It’s all about Guys and Dolls The Gilpin Middle School Theater presented Guys and Dolls Jr. at 5 p.m. May 23, 2022, at the school. Left; Nightclub performer Adelaide, played by Serenity Braning, married Nathan Detroit, played by Paul Ferrante. Above, right; major performers step forward to the stage at the curtain call. PHOTOS BY JOHN SCARFFE[/caption]

The Gilpin Middle School Theater presented Guys and Dolls Jr. The public performance was rescheduled from Friday, May 20, to 5 p.m. May 23, 2022, due to snow.

The play is based on the legendary, multi-award winning, musical comedy classic about rolling the dice and falling in love under the lights of Broadway. The Gilpin Theater show lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.

Set in 1950s New York City, it is a classic musical comedy with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure,” which are two short stories by Damon Runyon. The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.

In the performance by the Gilpin Middle School, Gambler Nathan Detroit, played by Paul Ferrante, tries to find the cash to set up the biggest crap games in town while the authorities breathe down his neck and he pursues his relationship with nightclub performer Adelaide, played by Serenity Braning.

The sets for the play were simple but well-designed with easy roll in and out parts. The set changed after every song and alternated from a scene outside with a door front and magazine rack to inside a nightclub with a piano and Hot Box sign, the club in Havana and inside the mission with church benches, finishing with the marriage scene.

Other cast members were Nicely- Nicely Johnson, Kayson Kniffen; Benny Southstreet, Kyla Nand; Rusty Charlie/Havana dancer Tori Turner; Sarah Brown, Lexi Zeilbeck; Alice Aberthany and Hot Box Girl, Eve Martin; Agatha and crapshooter Kaeya Kragenbrink; Harry the Horse, Keira Farrante; Lt. Brannigan and hot box girl Bea Hanson; Angie the Ox, Milo Prout; Sky Masterson, Cameron Thomason; Mimi, Elise Vincent; Violet, Kari Hanson, Fruit seller Liz Madrigal- Garcia; General Cartwright, Ava Supplee; Big Jule, Kenny Williams; Master of Ceremonies and crapshooter Fin Mckeon.

Tech Crews were lights, Paul Ferrante, Keira Ferrante and Ava Supplee; Sound, Milo Prout, Cameron Thomason, Kyla Nand; Costumes, Kari Hanson, Elise Vincent, Liz Madrigatl-Garcia; Hair & Makeup, Eve Martin, Serenity Braning, Kayson Kniffen; Set Construction, Tori Turner, Bea Hanson, Kenny Williams; Props, Kaeya Krangenbring, Lexi Zeilbach, Fin McKeon.

The Production Team included Director Cynthia Silker, Assistant Director Beth Teepe, Vocal Coach Tertia Cain, Dance Captain, Lexi Zeilbeck, Lighting Designer Paul Ferrante, Sound Engineers Keith Kinnear and Contour Audio, Set Construction Gary Kragenbrink, Run Crew: Sound Marcus Schaller, Costumes/Props Gwen Harker, Lights Zach Gebhardt, Spotlight Ben Zeckner and Stagehand Elara Frisch. Additional production assistance included Sunny Vincent, Lynda Icenogle, Rayna Durnen, Ryan and Hannah Raynes and Robert Schaller.

Special thanks to Secondary Principal Alexis Donaldson, Sunny Vincent, Russell Thomas, Curt Halsted and Art Student Lili Uokalani Cope, Darren Newberg and media production students Jeff Hanssen, Zoey Paul, and Adi Buckland, Michelle Hernandez and the Gilpin Booster Club, Karin Coverdale and Dostal Alley Pizza.

The performance ended with a curtain call for all actors on stage and were introduced two by two until gathering together for the finale.

Director Cynthia Sliker wrote that Guys and Dolls was originally written and performed in the 1950s and is both a story of its time as well as a timeless look at the risks and rewards of love and friendship. It is a classic for good reason.

“It has been my great pleasure to work with these fine students this spring semester, establishing foundations of theater and putting it all together in our final production. Students have worked hard, built a positive culture, and supported each other in ways that will transcend this moment to become part of who they are. That, in the end, is what theater is really all about.”