Mundelein High School presents all-time classic musical comedy
Mundelein High School will present one of the quintessential musical romantic comedies, “Guys and Dolls,” at the Mundelein Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25 through Saturday, April 27. There will also be a 2 p.m. show on Saturday.
Set in Damon Runyan’s mythical New York City in 1950, the show features Frank Loesser’s brassy, immortal score, with the classic “Luck Be a Lady,” as well as “Adelaide’s Lament” and “Sit Down
You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”
Guys and Dolls sits at the very top of Entertainment Weekly’s list of all-time great musicals. This classic story follows the escapades of gambler Nathan Detroit (Alexandro Torralba Rivera) as he tries to find the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck; meanwhile his girlfriend, nightclub entertainer Adelaide (Taylor Gates), laments that they’ve been engaged for 14 years.
Nathan hatches a plan to get the dough from a bet with high-rolling gambler Sky Masterson (Leandro Ocampo), and Sky ends up chasing the earnest missionary, Sarah Brown (Lia Kagan). Guys and Dolls takes audiences from the heart of New York City to a café in Havana, Cuba, and even into the sewers of New York. It is a show that is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, one that is enjoyed by young and old alike.
“Since we produced a modern musical last year (‘In the Heights’), I thought it fitting that this year we reach back to a classic, one that fills the Great American Songbook,” Director Jonathan Meier said.
“Interestingly, we were rehearsing this show four years ago when we were shut down by Covid. Our team decided to wait until all those students had graduated before we brought it back. The show
is 100 percent fun, and the students have really embraced the Damon Runyan spirit.”
Others playing principal characters in the show are Alex Benassi (Nicely-Nicely Johnson), Sam Zwiefelhofer (Benny Southstreet), Rey Palacios (Rusty Charlie), Grace DeMilio (Arvide Abernathy), Finn Trackman (Harry the Horse), Graham Ney (Lt. Brannigan), Abigail Marquardt (General Cartwright) and Guadalupe Duarte (Big Jule).
The remainder of the cast consists of Vesta Albano, Stephanie Aquino, Sebastian Bedolla, Nahomy Benitez, Stella Buisson, Jozelyn Cervantes, Gloria Cruz Cisneros, Parker Dumalski, Ellory Duval, Jonathan Embree, Arlo Fingerhut, Daniel Frane, Arianna Garcia, Imelda Gomez, Xavion Haynes, Delany Hintze, Isabella Hofer, Aedan Hogan, Mia Joshi, Achilles Kim, Braeden Kratz, Sara McHugh, Kelly McQuillan, Julia Myrant, Eli Nerdin, Brendan Niernberg, Sydney Olorvida, Shannon Ouimet, Sylv Pacis, Erin Page, Sarah Page, Yael Pikus, Anastasija Rahmanova, Marissa St. Clair, Nikolet Szabo, Lia Teresi-Tobar, Jasmine Tigley, Jimena Torres-Gonzalez, Zoë Van Krey and Jaxon Wasseluk. The stage managers are Mari Hoover and Makenna Wald.
Tickets are $14 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $8 for students. Tickets can be purchased online by going to mundeleintheatre.org. Online sales stop two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can also be purchased at the door 45 minutes before each performance (cash and check only).