The John Carroll School will be performing the musical ‘Guys and Dolls’ on March 22 at 7 pm, March 23 at 2 and 7 pm, and March 24 at 2 pm.
“Actors audition for roles and are called back based on the roles needed. All actors are selected for roles based on character performance, vocal performance, and dance performance need,” said Director Larry Hensley.
“Nathan Detroit is an entertaining character to play. He is sporadic and thinks on his feet to try to come up with anything to get him out of his current situation,” explained Mitchell.
Guys and Dolls is a musical romantic comedy that premiered on Broadway in 1950. The show ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical.
The musical is based on two short stories by Damon Runyon: “The Idyll of Miss Sara Brown” and “Blood Pressure.”
Guys and Dolls is set in Manhattan and tells the story of Nathan Detroit, a con man.
Senior Mitchell Gier will be portraying the lead in the musical.
Mitchell described Nathan Detroit as “the runner of an underground gambling group. He must hide his business from local authorities while finding a new spot every night for his dice games. He makes a lot of promises but needs more follow-through.”
Senior Ginger Roarty will be playing Miss Adelaide. “This musical is very special to me because it is only my second show in the cast, and I’ve been given the honor to play a lead. With my cousin and my sister both playing leads in shows at JC, I have a lot to live up to, but I’m so excited to continue this tradition.”
When Ginger first found out what the theatre department’s spring musical would be she started preparing back in May. Over the summer she watched the movie multiple times and even other high school performances to study the different Adelaide’s and their mannerisms.
“There’s a lot that goes into playing a role, but I’m honored to be bringing Adelaide back to life on John Carroll’s stage for my last show,” said Ginger.
Sophomore Izzie Parrish will also star in the musical as Sarah Brown.
Izzie looks forward to the most is the time and effort that goes into the musicals. “Of course, performing on stage is so incredibly fun, but all the time and effort we all spend putting it together helps all of us grow together, and that is what makes it worthwhile.”
Mr. Hensley is most excited to see the actors grow within their role, “The process of staging a large-scale musical is exciting to see the actors grow within their roles. Guys and Dolls is a musical comedy, and it has been fun to work on the comedy and character development.
When coming to see Guys and Dolls, audiences should expect to see a story of two couples, who with their differences, discover how to overcome them and be the best version of themselves.
When it came to choosing the show, Mr. Hensley commented, “John Carroll has performed Guys and Dolls twice in the past: once in 1983 and 2003. This year the theatre department chose two classics from the past, The Sound of Music and Guys and Dolls.”