March 14, 2013

Playing gangsters in "Guys and Dolls" are (l-r) Allen Rigby '14, Derek Marsh '14, Gordon Cobb '15 and Nick Upright '14.

Two of Davidson's most revered performing arts professors -- Joe Gardner in theatre and Bill Lawing in music -- are joining forces again on a project that brought them together 34 years ago. In 1979 these then-young members of the faculty produced the romantic musical comedy Guys and Dolls on the Davidson stage as their first collaboration.

Well, it's 1979 all over again!

Gardner and Lawing have dusted off the script and score of the Frank Loesser play for another Davidson Guys and Dolls production March 20-24, 2013. Lawing will direct the Davidson Jazz Ensemble and Symphony for the 20 or so song and dance scenes of the play, while Gardner directs the cast of 25 Davidson students. Artist Associate Jacque Culpepper is the music director.

Productions will be March 20-21 at 7:30 p.m., March 22-23 at 8 p.m., and March 23-24 at 2 p.m., all in Duke Family Performance Hall. Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for seniors, $10 for faculty and staff, and $6 for students. Call 704-894-2135 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays for reservations, or purchase online at www.davidson.edu/tickets. The show is recommended for ages eight and up.

The weekend of the play will include an alumni reunion for the Guys and Dolls cast of 1979. Actors involved in the original Davidson production have been invited to return to campus to reminisce, sing, meet the 2013 cast and enjoy the new collaboration between the two celebrated professors. Gardner and Lawing are both alumni of the college. Gardner joined the faculty in 1974, and Lawing joined in 1976. "It's a special opportunity to return to this project together, with the wonderful benefit of many additional experiences to reshape our thoughts," said Lawing, the Milner Professor of Music at Davidson.

Professor Gardner said Guys and Dolls still appeals to audiences today because of its outstanding score and universal theme. He said, "The play confirms the idea that people are essentially good, regardless of station or status. The characters-good and bad- find common ground in their humanity. Guys and Dolls is a classic, one of America's best musicals ever, and we think we have the resources to do it very well."

Hailed as one of the greatest musical romantic comedies ever, Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway in 1950, ran for 1,200 performances and won five Tony Awards in 1951, including "Best Musical." It has enjoyed several Broadway and London revivals, and a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

The fast-paced, madcap adventure features gangsters, gamblers, outrageous bets, love, showgirls, cops, and missionaries bent on saving their souls. It is based on Damon Runyon's short stories of 1940s New York, including "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure."

The period sets and costumes in the Davidson production will create a feel of mid-century New York City. Josh Peklo is set designer for the production, and Donna Conrad designed the costumes. David Fillmore is lighting designer, Eddie Mabry is choreographer, and Emily Griffin is props master.

For more information on the production, call the theatre department at 704-894-2361.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.
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