In this Behind the Scenes webisode we talk with the designers and actors about Portland Center Stage’s production of Guys and Dolls.
www.pcs.org

Our Multimedia Designer, Patrick, put together this GREAT teaser from footage he shot at one of the performances. Check it out!

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Lots of wonderful emails and comments coming in about Guys and Dolls.  Two very nice cards arrived today.  From Don and Linda Van Wart:

“Superb!  The delight of the audience was palpable.  Carey Brown was sheer joy every time she sang.  The whole production was pure delight.  Todd Horman couldn’t have been better.  Thank you!  Thank you!  And my 12 year old granddaughter will never forget it.”

And from LuRee Vaughn:

“I recently had the great good fortune of winning tickets to opening night of Guys and Dolls.  What fun!  Everyone did such a super job.  You made my heart sing!  I love live theatre and live musical theatre is the very best.”

“To hear great voices, wonderful cotsumes, fun dialogue and real live music with great lyrics is about as good as it gets in this world.  Thank you so much for the opportunity to sit back, leave the cares of what’s going on in our world, and just let the music, the voices and the acting put me in another lovely place.  I’ll be back!  Keep up the great work.”

And from Dave Pull:

“Your production of Guys and Dolls lights up NW Portland with enough energy to power half the city.  (Have you considered going off the grid?)”

“My wife and I greatly enjoyed our evening at the theatre.   We had an extra treat as we were leaving and stopped to talk with Big Jule – Wendell Wright.  He and I swapped fish stories about fly fishing on the Rogue and Deschutes Rivers.  What a sincere – and sincerely talented man.”

{photo by Owen Carey: Stacia Fernandez as Miss Adelaide.}

Audiences at Portland Center Stage are not known for holding back. They’re vocal; they’re smart; they’re connected. So we wanted to know what they are saying about our opening production, Guys & Dolls; particularly, what they are saying to their friends and colleagues.  We took a sampling of audience members who attended the show in the first week, and sent a survey. Wow! The results make us blush. They’re sending us love by the bushel and the peck!

As Nathan Detroit might say, we would like to most humbly share with you, our good friends, some of our favorite audience remarks:

“Great production — as good as or actually better than any Broadway touring show that comes through Portland.”

“A great way to ‘get away’ for an evening.”

“…the acting, singing and spirit were fabulous. Sexy and fun — perfect distraction from the economic woes and oh so appropriate.”

“I saw a production of Guys & Dolls in London two years ago…I loved it, but I liked your production better!”

{photo by Owen Carey: Todd A. Horman as Nicely Nicely; Leif Norby as Benny Southstreet; and Christophe Caballero as Rusty Charlie.}

“I love Sister Sarah’s singing voice. I like the actor choices for Adelaide and Nathan. Sky is a dream. LOVED Nicely Nicely. Benny Southstreet was one of my favorites!”

“Great production, great songs. The lead woman who was also in West Side Story [Carey Brown] is wonderful again!”

“The set design was awesome, the cast was brilliant, the music was great, the whole night was so much fun!”

{photo by Owen Carey: Adelaide (Stacia Fernandez) and Nathan (John Plumpis).}

“Wonderfully lively and well-timed production. I sang all the way home.”

“The day after seeing it, I recommended it to a friend, using the word “fabulous.”"

“…fantastic performances in every role.”

Gee, thanks!

more posts about Guys and Dolls || Get the Details on the Show || Buy Tickets

For starters, tonight we kick off Envisioning America: Jews and the Broadway Musical, our season-long partnership with the Mittelman Jewish Community Center (and supporting partner, the Multnomah Public Library) at how Jewish artists contributed to the genesis and growth of that singular American art form, the Broadway Musical.

Tonight, tape the debate and come listen to Marc Acito, Alan Berg and Dave Frishberg/Rebecca Kilgore navigate the journey of Berlin, Gershwin, Loesser, Jerry Herman among others to the lights of Broadway.

Why else is this night different? I can’t for the life of me remember when as a city we had to decide between staying home and listening to people discuss politics or going out to experience art, music, theater and culture. Only in Portland.

The Envisioning America series is made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W.  Mellon Foundation, Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, and the Oregon Community Foundation