For four and a half years, Aurora Studio Theatre was pleased to bring you extraordinary theatre and performing arts instruction. But life rolls on, circumstances arise, and sometimes even highly successful ventures such as Aurora must come to an end. So it is that Aurora’s Board of Directors voted to dissolve the company as of December 31, 2008.

I was proud to serve as founding Artistic Director along with a group of like-minded and extremely talented artists, and I think it’s terrific that we were able to leave the audience standing on its feet with our terrific November production of Guys and Dolls.

We’ve thoroughly enjoyed being here for you over the years, and hope you remember us as fondly as we do you.

This is the ShowBizRadio Review of Guys and Dolls, performed by Aurora Studio Theatre in Purcellville, Virginia. We saw the performance on Saturday evening, November 8, 2008.

Guys and Dolls is a musical with mand lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Andrews. Guys and Dolls is the story of some high rollers in New York City. Nathan Detroit is running a floating craps game and is looking for a location to hold his game. Unfortunately, his fiance of fourteen years, Adelaide, is always trying to convince him to go straight. Nathan bets a friend of his that he can not take the straight laced upright Miss Sarah Brown to Havana, Cuba for dinner.

The cast worked hard and had a very enthusiastic audience on Saturday night. This show contained several fairly complex dance numbers, especially considering the narrow stage depth, although the dancers were not always in sync. The auditorium had high ceilings and the sound sometimes seemed to travel up and disappear. There were no microphones used so everyone really had to project well to be heard, which some cast members did better than others.

The gambler Sky Masterson was played by Jack Solano. Solano played the suave gambler well. He was sometimes hard to hear, however. He also quite appeared to be too young for the part, which was more noticeable when he was with the other gamblers. Sky’s latest doll, Sarah Brown, was played by Jen Faulconer with a sweet innocence and kind heart. She was often hard to hear both when speaking and singing. Faulconer and Solano were mostly comfortable on stage with each other although there were some intimate moments when they seemed ill at ease together.

Nathan Detroit and Adelaide (Nathan’s fiancee of fourteen years) were played by Phil Erickson and Laura Stroup. The two of them made a fairly solid team. Erickson’s portrayal of Nathan Detroit featured characteristic anxiety and frustration over keeping his floating crap game going. Stroup was one of the few women who could really belt it out. Her song ‘Adelaide’s Lament’ was maybe a little stiff, but she warmed up and had a good finish.

An audience favorite was ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat,’ sung by Ric Stroup as the gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson. Even though he had some minor line problems, he sang that song with a lot of feeling and gusto.

The basic set for Guys and Dolls was a series of flats that could be swung to reveal a bricked wall or the New York City street. Tables and chairs were brought on and off for restaurant scenes. For the scene in Havana Cuba curtains were hung to represent an outdoor cafe and the cast was wearing colorful clothing.

Guys and Dolls ran two hours and forty-five minutes with one intermission. It is playing for one more weekend, Friday and Saturday at 8 and a Sunday matinee on the 16that 3 pm at the Franklin Park Visual and Performing Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia. The cast tried hard. Even if it was not perfect the cast and audience seemed to have a good time.

Once you’ve seen the show, please feel free to leave a comment here on our website at ShowBiz Radio.net. We’d also like to invite you to join our free mailing list so you can stay informed with theater events in the DC Region.

And now, on with the show.

Cast

• Sgt. Sarah Brown: Jen Faulconer
• Sky Masterson: Jack Solano
• Adelaide: Laura Stroup
• Nathan Detroit: Phil Erickson
• Nicely-Nicely Johnson: Ric Stroup
• Big Jule: Dean Miller
• Arvide: Tom Johnson
• Lieutenant Brannigan: Doug Dickinson
• General Cartwright: Penny Hauffe
• Harry the Horse: Kevin Daly
• Bennie Southstreet: Sam McCrae
• Rusty Charlie: Lorenzo Bean
• Chanelle Cooper/Adelaide Understudy: Lisa Merritt
• Mimi Rodgers: Natalie Dehart
• Missouri Martha: Sue Derrow
• Kitty Clancy: Emily Grant
• Emerald Em: Nikki Malloy
• Dawn Astra: Maggie Beglau
• Rosa Midnight: Bethany Juraschek
• Scranton Slim: Lee Bean
• Brandy Bottle Bates/ The Cop: Blair Russell
• Ambrose Hammer: Jeffrey Miller
• Society Max: Garrett Milich
• Sister Marky: Christy Stroup
• Sister Amelia: Meredith Miller
• Sister Agatha: Susanne Johnson
• Brother Calvin: Christopher Miller

Crew

• Director: James Campanella
• Musical Director: Diane El-Shafey
• Assistant Musical Director: Carma Oliverez
• Co-Choreographer: Carolyn Christensen
• Co-Choreographer: Amy Lanham
• Fight Choreographer: Terry Smith
• Assistant Director: John Halachis
• Producer: Meredith Bean McMath
• Publicity: Meredith McMath and Gale Waldron
• Poster: Bob Brocious
• Costumes: Meredith McMath, Jami McClellan, Maxine Bean, Bethany Juraschek

Orchestra

• Piano: Carma Oliverez
• Trumpet: Gil Paist
• Percussion: Michael Stine