MSU Opera Workshop to Stage ‘Guys and Dolls’ This Weekend

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Press Release) — Mississippi State’s music department will present the beloved musical comedy “Guys and Dolls” this weekend on the McComas Hall main stage.

Tickets for the family-friendly Opera Workshop production may be purchased at the door or reserved in advance by telephoning 662-325-3490.

General admission for a 7:30 p.m. Friday [Nov. 21] special preview performance/public dress rehearsal is $10; $8 for children, seniors and enrolled university students (with identification).

Regular admission for shows at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday [the 23rd] is $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, MSU students and children.

An oddball romantic comedy that debuted on Broadway in 1950, the creation of award-winning composer and lyricist Frank Loesser (1910-69) tells a tale “about rolling the dice and falling in love under the bright lights of Broadway.”

Drawn from the mythical New York locales of newspaperman and author Damon Runyon (1880-1946), the lead characters include:

• “Sky Masterson,” played by junior kinesiology/clinical exercise physiology major Michael W. Becher of Huntsville, Alabama;
• “Nathan Detroit,” played by junior music major Jeffrey S. “J.J.” Haight of Madison, Alabama;
• “Sarah,” played by junior music education/vocal major Calloway N. “Callie” Ellis of Mayhew;
• “Adelaide,” played by junior communication/public relations major Whitney L. Reynolds of Dyersburg, Tennessee; and
• “Nicely-Nicely Johnson,” played by junior musical education/vocal major William E. Tiffin of West Point.

Opera Workshop instructors Tara Warfield and Jeanette Fontaine, both music department faculty members, are serving as director and assistant director for all performances.

“With a moving script by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and a beautiful score of memorable melodies by Frank Loesser, the show outlines the conflicts between the ‘honest business’ of betting and the ‘helpless haze’ of falling in love and finally settling down,” Becher said.

Ellis said she appreciates how Loesser’s storyline “playfully addresses the relationships between people in a comedic way, but also in a way that gives the audience empathy for the feelings of the characters.”

“We have a great cast of actors and singers in Opera Workshop, and the best part is that not everyone is a music major,” she added.

For more information about “Guys and Dolls” and other Opera Workshop events, contact Warfield at 662-325-4753 or tw308@msstate.edu.

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