The Tribune

IT will be three nights of song and dance as Queen’s College stages its version of the popular musical “Guys and Dolls” this week.

The play will be performed at the Geoffrey Brown Auditorium on the school’s campus starting at 7.30pm nightly this Thursday and Friday, with the matinee on Saturday beginning at 2pm.

Following the success of the launch of the ‘Sound of the Stars’ CD, Queen’s College is raising the curtains again, but this time for the bright lights of 1950s New York and the exciting and enthralling musical tale of “Guys & Dolls”.

Set against the backdrop of prohibition, the story centers around a group of “Runyonland” characters intent on holding ‘the Oldest Established Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York’. But with the cops breathing down their necks and a cocktail of ‘gals’ and bets adding to the stress, Nathan Detroit (played by Hubert Gibson) and his sidekicks, Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Joel Sweeting) and Benny Southstreet (Karrington McKenzie), must come up with a plan that will ultimately save their reputations and their souls. With music and lyrics originally by Frank Loesser, and featuring sizzling and swinging hits such as “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” and “Luck Be a Lady”, this performances promise to offer dazzling entertainment.

“Having abandoned my dream of being a Broadway star, I find that teaching at Queen’s College provides me the opportunity to do everything in and out of the classroom that the stage would have allowed,” said Gregory Deane, director of QC’s “Guys and Dolls”.

Mr Deane is Head of the Modern Languages Department at QC, a QC alumnus and a veteran of the Dundas stage.

“I am, most of all, impressed by the overwhelming participation of our male students, including some of our most decorated athletes who comprise more than half the cast.

∏Their singing, dancing and energy is what makes this show what it is; a show about guys for guys, but truthfully it appeals to all, the boys and girls, the young and the old,” he said.

Shawn Turnquest, principal of the school, said: “In ‘Guys and Dolls’, you will see our students take centre stage and they will shine. You will observe future actors and actresses and hear enchanting renditions of ‘Luck Be Your Lady,’ ‘Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ and ‘I’ll Know,’ among other popular songs. I am also extremely pleased with the participation from a broad cross-section of the student body. You will see on their faces the sheer enjoyment they are experiencing at being on stage.”

The 80-strong cast not only features Natalie Lester, David Allens and Tristen Ginter, but also a huge number of talented students and staff. Tickets are available at the high school office; adults are $15 and students are $10.