Rose), Oklahoma! (Laurey). For Mom and Dad, with love always. Thank you for always believing in me. Great Lakes Theater debut: Sarah is thrilled to follow the fold to Cleveland! She is a Jersey girl and proud graduate of Syracuse University. Tours: Young Frankenstein (Inga cover). Regional: 9 to 5 (Maria), Meet Me in St. Louis (Rose), Oklahoma! (Laurey). For Mom and Dad, with love always. Thank...
Wayne W. Pretlow*
Nicely-Nicely
Great Lakes Theater debut: Television: Guest star on CBS drama, The Good Wife season one; Elementary, season one; co-star HBO, The Sopranos season two; NBC Law & Order and Law & Order SVU. Film: The Accident (Cannes Film Festival winner), Next Stop Wonderland and In Retrospect. Broadway: The Civil War, A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden. Off-Broadway: St. Louis Women, starring Vanessa L. Williams; Golden Boy, City Center. International tours: Ain’t Misbehavin; Regional: Guys and Dolls (Arena Stage) Nominations: 2000 Helen Hayes; 2013 I.R.N.E for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Guys and Dolls). He has appeared in more than 100 national commercials, which include those for Saturn, Wendy’s, Cannon Copiers, Staples and AOL. Pretlow is CEO and Founder of ICH Artist Marketing Consulting (ichartconsulting.webs.com); professional: waynepretlow.com, twitter: @pretzenmassa, PTL! Great Lakes Theater debut: Television: Guest star on CBS drama, The Good Wife season one; Elementary, season one; co-star HBO, The Sopranos season two; NBC Law & Order and Law & Order SVU. Film: The Accident (Cannes Film Festival winner), Next Stop Wonderland and In Retrospect. Broadway: The Civil War,...
Sadé Simmons*
Agatha/Hot Box Girl/Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Sadé is thrilled to be making her Great Lakes debut in Guys and Dolls. The last two years have had Ms. Simmons spreading Christmas cheer for audiences on the stage of Radio City Music Hall in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She has also been seen in Hairspray (Nathalie), Rock n’ Pop and My Fair Lady, as well as on Good Morning America and in a commercial for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. She would like to thank her family, the original Trifecta, and her husband Aaron, for their love and support. Great Lakes Theater debut: Sadé is thrilled to be making her Great Lakes debut in Guys and Dolls. The last two years have had Ms. Simmons spreading Christmas cheer for audiences on the stage of Radio City Music Hall in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She has also been seen...
Blakely Slaybaugh*
Rusty Charlie/Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Blakely is excited to be making his Great Lakes Theater debut and revisiting this Broadway classic for the fourth time since age 4. He most recently finished playing Percy Floppingdale/Robelaire in the world premiere production of Frog Kiss. Before that, Blakely originated the role of Harold Lloyd in the New York premiere of ’SWonderful: The New Gershwin Musical, and playedover 400 performances as Pinocchio in the first national Broadway tour of SHREK: The Musical. Other credits include Mike (A Chorus Line), Emcee (Cabaret), Hot Blades Harry (Urinetown), Dean (All Shook Up) and Eugene (Biloxi Blues), among many others. BFA: CCM. Special thanks to Dan for the chance to revisit this timeless piece of musical theater. Love to Gretchen, Mom, Dad & Parker. www.BlakelySlaybaugh.com Great Lakes Theater debut: Blakely is excited to be making his Great Lakes Theater debut and revisiting this Broadway classic for the fourth time since age 4. He most recently finished playing Percy Floppingdale/Robelaire in the world premiere production of Frog Kiss. Before that, Blakely originated the role of Harold...
Lenne Snively
General Matilda B. Cartwright
Great Lakes Theater debut: Lenne is thrilled to be making her first appearance at Great Lakes Theater and is grateful for the opportunity to join this theater family. She most recently appeared as Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Beck Center. Lenne has appeared in theaters all over Ohio, where her favorite roles include Hannah in The Spitfire Grill, Sarah in Quilters, Penelope Pennywise in Urinetown, Lily in A Man of No Importance, Jeannette Burmeister in The Full Monty, Big Edie in Grey Gardens and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. Lenne is a weaver and owner of The 1919 Weaving Company, where she sells her original designs. She lives in Cleveland with her husband, guitarist/singer/songwriter Jim Snively, an Irish Setter named Fiona Claire, a Bluetick Coonhound called Elijah Blue and one very loud talking bird who proudly tells everyone his name is Peabody. She loves them all ... and in that order. Great Lakes Theater debut: Lenne is thrilled to be making her first appearance at Great Lakes Theater and is grateful for the opportunity to join this theater family. She most recently appeared as Miss Hannigan in Annie at the Beck Center. Lenne has appeared in theaters all over Ohio, where...
Arthur Wise*
Benny Southstreet
Great Lakes Theater debut: Arthur is excited to be returning to Great Lakes Theater after understudying the amazing Aled Davies in The Mystery of EdwinDrood! Arthur is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace Music Theatre Program and has recently performed in national tours of My Fair Lady. Regional credits: Ezekiel in White Christmas (Arkansas Rep), Amadeus (Northern Stage), Molokov in Chess (PlayhouseSquare), Sheriff Gilbeau in August Osage County (WPPAC), Vinnie in The Odd Couple (Porthouse Theatre) and Hair and Kiss Me Kate (Cain Park), as well as numerous readings and concerts in New York.Thisfall, Arthur will be joining The American Conservatory Theater’s MFA Class of2016. Many thanks to Vicky and Scott, Dan Knechtges, Penny Luedtke, Great Lakesand my amazing friends and family. Great Lakes Theater debut: Arthur is excited to be returning to Great Lakes Theater after understudying the amazing Aled Davies in The Mystery of EdwinDrood! Arthur is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace Music Theatre Program and has recently performed in national tours of My Fair Lady. Regional credits: Ezekiel in White...
Sam Wolf
Angie the Ox/Ensemble
Great Lakes Theater debut: Regional: Xanadu (Sonny), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (John Calhoun/Male Soloist), Grease (Roger), Footloose (Travis). Other: Rent (Roger), Singin’ in the Rain (Cosmo), All Shook Up (Chad), Swing! (Principal Dancer). Sam is a rising junior Music Theatre major at Baldwin Wallace University, where he was seen in Follies (Young Vincent) and Titanic (Mr. D’amico). Endless thanks to Vicky, Scott, Steven, Greg, Sara, Czarnota, Bailey and Mom and Dad for everything. BWMT15! Great Lakes Theater debut: Regional: Xanadu (Sonny), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (John Calhoun/Male Soloist), Grease (Roger), Footloose (Travis). Other: Rent (Roger), Singin’ in the Rain (Cosmo), All Shook Up (Chad), Swing! (Principal Dancer). Sam is a rising junior Music Theatre major at Baldwin Wallace University, where he was seen in...
Kirsten Wyatt*
Miss Adelaide
Great Lakes Theater debut: Kirsten is ecstatic to be making her debut at Great Lakes Theater. On Broadway, she has been seen in A Christmas Story (Higbee’s Elf/Mrs. Schwartz), Elf (Santa’s Elf), Shrek (Shoemaker’s Elf), Grease (Frenchy, 2007 revival), High Fidelity (Anna), The Pajama Game (Poopsie), Urinetown (Little Becky Two Shoes) and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy/Sally standby). Favorite regional roles include Agnes Gooch in the Goodspeed Opera House production of Mame, for which she won a Connecticut Critics Circle Award; Paulette in Legally Blonde at The Cape Playhouse; Peter in Peter Pan at Pioneer Theater; and Dulcie on the national tour of The Boy Friend directed by Dame Julie Andrews. She’s also performed regionally at Baltimore Center Stage, American Repertory Theater, St Louis MUNY, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Kirsten’s TV credits include Naked Brothers Band,ATWT, AMC. Check out her website at www.kirstenwyatt.net or tweet her @KirstenWyatt. Love to Sean, her awesome husband. Great Lakes Theater debut: Kirsten is ecstatic to be making her debut at Great Lakes Theater. On Broadway, she has been seen in A Christmas Story (Higbee’s Elf/Mrs. Schwartz), Elf (Santa’s Elf), Shrek (Shoemaker’s Elf), Grease (Frenchy, 2007 revival), High Fidelity (Anna), The Pajama Game (Poopsie), Urinetown (Little Becky Two...
* Members of the Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Charles Fee
Producing Artistic Director, Great Lakes Theater
Eleven seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Directing credits at GLT: Blithe Spirit, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, Hay Fever, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arms and the Man and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Charles holds a unique position in the American theater as producing artistic director of three independently operated, professional theater companies: Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2002), Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho (since 1991) and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Lake Tahoe, Nevada (since 2010). His appointments have resulted in a dynamic and groundbreaking producing model for the companies, in which 45 plays have been shared since 2002. In 2009, Charles was honored to receive recognition for his leadership by the Cleveland Arts Prize as a recipient of the Martha Joseph Award. Other awards include The Mayor’s and Governor’s awards for Excellence in the Arts, in Boise, Idaho. From 1988 to 1992, he held the position of artistic director at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in California. He has also worked with The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, the Milwaukee and Missouri repertory theaters, Actor’s Theatre of Phoenix and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival. In addition to his work with the companies in Ohio, Idaho and Nevada, Charles is active within the community. He has served as a member of the strategic planning committee for the Morrison Center, as producer of the FUNDSY Award Gala (’96, ’98 and 2000), and as producer of the 1996 Idaho Governor’s Awards in the Arts. Charles has served on the board of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Downtown Rotary Club. He received his B.A. from the University of the Pacific and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Along with his wife, Lidia, and 17-year-old daughter, Alexa, Charles resides in Boise, Cleveland and Lake Tahoe –– a feat that is only possible because of the incredible love and support of his family, and the generous communities he serves! Eleven seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Directing credits at GLT: Blithe Spirit, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet, Hay Fever, The Importance of Being Earnest, Arms and the Man and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Charles holds a unique position in the American theater as producing artistic director of three independently...
Dan Knechtges
Director/Choreographer
Great Lakes Theater Debut: Dan’s Broadway credits include Lysistrata Jones (Direction & Choreography), Xanadu (directed by Chris Ashley, Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination), Sondheim on Sondheim (directed by James Lapine), 110 in The Shade (starring Audra McDonald) and The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (directed by James Lapine.) Dan also choreographed the off-Broadway incarnation of The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee at Second Stage, which earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination. Off-Broadway credits include directing Tail! Spin! (starring Mo Rocca and Rachel Dratch) for the 2012 Fringe Festival, Merrily We Roll Along for Encores! at City Center (directed by James Lapine), Vanities at Second Stage and directing and choreographing Lysistrata Jones for the Transport Group. Other credits include Der Schuh Das Manitu (Berlin, Germany), The Nightingale (LaJolla Playhouse), Vanities (Theatreworks Palo Alto), Give It Up! (Dallas Theatre Center), Girl In The Frame (Goodspeed), Boys From Syracuse (Centerstage Baltimore), Godspell (Papermill Playhouse), Oklahoma!, The Wiz, Cats, My Fair Lady, Chalk Circle, Sound of Music, Josephand the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (Hangar Theatre), Mame, Angel Street, Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Surflight Theatre), Don Giovanni (Indianapolis Opera), Carousel, The Merry Widow, West Side Story (Opera Illinois). Dan not only has worked in the theater world but also has worked on several operas and concerts. He had the unique experience of choreographing Leonard Bernstein’s MASS for the Dallas Symphony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the assassination of JFK. He also set the piece on Ballet Met dancers in Columbus, OH for ProMusica. Dan’s concert dance premiere was for BalletMet’s JazzMoves choreographing the finale, Mowtown Moves with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Dan’s choreography can be seen in the Todd Solondz’s movie Palindromes, Dark Horse, White Collar on USA Network, The 2011 TV Land Awards with Liza Minnelli, and in Fatboy Slim’s music video “It’s a Wonderful Night,” which reached No. 1 in the U.K. He has also taught dance at numerous institutions and often does master classes all over the country. Dan holds a BFA in musical theatre from Otterbein College in Westerville, OH and hails from Cleveland, OH. He is also a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab. For more information visit www.danknechtges.com Great Lakes Theater Debut: Dan’s Broadway credits include Lysistrata Jones (Direction & Choreography), Xanadu (directed by Chris Ashley, Tony nomination, Drama Desk nomination), Sondheim on Sondheim (directed by James Lapine), 110 in The Shade (starring Audra McDonald) and The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee (directed by James Lapine.) Dan also choreographed the off-Broadway incarnation of The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee at Second Stage, which earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination. Off-Broadway...
Jim Cooney
Associate Choreographer
Great Lakes Theater debut: Cleveland native, now New Yorker for 14 years, Jim is honored to be making his GLT debut! Select choreography for television and stage: Extreme Makeover:Home Edition featuring Kristin Chenoweth, The Glee Project for Oxygen’s Upfronts, The Today Show featuring Little Richard, The Accused for Tropicana in Atlantic City (awarded Best Casino Show of the Year), and assisting Tony-nominated Randy Skinner on the City Center production of Abby’s Song starring Paul Sorvino and the musical Ginger starring Tony Award-winner Donna McKechnie. He’s also choreographed live events for the likes of Warner Bros., OfficeMax and Glamour magazine, featuring celebrities including Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin and Robbie Rosen of American Idol. Jim is on faculty at Broadway Dance Center where he was praised by The New York Times for his teaching. He also serves as faculty advisor for Broadway Dance Center’s professional training programs. Great Lakes Theater debut: Cleveland native, now New Yorker for 14 years, Jim is honored to be making his GLT debut! Select choreography for television and stage: Extreme Makeover:Home Edition featuring Kristin Chenoweth, The Glee Project for Oxygen’s Upfronts, The Today Show featuring Little Richard, The Accused for Tropicana in Atlantic City (awarded Best Casino Show of the Year), and assisting Tony-nominated Randy Skinner on the City Center production of Abby’s Song starring Paul Sorvino...
Matthew Webb
Music Director
Six seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Matthew is a graduate of the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music and hails from Cordova, Illinois. Previously at Great Lakes: Sondheim on Sondheim, Cabaret, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Mystery ofEdwin Drood, Into the Woods, Macbeth, TwoGentlemen of Verona and A Funny Thing Happened onthe Way to the Forum. He is also the music director for the acclaimed corporate entertainment group, The Water Coolers.
Beowulf Boritt
Scenic Designer
Great Lakes Theater debut: Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys (Tony nomination), Chaplin, Grace, Rock of Ages, Sondheim on Sondheim, The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee, LoveMusik, The Two And Only. Off-Broadway: More than 50 shows, including The Last Five Years, Toxic Avenger, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet, Miss Julie, Roundabout,Public, MTC, 2nd Stage, Vineyard, MCC, Primary Stages, New Group, Pearl, American Place, Keen Company. Other designs: The Seven Deadly Sins (New York City Ballet) Paradise Found (London), Reel to Real (Beijing) and two editions of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He received a 2007 OBIE Award. Great Lakes Theater debut: Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys (Tony nomination), Chaplin, Grace, Rock of Ages, Sondheim on Sondheim, The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee, LoveMusik, The Two And Only. Off-Broadway: More than 50 shows, including The Last Five Years, Toxic Avenger, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet, Miss Julie, Roundabout,Public, MTC, 2nd Stage, Vineyard, MCC, Primary Stages, New Group, Pearl, American Place, Keen Company. Other designs: The Seven Deadly Sins (New York...
Jennifer Caprio
Costume Designer
Great Lakes Theater debut: Broadway:The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other NYC:In Transit (Primary Stages, Lucille Lortel Award nomination), Fugitive Songs (Dreamlight Theatre Company), Masked (DR2 Theatre), Striking 12 (Daryl Roth Theatre), The Atheist (Center Stage), Wanda’s World (Amas Musical Theatre), Modern & Post-Modern Living (LaMama Experimental Theatre Club). International:The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (International Tour), Queen Esther Marrow and the Harlem Gospel Singers (International Tours 2010, 2011, 2012). Regional:Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Opera Boston, La Jolla Playhouse, Virginia Stage Company, Utah Shakespeare Festival (Seven Productions), Playmakers Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival (five seasons), Actors Theatre of Louisville, Geva Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Westport Country Playhouse, Capital Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Hangar Theatre (13 seasons), among others. Film/Television:Born to Shine (Art Director, Time Warner Cable); Oz: The Great and Powerful (Costume Assistant). Education/Other:BFA Ithaca College; MFA Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.Upcoming: NYC: Little Miss Sunshine and Ella Minnow Pea (Goodspeed). Great Lakes Theater debut: Broadway:The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Other NYC:In Transit (Primary Stages, Lucille Lortel Award nomination), Fugitive Songs (Dreamlight Theatre Company), Masked (DR2 Theatre), Striking 12 (Daryl Roth Theatre), The Atheist (Center Stage), Wanda’s World (Amas Musical Theatre), Modern & Post-Modern Living (LaMama Experimental Theatre Club). International:The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), The Great American Trailer Park Musical (International Tour), Queen Esther Marrow and the Harlem Gospel...
Steven Gross
Conductor
Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Steven is pleased to be returning to GLT after music directing productions of Gypsy and Anything Goes. Steven has worked on Broadway and the West End as conductor and pianist on such shows as The Life, Urinetown, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chicago, Miss Saigon, The Wedding Singer, Saturday Night Fever and Dreamgirls,plus the New York City Opera productions of A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, The Most Happy Fella and Candide. He has worked off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons and the Algonquin Theater. His adaptation of The Pirates of Penzance at the South Street Seaport was Lortel-nominated for best musical. Regional theater work includes music direction in St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Miami, Philadelphia and Chicago. He has conducted the European premieres of The Life, Urinetown, Falsettos, Beehive, Forever Plaid, Closer Than Ever and Flora the Red Menace. He also works extensively as an opera and concert conductor. He has collaborated as an orchestrator/arranger on new musicals with composers Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus on their new version of Chess, Cy Coleman on two of his last performed musicals, David Friedman and Mark Hollmann. He has also worked on developing new works with composers Cy Coleman, Mark Hollmann and David Friedman. Steven works actively as an orchestrator and arranger for many symphony orchestras, as well as for varied television, radio, video and on-line stations. His musical Nijinsky has been performed in Berlin, Hamburg and Zurich, and will debut in Lausanne and Paris in the next two seasons. Steven is currently an associate professor at Baldwin Wallace University. Two seasons at Great Lakes Theater: Steven is pleased to be returning to GLT after music directing productions of Gypsy and Anything Goes. Steven has worked on Broadway and the West End as conductor and pianist on such shows as The Life, Urinetown, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chicago, Miss Saigon, The Wedding Singer, Saturday Night Fever and Dreamgirls,plus the New York City Opera productions of A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, The...
Richard B. Ingraham
Sound Designer
Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater: Richard has designed sound for numerous theaters in the area and around the country. Previously at Great Lakes, Richard designed sound for Blithe Spirit, Sondheim on Sondheim and many of the Outreach Tours. Other recent sound designs include Follies for Baldwin Wallace University; Next to Normal, Annie, Xanadu and SpringAwakening for Beck Center; Ave Q for Cain Park; Ghosts of War and A Bright New Boise for Dobama Theatre; Songs for a New World and Pride and Prejudice for Hope Summer Repertory Theatre in Holland, Michigan; and Strike Slip for Oberlin College. Richard has worked as a show control programmer and installer for several clients, including Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, The Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois, and Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. He has also taught sound design and related course work at The Carnegie Mellon School of Drama and The University of Evansville Theatre Department. Two seasons with Great Lakes Theater: Richard has designed sound for numerous theaters in the area and around the country. Previously at Great Lakes, Richard designed sound for Blithe Spirit, Sondheim on Sondheim and many of the Outreach Tours. Other recent sound designs include Follies for Baldwin Wallace University; Next to Normal, Annie, Xanadu and SpringAwakening for Beck Center; Ave Q for Cain Park; Ghosts of War and A Bright New Boise for Dobama Theatre;...
David Lander
Lighting Designer
Great Lakes Theater debut: Broadway: The Heiress with Jessica Chastain and Dan Stevens, The Lyons with Linda Lavin, Master Class with Tyne Daly, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with Robin Williams (Drama Desk Award, Tony and Outer Critics nominations for Best Lighting Design), 33 Variations with Jane Fonda (Tony and Outer Critics nominations), I Am My Own Wife (Drama Desk and Outer Critics nominations), A Man for All Seasons with Frank Langella, Dirty Blond, Golden Child. Off-Broadway: Fran’s Bed with Mia Farrow, King Lear with Kevin Klein, Macbeth with Live Schreiber and Jennifer Ehle, Modern Orthodox with Molly Ringwald and Jason Biggs, among others. Regional: Ahmanson Theatre, Alley Theatre, Arena Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Geffin Playhouse, The Goodman Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, St. Louis MUNY, The Old Globe, Philadelphia Theatre Company, among others. International: London, Dublin, Caracas, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, among others. Great Lakes Theater debut: Broadway: The Heiress with Jessica Chastain and Dan Stevens, The Lyons with Linda Lavin, Master Class with Tyne Daly, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo with Robin Williams (Drama Desk Award, Tony and Outer Critics nominations for Best Lighting Design), 33 Variations with Jane Fonda (Tony and Outer Critics nominations), I Am My Own Wife (Drama Desk and Outer Critics nominations), A Man for All Seasons with Frank Langella, Dirty Blond,...
Corrie E. Purdum
Stage Manager
Seven seasons at Great Lakes Theater: GLT: The Taming of the Shrew, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Crucible, Into the Woods, The Comedy of Errors, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Bat Boy: The Musical, Othello, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cabaret, The Mousetrap, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Winter’s Tale, and Much Ado About Nothing.Other credits include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) at Lake TahoeShakespeare Festival, seven seasons with IdahoShakespeare Festival, six seasons with theCleveland Play House and three seasons with CainPark. Corrie is an alumna of Baldwin-WallaceCollege, where she teaches stage management. Seven seasons at Great Lakes Theater: GLT: The Taming of the Shrew, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Crucible, Into the Woods, The Comedy of Errors, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Bat Boy: The Musical, Othello, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cabaret, The Mousetrap, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Winter’s Tale, and Much Ado About Nothing.Other credits include The Complete Works of William...
Jennifer Caster
Assistant Stage Manager
Great Lakes Theater debut: Stage management credits include EarthPlays, Water Ways, The Secret Social, Standing on Ceremony, Poor Little Lulu and At-TEN-tion Span (Cleveland Public Theatre); Antony and Cleopatra, Burt Dow, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Elizabeth Rex, Dying City, and Brilliant Traces (Stonington Opera House, ME); Red Light Winter, Fefu and Her Friends, Passion Play and How I Learned to Drive (Bard College Fisher Center, NY); Septimus and Clarissa (assistant credit, Ripe Time, NY); Futurity (HERE Arts Center, NY); PITCH (LaMaMa, Etc., NY); Waxing West (Dramalabbet, Stockholm). Jennifer is the Production Manager for Conni’s Avant Garde Restaurant. Great Lakes Theater debut: Stage management credits include EarthPlays, Water Ways, The Secret Social, Standing on Ceremony, Poor Little Lulu and At-TEN-tion Span (Cleveland Public Theatre); Antony and Cleopatra, Burt Dow, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Elizabeth Rex, Dying City, and Brilliant Traces (Stonington Opera House, ME); Red Light Winter, Fefu and Her Friends, Passion Play and How I Learned to Drive (Bard College Fisher Center, NY); Septimus and Clarissa (assistant credit, Ripe...
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
...loaded with talent, staged at the ideal venue. This is a production not to be missed.
By The News Herald
"...a perfect play, infused with creativity and loaded with talent, staged at the ideal venue. This is a production not to be missed...Everything works...Everything."
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Outstanding 'Guys and Dolls' brings PlayhouseSquare flair to Great Lakes stage
By The News Herald
By Bob Abelman
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Broadway musicals and the national tours of Broadway musicals that come through downtown's PlayhouseSquare have become a performing arts paradox. They single-handedly raise the casual theater audience's entertainment expectations while lowering their standards.
As much as we love the Broadway musical - with its big budget, bold look and brash approach to theater - few rank with the great dramatic classics and, in recent years, too many draw their inspiration from popular culture, such as "Spider Man," "Shrek" and "Legally Blond."
More often than not, we are wowed by the Broadway mystique - that is, a musical's legacy, extravagance and expense - rather than the artistry.
Not so with the current PlayhouseSquare Broadway series production of "Guys and Dolls." It is, in fact, the perfect storm of musical theater: a perfect play, infused with creativity and loaded with talent, staged at the ideal venue.
This is a production not to be missed.
"Guys and Dolls" is a 1950s Tony Award-winning romantic comedy written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows with infectious music and clever lyrics by Frank Loesser. The musical was turned into a 1955 film starring Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando, was revived on Broadway in 1992 and revived, again, in 2006.
Set during Prohibition and featuring gangsters, gamblers and the dolls who love them, the show revolves around two particular couples: ditzy cabaret entertainer Miss Adelaide and her marriage-phobic, ne'er-do-well boyfriend, Nathan Detroit; and smooth-talking gambler Sky Masterson and the seemingly unobtainable object of his desire, Salvation Army officer Sarah Brown.
Although "Guys and Dolls" is part of the PlayhouseSquare Broadway series, it is no tour. This is a local production meticulously pieced together by Great Lakes Theater personnel with input - from show selection to casting decisions - by the powers-that-be at PlayhouseSquare. These two creative forces know a thing or two about putting on a show, and it shows in this wonderful collaboration.
A homegrown production, local actors are peppered throughout the cast, including Baldwin-Wallace University-trained Arthur Wise, Bailey Carter Moulse and Sam Wolf, as well as Lenne Snively playing Salvation Army General Cartwright, Phillip Michael Carroll as Lieutenant Brannigan, and Great Lakes regular Aled Davies playing Sarah's grandfather.
Most of the cast and creative team - including director/choreographer Dan Knechtges - are composed of New York talent with Broadway and national tour experience. This gives PlayhouseSquare subscribers the big bang for the buck they are accustomed to and offers Great Lakes Theater audiences - who are routinely treated to straight dramas and classic comedies -- a taste of musical theater done right.
The show features Harry Bouvy as a thoroughly lovable Nathan Detroit, Leah Horowitz as an immediately accessible Sarah Brown, Kirsten Wyatt as an adorable Miss Adelaide, and Steel Burkhardt, also a Baldwin-Wallace grad, as the suave Sky Masterson. Bona fide triple-threats all, these four are absolute pleasures to see and hear and are surrounded by an equally talented and experienced ensemble. Every performance pops, particularly the ones delivered by Wayne W. Pretlow as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" and Wyatt in the hilarious "Adelaide's Lament."
Adding to the ambiance of this production is its placement in the intimate Hanna Theatre rather than in the cavernous confines of the Palace and State theaters down the street. Seeing musical theater up-close and personal is an experience typically afforded Broadway and PlayhouseSquare patrons who can afford seating in the exclusive Orchestra section. Here, everyone has the best seat in the house.
From that seat can be seen some very effective production choices.
Damon Runyun's short story "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," on which "Guys and Dolls" is based, was written during the Great Depression and intended to offer much-needed comic relief during difficult times. This was accomplished by placing the characters' humanity and humor at the forefront and giving them a wide birth to express it. Such is the case with the staging of this production.
Each actor delivers delightfully broad comedic performances that keep the story line airborne and lightweight. Music director Matthew Webb and conductor Steven Gross play with some of the songs' timing - an extended pause or held note here, a sped-up refrain there - to milk interesting moments embedded in the score. Costume designer Jennifer Caprio, scenic designer Beowulf Boritt and lighting designer David Lander have joined forces to create a bold hard-candy palette for this play that makes the stage explode with color.
This production is so theatrically stagey that additional proscenium arches have been created as part of the set design to emphasize this artistic approach and center the audience's attention on the thoroughly entertaining activities happening within them.
Everything works in this production. Everything. Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a ticket and one for your favorite guy or doll.
"Guys and Dolls" continues through June 30 at PlayhouseSquare's Hanna Theatre, 2067 E. 14th St., Cleveland. For tickets, which range from $10 to $67, visit www.playhousesquare.org or call 216-241-6000.
By Bob Abelman
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Broadway musicals and the national tours of Broadway musicals that come through downtown's PlayhouseSquare have become a performing arts paradox. They single-handedly raise the casual theater audience's entertainment expectations while lowering their standards.
As much as we love the Broadway musical - with its big budget, bold look and brash approach to theater - few rank with the great dramatic classics and, in recent years, too...
Monday, May 06, 2013
"...sparkling...everything about this smart, joyful production works..."
By The Plain Dealer
By Andrea Simakis
May 7, 2013
It will come as no surprise to anyone catching the sparkling new production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre that Kirsten Wyatt the actor inhabiting the va-va-va voom corsets of Miss Adelaide, burlesque queen and long-suffering fiancee of craps king Nathan Detroit, has made something of a career playing elves on Broadway. To wit: a Higbee's Elf ("A Christmas Story"), Santa's Elf ("Elf") and a Shoemaker's Elf ("Shrek").
Yes, she is adorable, but that's not the reason for the typecasting. The smart money is on her helium-sucking voice, a tool she puts to great use as the sneezing, wheezing Hot Box club headliner with a perpetual cold (famously brought on by her 14-year engagement).
Here, she sounds a bit like Glinda the Good Witch spliced with Eliza Doolittle -- before Henry Higgins taught her about the rain in Spain -- and often at glass-shattering volume.
When Nathan (a marvelously nervous Harry Bouvy) welshes on yet another promise to make that trip to the altar, she swoons, claws the air and emits a strangled screech. But when he pleases her? She flies into his arms with the sped-up, stiff-legged gait of a windup doll.
Her performance is off-kilter and odd, worlds away from the usual portrayals of Adelaide as a blond (and dizzy) bombshell. She's also an unforgettable riot.
Wyatt -- and director Dan Knechtges -- deserve a tip of the fedora for bringing an unexpected freshness to a character who is so well-known that a good portion of the audience can mouth the lyrics to "Adelaide's Lament," wherein Miss A enumerates her "psychosomatic symptoms," including "la grippe" and "la post nasal drip." (Friday's opening-night crowd nearly stopped the show cheering for Wyatt when she sang the last note of that signature number.)
For those remaining "Guys and Dolls" virgins out there, a nutshell synopsis: Adelaide's beau, Nathan, needs some lettuce so's he can rent space for his "oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York." To win the needed bread, Nathan bets gambler Sky Masterson that he won't be able to woo Sgt. Sarah Brown, a starched evangelist from the Save-A-Soul Mission, onto a plane for a bite to eat in Cuba.
A colorful collection of gangsters and con men fill out Damon Runyon's seedy milieu: Wayne W. Pretlow's delightfully dim Nicely-Nicely Johnson; Zach Cossman's Harry the Horse, who issues an equine blow and snort when ruffled; and little Ben Liebert, who, in the best sight gag of the evening, disappears into his oversize suit as hotheaded, out-of-town high roller Big Jule.
The casting in this Great Lakes Theater-PlayhouseSquare co-production is superb. Steel Burkhardt, an alum of Baldwin Wallace University, looks just the way Sky should -- dark and handsome, with a matinee idol's jaw. He can croon like a heartthrob from the silver screen, too, something movie star Marlon Brandon famously couldn't do when he played the role opposite Jean Simmons as "Salvation Army doll" Sarah in the 1955 film adaptation of the Broadway hit.
At the Hanna, Sister Sarah is played by Leah Horowitz, a versatile performer who brings operatic precision to the standards "I'll Know" and "If I Were a Bell" and a comedienne's loose-limbed elasticity to her scenes of drunken abandon after she is whisked to Havana by Sky. (In a move worthy of Carol Burnett, Horowitz tries to approximate the moves of a hotsy-totsy Cuban hoofer and winds up upside-down in Sky's arms, her red wool skirt up around her ears, her legs paddling empty space.)
That wild Havana night is one of many expertly choreographed -- and exuberantly athletic -- dance sequences from Knechtges. Actors execute seemingly effortless balletic leaps, pinwheel spins and cartwheels to tight, brass-heavy orchestrations led by Steven Gross.
Everything about this smart, joyful production works to pay homage to the original but adds the fizz of the new, including inventive costumes by Jennifer Caprio. In the Hot Box routine "A Bushel and a Peck," Adelaide's sun hat is the size of an elephant's ear. It's the perfect, weird accessory for a perfectly unorthodox doll.
By Andrea Simakis
May 7, 2013
It will come as no surprise to anyone catching the sparkling new production of "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre that Kirsten Wyatt the actor inhabiting the va-va-va voom corsets of Miss Adelaide, burlesque queen and long-suffering fiancee of craps king Nathan Detroit, has made something of a career playing elves on Broadway. To wit: a Higbee's Elf ("A Christmas Story"), Santa's Elf ("Elf") and...
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Guys and Dolls' sensational at GLT
By Cleveland Jewsih News
By Fran Heller
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
"Guys and Dolls" is a surefire winner at Great Lakes Theater in a sensational co-production with PlayhouseSquare.
Cleveland native Dan Knechtges' inventive direction and dazzling choreography take the popular 1950 musical comedy to a new level.
Based on Damon Runyon stories about the New York City demimonde of gamblers, winos, hustlers and hookers, the Tony Award-winning masterwork attests to the collective genius of Frank Loesser (music and lyrics) and Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows (book). All three were Jewish.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Nathan Detroit (Harry Bouvy) needs a thousand "g's" to run his floating crap game in the back of the Biltmore garage. Nathan bets high stakes gambler Sky Masterson (Steel Burkhardt), who boasts he can get any doll he wants, that he can't get a particular doll, Salvation Army Sister Sarah Brown (Leah Horowitz), to take to Havana.
Sky promises Sarah he will deliver a dozen genuine sinners if she has dinner with him in Havana. She agrees, to Nathan's great dismay. Meanwhile, Nathan's fiancee of 14 years, nightclub chanteuse Miss Adelaide (Kirsten Wyatt), is putting the screws on him to finally get married.
The production bubbles over with joy. The actors' delight in their roles is infectious and palpable. Every aspect of the show bears the imprimatur of the director's love for this legendary classic.
The exuberance begins with Beowulf Boritt's sensational set, whose off-kilter Times Square backdrop resembles a Red Grooms diorama, bathed in David Lander's neon lighting. Charming details, thanks to the sound design of Richard B. Ingraham, include the kerplunk of water seeping through the sewer where Nathan runs his crap game.
Jennifer Caprio's costumes, from flashy zoot suits and two-toned alligator shoes to Salvation Army redcoats to garters and bustiers for the Hot Spot dolls, amaze and delight. Matthew Webb's musical direction, expressed by conductor Steven Gross and orchestra, brings Loesser's brilliant score, with every song a winner, to robust life.
The irrepressible Wyatt almost steals the show as the eternally engaged Miss Adelaide. Her rendition of "Adelaide's Lament," in which the long-suffering fiancee discovers the psychosomatic cause of her cough, is a comic gem. "In other words, just from waiting around/For the plain little band of gold/A person can develop a cold," she pines.
Equally marvelous is "Sue Me," a duet between Adelaide and an imploring Nathan (the excellent Bouvy), who despite his procrastination is hopelessly in love with his doll.
Wayne W. Pretlow deservedly received the most sustained applause as Nicely-Nicely Johnson for his glorious rendition of "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," a rousing revivalist anthem in which the gambler leads his sinning cohorts at the Save-a-Soul Mission. Knechtges' choreography is a knockout.
Beautiful Horowitz, her soprano gorgeous to boot, is perfect as the prim and proper Sarah, who declares she will never fall in love with a gambler but does. Handsome Burkhardt has the pipes and charisma to match her in "I've Never Been In Love Before," the duet in which Sky and Sarah discover their mutual attraction.
In "Havana," a thoroughly drunk Sarah sheds all inhibitions, ramping up the comedic; while the dancing is thrilling, the shtick goes on for too long. Dancing is also a highlight in the "Crapshooter's Dance" in which ensemble members emulate rolling dice.
I loved this show. I bet you will, too.
By Fran Heller
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
"Guys and Dolls" is a surefire winner at Great Lakes Theater in a sensational co-production with PlayhouseSquare.
Cleveland native Dan Knechtges' inventive direction and dazzling choreography take the popular 1950 musical comedy to a new level.
Based on Damon Runyon stories about the New York City demimonde of gamblers, winos, hustlers and hookers, the Tony Award-winning masterwork attests to the collective genius of Frank Loesser (music and...
Monday, May 06, 2013
"...a DO NOT MISS production."
By The New 102FM
By Kory
May 6, 2013
An author named Damon Runyon wrote two short stories in the 1920s and 1930s about the New York City underworld titled, "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," and "Blood Pressure." It's characters were gangsters, gamblers, prostitutes and cabaret performers. Producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin saw a Broadway hit in these stories and with music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser, combined with a book written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, adapted those short stories for the stage in a musical called Guys & Dolls, which opened on Broadway in late 1950.
The show was an instant success, winning five 1951 Tony Awards including Best Musical. After running for 1,200 performances, the original Broadway production closed. Guys & Dolls opened on London's West end in 1953 and ran for 555 performances. The wildly successful musical has been revived several times, three times on Broadway in 1976, 1992 and 2009, and three times in London in 1982,1996, and 2005. The production that is playing at PlayhouseSquare's Hanna Theatre was produced locally by Great Lakes Theatre in association with PlayhouseSquare's Key Bank Broadway Series.
Guys & Dolls in Cleveland is really well produced. The cast is strong, really strong in fact, and the staging is fluid, elegant and gorgeous. In fact, the first ovation on opening night occurred when the Hanna's massive olive green curtain rose on Act One, it was for the set! Scenic Designer Beowulf Borritt, Lighting Designer David Lander, Costume Designer Jennifer Caprio, and director/choreographer Dan Knechtges work together to produce a flawless, Broadway quality experience that should not be missed.
The cast is so strong that I had trouble narrowing it down to a few stand outs. Harry Bouvy plays gambler Nathan Detroit with ease and style. He just wants to host an illegal craps game, while keeping his fiance Adelaide (of 14 years) in the dark and avoid getting married, is that so bad? His portrayal is the perfect combination of heartfelt and slimey. Baldwin Wallace Alum Steel Burkhardt (great actors name right?) plays Sky Masterson masterfully. See what I did there? He sings like Sinatra, loves to gamble big, and develops a seemingly hopeless crush on the very sheltered mission director Sarah Brown, played by the incredible soprano Leah Horowitz. His stage presence is perfect and her vocals are, in a word, ridiculous. Ridiculously strong that is.
If I had to pick one member of the cast for some sort of award, it would have to be Kirsten Wyatt. Her take on the role of Miss Adelaide is absolutely hilarious, and completely unforgettable. Wyatt is a star, period. Unfortunately for her, the only award I have to offer is a mention in this review. Special praise must go to Wayne W. Pretlow who plays Nicely-Nicely Johnson. Pretlow grabbed the largest, longest, and loudest reaction from the sold out opening night crowd with "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" in Act Two. Bravo!
Guys & Dolls wreaks of 'Old Broadway.' Huge, brilliantly choreographed, full company dance numbers, a classic romance or two, a witty, fast-paced and intelligent script, a perfect cast, and a dazzling set combine to make this a DO NOT MISS production. Guys & Dolls runs in the historic and intimate Hanna Theatre every night (excluding Mondays) through June 30th. You have no excuse to miss this show! Grab tickets and information at PlayhouseSquare.org.
By Kory
May 6, 2013
An author named Damon Runyon wrote two short stories in the 1920s and 1930s about the New York City underworld titled, "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," and "Blood Pressure." It's characters were gangsters, gamblers, prostitutes and cabaret performers. Producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin saw a Broadway hit in these stories and with music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser, combined with a book written by...
Great Lakes Theater/PlayhouseSquare Make a Sure Bet, Produce/Present "Guys and Dolls" at the Hanna Theatre
April 22, 2013
Spend an unforgettable evening as PlayhouseSquare and Great Lakes Theater present the classic GUYS AND DOLLS May 1 – June 30 at the Hanna Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. GUYS AND DOLLS is part of the KeyBank Broadway Series.
A Musical Fable of Broadway; Based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon; Music and lyrics by Frank Loesser; Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows GUYS AND DOLLS is a sure bet that soars with the spirit of Broadway! Set in vivid, mid-20th century New York...
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