BY ANN MAUZY
Special to the Monitor
What a gamble! Because of all the promises that the Duane Smith Auditorium would be ready in time, Los Alamos Light Opera (LALO) bet on late February dates and lost. But Lady Luck was with them, and Crossroads Bible Church agreed to host the romantic comedy “Guys and Dolls” a month later.
Now, here it is! LALO presents the Tony Award winner from the 1950s in four performances, March 22, 23 and 24.
When polled by LALO a year ago, theater enthusiasts in Los Alamos chose “Guys and Dolls” as the best bet for an upbeat and family-friendly show with great songs, a large cast, a full orchestra, and dancing.
Laurie Tomlinson directs the show with favorite music director Gretchen Amstutz and choreographer Brooke Davis.
“Guys and Dolls” is from a Damon Runyon short story about a couple of New York City gamblers, their rowdy pals, and the girls they fall for. It’s a classic, Tony Award-winning Broadway show, with book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling and music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The full sets built for the Duane Smith Auditorium have been adapted to the new venue to transport the audience to “The Big Apple,” with its gamblers, street vendors, chorus girls and con artists tempting the many tourists.