Musicals At Richter To Start 26th Season With ‘Guys And Dolls’

DANBURY — Musicals at Richter (MAR), celebrating its 26th season as the longest running outdoor theater in Connecticut, will open its 2010 season with the Frank Loesser-Abe Burrows-Jo Swerling classic musical comedy hit Guys and Dolls. The production will run weekends, June 17 to July 3.

Staged on the grounds of Richter Arts Center at 100 Aunt Hack Road, performances take place outdoors under the stars Friday through Sunday evenings at 8:30 pm.

Based on Damon Runyon’s short story The Idyll of Sarah Brown and other Runyon characters, Guys and Dolls features a book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling and a score by Frank Loesser. Set in Runyon’s mythical New York City, this oddball romantic comedy — considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy — soars with the spirit of Broadway as it introduces a cast of vivid characters who have become legends in the canon: Sarah Brown, the upright but uptight “mission doll,” out to reform the evildoers of Times Square; Sky Masterson, the slick, high-rolling gambler who woos her on a bet and ends up falling in love; Adelaide, the chronically ill nightclub performer whose condition is brought on by the fact she’s been engaged to the same man for 14 years; and Nathan Detroit, her devoted fiancé, desperate as always to find a spot for his infamous floating crap game.

Loesser’s famous score glistens with such gems as “Fugue for Tinhorns,” “The Oldest Established,” “I’ll Know,” “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Adelaide’s Lament,” “Guys and Dolls,” “If I Were a Bell,” “Take Back Your Mink,” “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” and “Marry the Man Today.”

Directed by MAR veteran Donald E. Birely, the Richter production features Beth Bria of Bethel as Sarah Brown; Nathan Mandracchia of Sherman as Sky Masterson; Elayne Cassara of Weston as Adelaide; and Chuck Stango of Middlebury as Nathan Detroit, with the remainder of the 30-person cast filled with actors from across the region.

A preview performance will be offered on Thursday, June 17.

Tickets are $23 for adults, $18 for seniors, and $15 for students and children, which includes $1 for the Richter House Restoration Fund. The preview performance is $10 for all tickets.

Reservations are available by phone (203-748-6873) and through the Musicals at Richter website, MusicalsAtRichter.org.  Grounds open at 7:15 for picnicking.

Group rates are available with advance reservation; chair rentals and soft drink/snack concessions are available on-site.