Neuqua students to stage 'Guys and Dolls' this weekend
All bets are off this weekend when Neuqua Valley High School presents its spring musical, "Guys and Dolls."
A cast of more than 60 students have re-created the 1950 award-winning musical written by Frank Loesser with the book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.
But they're doing it with some swing, a snap and a tap. The entire production is choreographed by North Central College dance instructor Leslie Baumann.
"We're definitely putting our twist on this classic," said Director Matt Grigas. "Leslie's been working really hard with all the kids to make sure every musical number is choreographed with the perfect dance routine.
"That doesn't sound as remarkable as it is to actually watch 40 high school guys dancing in sync on stage."
A highlight, he said, will be the tap routine set to the title song, "Guys and Dolls."
Sophomore Connor O'Leary portrays a casino craps player, a role that comes with its very own dance. He's been in several productions in his two years at Neuqua but this one had a little more pressure.
"I was pretty nervous about having to dance because I know I'm just not good," O'Leary said Tuesday. "But there's a scene where all the craps players dance together; it turned out awesome."
Grigas said the performance not only features one of the largest cast lists, but also one of the largest backstage teams of any production the school has done.
With the story taking place in six locations, he said the sets change 15 times. Some of the most significant changes have to occur in as few as 30 seconds.
"This performance moves extremely fast and it's fun," Grigas said. "We aimed to have the loudest music, brightest lights and best performers."
For sophomore Vicki Price, there couldn't have been a more ideal role.
"I love to dance and I have several dancing scenes so it's perfect," she said. "There's a scene in Havana, Cuba, where we all dance at a big celebration and it's just colorful and lively and fun."
The curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday in the school's auditorium at 2360 95th St., Naperville.
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Tickets will be on sale at the box office 30 minutes prior to the show.
If you go
What: "Guys and Dolls."
When: 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday
Where: Neuqua Valley High School auditorium, 2360 95th St., Naperville
Tickets: $5 for students and $10 for adults. Tickets will be on sale at the box office 30 minutes prior to the show.
Info: nvhs.ipsd.org
'Guys and Dolls' cast
Nicely-Nicely Johnson: Anthony Sullivan
Benny Southwest: Bryson David Hoff
Rusty Charlie: Eliott Litherland
Sarah Brown: Rachel Carreras
Arvide Abernathy: Ryan Korell
Harry the Horse: Joey Kim
Lt. Brannigan: Ross Cochran
Nathan Detroit: Matt Socha
Angie the Ox: B.J. White
Miss Adelaide: Stephanie Schwartz
Sky Masterson: Thomas Parry
Joey Biltmore: Courtney Anderson
Mimi: Allison Kasbee
General Matilda B. Cartwright: Stephanie Caballero
Big Jule: Dondre Keeler
Master of Ceremonies: Darien Gray
Ensemble
Bill Andrews, Brad Andries, Ben Bernard, Akash Bhatia, George Bischoff, Ross Cochran, Ian Dimayuga, Don Dvorak, Dominic Glimco, Darien Gray, Jeffry Harmon, Peter Heald, Zach Hersh, Jake Korell, George Luke, Connor O'Leary, Arnold Sadkevicius, Nathan Sliwa, Mateusz Tkacz, Jordan Tsai, Sean Vadas
Sarah Anderson, Caitlin Bergstrom, Stephanie Burchard, Maria Caballero, Jessica Clark, Brittany Craig, Emily D'Ambrose, Erin Devine, Caitlyn Devolder, Hannah Dole, Rachel Dusenberry, Katelyn Fink, Rose Gentile, Caitlin Glimco, Grace Heimerl, Hillary Johnson, Diana Jonke, Allison Kasbee, Laura Klick, Brittany Knapp, Sarah Krzak, Ali Manion, Morgan Manock, Abby Marvel, Melissa McNeill, Vicki Price, Elissa Rabin, Pavitra Ramachandran, Stephanie Ross, Kira Rysiewicz, Jessie Scarzone, Alyssa Tongco, June Urasky, Christine Wagner, Nikki Ways