This painting of Coney Island in the thirties by Paul Cadmus, was one of our inspirations for the world of Guys and Dolls. A ‘hyper-theatrical, kalleidoscope of colliding colors and textures’, in the words of our set designer, Skip Mercier.

Damon Runyon, who wrote the original stories on which the musical was based, was born in Kansas and grew up in Pueblo, Colorado. He was a third-generation newspaperman who moved to NY in 1907 to make his way as a sportswriter - focusing primarily on boxing and baseball. He was also a notorious gambler, with colorful friends from all walks of life. His best friend was one Otto Berman, an accountant for the mob, who was gunned down in a hit against his boss.

A favorite quote (or misquote) of Runyon’s from Ecclesiastes: “The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.”

{photo: Robert Mammana, who plays Sky, learns My Time of Day}

Runyon wrote his stories during the 1930’s. We all know that the stock market crashed in 1929, leading the country into a downward economic spiral. (I believe Tennessee Williams said it best in Glass Menagerie: “That quaint period when the great middle class of America was having its fingers pressed forcibly down on the fiery brail alphabet of a dissolving economy.”)

March 4, 1933 - Herbert Hoover stumbled out of bed on his last day in office to discover that the U.S. Banking system had collapsed. Unemployment was at 25 percent, and hourly wages had dropped 60% from 1929 to 1933.

A Pilot earned $8,000 a year; a Dressmaker $780; a Lawyer earned $4218 a year. A new Pontiac coupe cost $585, a pair of shoes cost $3.85, and a 6 room house averaged $2800 (that wouldn’t cover your property taxes today).

{photo: Todd Horman (Nicely) and Lief Norby (Benny) learn Guys and Dolls}

In the midst of the Great Depression, a huge fantasy industry emerged; Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, Shirley Temple, Esther Williams, Fred Astair, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Tarzan, War of the Worlds, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Buck Rogers, The Women, Errol Flynn and Clark Gable are just a few.

Economic desperation led to desperate measures. By 1935, according to one Justice Department estimate, crooks outnumbered carpenters by 4 to 1, grocers by 6 to 1 and doctors by 20 to 1.

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