The begins the 2023/24 season with 鈥淕uys and Dolls,鈥� directed by Banji Aborisade, reviving the classic musical鈥搘ith a twist. Performances will be held Oct. 6-15 in the Storch Theatre at the 黑料不打烊 Stage/SU Drama Complex, 820 East Genesee St. Tickets are available through the or by phone at 315.443.3275.
鈥淚s it wrong to gamble, or only to lose?鈥� asks librettist, composer, and lyricist Frank Loesser through the charming yet impulsive Sky Masterson. The scene is 1950s New York City: Gangsters run loose, showgirls perform at nightclubs and missionaries work to convert the city鈥檚 lost souls. Nathan Detroit, purveyor of a high-stakes craps game, makes a devious bet with Sky Masterson, and it鈥檚 not just money that鈥檚 on the line. If Nathan wins, he鈥檚 $1,000 richer and Sky must convince the innocent Sarah Brown to run off with him to Havana, Cuba. And the stakes are even higher for Nathan鈥檚 unwitting fianc茅, Adelaide; it鈥檚 hard to plan a trip to the altar when the man of your dreams is constantly gambling away your wedding funds.
Director Banji Aborisade adds a new layer to the timeless musical with the addition of a Reader. 鈥淚 thought, what better way to do it than to bring in the lens of someone from today because it only adds to the material and doesn’t take away from it,鈥� says Aborisade. 鈥淚 think it is super exciting, which makes me double down on the fact that I think the show is timeless鈥攅very generation can bring a different understanding to it. And we can deepen, and honor, what the writers originally wrote with today鈥檚 knowledge and push it forward.鈥�
For Aborisade and his team, 鈥淕uys and Dolls鈥� is both a celebration of how the world has progressed since the 1950s and the people who may not have been recognized in that time but directly affected and inspired the world we live in today. It is also an opportunity to explore how some things have not progressed at all. 鈥淭he show is so deeply about relationships, and about change,鈥� he said. Can relationships old and new sustain the trials and tribulations that come with differing morals and lifestyles? Can Nathan run the illegal craps game without getting caught by the police or his fianc茅e? Can Sky and Sarah have a genuine relationship when their romance is based on a bet?
鈥楪uys and Dolls鈥�
Cast
Swings
Understudies
Additional Credits
