Now, keep up to date with daily feeds of newly posted stories about America's Seniors...click on the box to the left 

 "Guys and Dolls" at Stages St. Louis shows why it has staying power and what makes Stages special to St. Louis

by Dave Clooney
Special to TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com

A Big Production at Stages in Kirkwood's Robert G. Reim Community Theater of "Guys and Dolls" , 1930's setting, was a smash hit, in the eyes of this viewer.

Odds are in your favor that you too will enjoy this comedy and Broadway's musical favorite songs like "Luck Be A Lady", or "Your Rocking The Boat".

 Famous local gambler Sky Masterson (Edward Watts) meets a strong spirited Salvation Army Missionary, Sarah Brown (Kate Fisher).

The chances of these two getting together is the center point of an on-going bet between Sky and Nathan Detroit (David Foley Jr.) a not-so-famous gambler, who needed $1,000 upfront to secure a gambling site, out of site from local police.

The bet, a date with Sky and Sarah, seemed a sure win for Nathan. Can a higher roller and a holy roller get together? Impossible?

Not if you promise to fill the house, at the Mission, with lost souls. This works for Sarah who wants to show her superior that the mission is needed.

A quick trip to Cuba and a newly discovered drink by Sarah (Bacardi) puts her in the right mood. They both fall in love with each other but Sky feels compeled to confess his original intent of the date was to win a bet. Sarah is repulsed.

Sky lies to Nathan and gives him the $1,000, saying he lost the bet. Nathan secures the site for the Big Crap Game and starts winning big with his dice. Enter Big Jule (Herschel Sparber) who muscles his way to winning nearly all the money by rolling his own dice, with no dots on them.

He then calls the roll of the dice anyway he wants. Sky wants in on the action only to make his marker good to Sarah as promised.

If they win each gets $1,000, but if he wins, losers would attend the Mission for a meeting attended by Sarah's superior. Sky's dice wins big and so does Sarah.

Meanwhile the 14 year engaement by Nathan to Adelaide (Julie Cardia), begins to fall apart as she tries to get Nathan to give up gambling.

Then when he explains that, on the day he promised to elope with her, he says he's got to go to a Mission meeting. She's repulsed.

The two gals chance meet each other and realized that the guys stories were true,and decided to roll the dice, one more time for these guys. A win-win ending for everyone.

A super performance on all counts with strong vocals and acting rolls by all, including Nathan's gambling pals such as Harry the Horse (Paul Pagano), Rusty Charlie (Ben Nordstrom), Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Edward Juvier), and Benny Southstreet (Steve Isom).