Nov 12, 2022
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Alex Garver as Lt. Brannigan talks with Baret Monahan who plays Arvide Abernathy.
Picking productions for students with the Hollidaysburg Area Repertory Players involves researching the available shows and picking a production that matches the talent pool, and that’s how director Stephanie Everett and music director Wendy Jo Nagy decided on “Guys and Dolls,” to be staged at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 17-18, and a matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Hollidaysburg Area High School auditorium. Tickets are available at the door, by calling 814-695-4416 ext. 7525 or by emailing [email protected]. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, children and senior citizens.
“We knew there was a great pool of talent, so we picked a show that would suit the singers and actors the best,” Everett said.
Under the direction of Everett, with student assistant directors Lauryn Conway and Kendra Jones, the show involves the unlikeliest of Manhattan pairings: a high-rolling gambler and a puritanical missionary, a showgirl dreaming of the straight-and-narrow and a crap game manager who is anything but.
According to the synopsis, “Guys and Dolls” tells of con-man Nathan Detroit’s efforts to find new life for his illegal, but notorious, crap game. When the trusty venue is found out by the police, Nathan has to find a new home for his crap game quickly — but he doesn’t have the dough to secure the one location he finds. Enter Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler willing to take on any honest bet with a high enough reward attached. Nathan bets Sky that he can’t take the “doll” of Nathan’s choosing to Havana, Cuba, with him on a date. When Sky agrees to the bet, Nathan chooses uptight Evangelist Sergeant Sarah Brown, head of Broadway’s Save-a-Soul Mission. Sky thinks he’s been duped, but he’s in for even more of a surprise when his efforts to woo Sarah are so successful that he falls in love with her himself.
Guys and Dolls takes the audience from the bustle of Times Square to the dance clubs of Havana to the sewers of New York City as it demonstrates the great lengths to which a guy will go when he truly falls in love with a “doll.” The show features some of Frank Loesser’s most memorable tunes, including the classic “Luck be a Lady,” “If I Were a Bell” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin the Boat.”
Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Pit orchestra members Neo Chen, Patrick Harker, Destiny Molinari, Alexis Ketner and Collin Edgell practice for the upcoming production of “Guys and Dolls” at Hollidaysburg Area High School.
Students in grades 9-12 auditioned for parts the first week of school in August, Everett said. When rehearsals started, students practiced for about two hours a day three days a week, and as the showtime drew near, practices were upped until, with the show just days away, students are now in the auditorium every night perfecting their lines and stage presence.
“We then have an intensive week of rehearsal at the end,” Everett said.
Sometimes practices may be missing a character or two, though, as the group works to accommodate students who are involved in marching band and fall sports, she added.
Choreographer Melissa Baser worked with the students to perfect their dance steps and Terri Benton-Monahan, costume director, made sure they are outfitted in garb to reflect the time period and their character, thanks in part to a costume cupboard that is available at the school.
While woodcraft teacher Joe Krupka helps Everrett design and create the sets, students get involved, too, tackling painting, design and more.
“We’ve had a great time prepping for the show,” she said. “We have some great new talent this year and I really enjoyed working with them all.”
After the last curtain closes on the fall production, Everett said she hopes students received the “whole theater experience.”
“I personally credit the immersive experience that I had growing up in theater, to really influencing my artistic direction in life,” she said.
Cast (in order of appearance): Gideon Karn as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Gavin Ross as Benny Southstreet, Jackson Connell as Harry the Horse, Orphie Hartman is Sarah Brown, Baret Monahan is Arvide Abernathy, Annabel Keth is Agatha (mission band), Addison McClusky is Martha (mission band), Madison Brown is in the mission band, Alex Garver is Lt. Brannigan, Benjamin Gervinski is Nathan Detroit, Johnathan Vu is Angie the Ox, Jude Pascual is Brandy Bottle Bates, Bryan Gearhart portrays Joey Biltmore, Liam Cannarsa is Scranton Slim, Brenna Urban is Miss Adelaide, Jack Peterman is Sky Masterson, Rachel Daras portrays Mimi, Gia Mosey is General Matilda B. Cartwright and Adam Frederick is Big Jule.
The Hotbox Girls are played by Rachel Daras, Riley Mackey, Ellie Betwy, Emily Jones, Olivia Miknis and Paisley Pearce.
Pit orchestra members under Conductor Wendy Jo Nagy, include woodwinds: Janey Schwind, Bob Scholl, Leah Snelling, Collin Edgell, Beth Carpenter, Jarod Gaston, Alexis Ketner and Riley Hensley; trumpets: Larry Detwiler, Jack Bailey and Jada Droesch; trombone: Nathan Karn Jr.; horn: Ben Freedman; violins: Jennifer Pappal, Neo Chen, Patrick Harker and Destiny Molinari; cello: Gretta Rhodes; bass: Kelly Detwiler; piano: Mary Villani; and percussion: Brandon Harris and Bryan Gearhart.
Stage crew includes Sidra Zammam, Tyler Schutt, Sabrina Arshad, Rylee Swander, Luke Jandora, Caleb Engle, Braden Lutz, Dominic Watt, Marissa McKee, Amelia Darnell, Dylan Deur, Haleigh Morgan, Levi Sensenig, Amelia Vu.
Audio is by Brian McConnell and former Hollidaysburg student Nick Lashinsky handles lighting for the show. The box office/lighting coordinator is Kelly Black.
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