Fall Musical Guys and Dolls Earns Accolades
With over 65 students representing almost every academic major on stage, in the orchestra, or on the crew, the fall musical was indeed a team effort. An energetic piece of theatre with a message of hope and redemption, Guys and Dolls is considered one of the finest musicals ever written. “This is one of the best examples—if not the best—of an integrated musical, meaning that there is no stopping of narrative development and action simply to sing a song,” says director John O’Hagan. And the message is irresistible. As O’Hagan describes it, “In the end, the lively cast of characters reveals that when love is involved, all bets are off!”
O’Hagan was inspired by classic Bugs Bunny-type images and the various hijinks of all the Looney Tunes characters for Principia’s production. Guest set designer Cristie Johnston, costume designer Leah McFall (US'89, C'93), and guest light designer Piper Hillman (C'13) fully embraced O’Hagan’s concept, creating a larger than life, brightly lit cartoonish world on the Cox Auditorium stage. The story took the audience from the fabled lights of Broadway to the cafés of Cuba—and even into the city sewers. “I was so grateful for the incredible world the designers gave us to play in,” O’Hagan says. “It was such a tremendous complement to the music of the play—which, of course, is half the play! Music Department chair Dr. Joe Van Riper (C'05) first suggested this show and worked step by step with me. It was a wonderfully collaborative process.”
For everyone, including the students, the production was as much about giving of themselves as performing. Senior Kelsey Whitney, who played Miss Adelaide, put it this way: “I’ve been in many shows at Principia, but Guys and Dolls was particularly special because I could not wait to share it with the audience! We were having so much fun with it during rehearsals and couldn’t wait for the audience to share in the fun with us. Part of the reason the show was so well accepted is that the cast made a conscious effort to share our work, rather than show it.”
Senior Weston Williams, who played lead gangster Nathan Detroit, agrees: “A huge group of people really came together with the common goal of creating an uplifting, entertaining, and just plain fun piece of theatre,” he says. “This was my first time performing in a musical, and it was great to have so many people say how much they enjoyed the show.”
Independent Recognition
Principians received independent recognition due to the strength of their performances. Kelsey and Weston were selected to audition for the Irene Ryan Scholarship, a significant national award. They will also prepare audition material to present at the regional festival of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in January. (Shannon Naylor (C'15) and Jocelyne Jam (C'17), who were selected for their work in last spring’s production of Our Country’s Good, will also perform at the festival.)
Principia’s Theatre and Dance Department has more performances in store this academic year. Auditions took place this week for the spring play and for Dance Production. Mark your calendar for both events—the spring play, The Best of Everything, runs March 3–5, and Dance Production will be March 31–April 2.