Guys and Dolls is one of the most memorable works by Frank Loesser. It features many standards used in the American Musical Theatre cannon today. The real draw is the script: based on stories by Damon Runyon and spruced up by ‘His Girl Friday’ scribe Ben Hecht, it strikes such a perfect blend of salty and sweet that it’s almost a shame when the band strikes up and the jazz hands come out. Brando is hulking charisma personified, scrawny Sinatra still has the most remarkable voice ever committed to two-channel audio, and the pastel-shaded, neon-lit sets are a marvel. Oh, and lest we forget, the two main characters are called Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit, which should give you some idea of the depth of deep cool we’re talking here, pops. In New York, the smalltime gambler Nathan Detroit has been eloping from getting married with his girlfriend Adelaide for fourteen years. Nathan needs …show more content…
The songs are amazing, they push the plots forward and provide excellent toe tapping musical numbers. For example, “Adelaide’s Lament” is a song the captures her character very well. She wants nothing more than her husband to settle down and marry her. In her songs she alternates between reading a psychology book, and commenting of what she is reading. This song creates some amazing musical theatre. It has been noted that the role was created for Vivian Blaine, she provides an excellent comedic outlet for the show. Adelaide is girl who has a cold all through the play, and it’s because somebody isn’t going to marry her. It hilarious to think this joke permeates the entire show. Also the lines in the song are hilarious, “Is she’s getting a kind of name for herself and name ain’t his” and “Whether the wedding is on or off, a person can develop a cough.” All of her lines add something, and because they do she provides for a rich comedic character, who worries herself