Guys & Dolls, ECCT

My friend, Kari, invited me to be her date to the Eau Claire Children's Theater (ECCT) rendition of Guys & Dolls, at The State Theater here in Eau Claire (a.k.a Eau Claire Regional Arts Center).  It was a last minute outing for us.  Kari played Rizzo in ECCT's Grease this past summer, and she really wanted to see her fellow acting friends in action.  I've never had an inkling or interest to see Guys & Dolls, and really didn't know what the play was about (when I asked someone at work they told me, "well, it's about guys and dolls..." - helpful).  But, I love going to see plays and movies, so I knew I would still enjoy the evening.

Kari hanging out at the entrance...

Last night was opening night.  It definitely wasn't a sold out show; about half of the theater was empty.  But, I assumed that this had to do with it being a school night.  It worked for us though!  We had great seats, and were close to the stage.  The director of the play was Wayne Marek, who is also the Executive Director of the ECCT.  I think he directs most of the performances.  Basically, the play really was about "guys" and "dolls".  I think it was set in the early 1950s in New York City.  Two couples were featured:

Sarah Brown:  head of a Christian mission house
and
Sky Masterson:  respected local gambler (repected by his fellow gamblers I should say)

Miss Adelaide:  night club dancer/singer, with a mission to get married and have a normal life
and
Nathan Detroit:  local craps game orgainzer, gambler, and dating Adelaide for 14 years

The play (a musical comedy) was about the interaction of these couples, and included a lot of general commentary on how "guys" view life and marriage and how "dolls" view the same.  Of course, the views were vastly differing.  Plus there's a love story, and gambling in the mix.  Lots of singing and dancing - it IS a musical.  One thing I thought was pretty cool that I never knew was that the songs "Luck Be a Lady Tonight"  and "A Bushel and a Peck" originated from this play!

Overall, I really enjoyed the performance.  The acting was great as was the dancing and music.  We have some pretty talented people here in Eau Claire!  There were a couple of snafus with lighting and mics not working right away after a scene shift, but it was opening night I guess.  It was a long performance - started at 7:30PM and ended a little after 10:00PM.  Waaaayyyyy past my bedtime!

The original performance of Guys & Dolls premiered on Broadway in November of 1950.  Apparently there is also a movie of Guys & Dolls starring Marlon Brando as Sky and Frank Sinatra as Nathan.

I should point out that though this play was put on by the Eau Claire Children's Theater, there were no children in it.  And, it was not really not geared towards a child type audience.  In my experience, this is usually the case with most plays put on by the ECCT.  In the past, when I've asked Kari why, she said that some plays do have children, but that really the mission of the playhouse is for anyone interested in acting to be involved, and to put on plays the whole family can enjoy.  Hmmmm, I still don't really understand, but I like the plays so who really cares, right?

Kari and visited with some people we knew during and after the show.  And, Kari made a point to offer congrats to the actors/actresses in the play.  After the play concludes each night, they put their street clothes on and thank the audience members as they file out of the building.  I think that's a nice touch.  All in all a great evening!