Ask me how to describe this whole beautiful thing? Well, if I were a bell I’d go ding, dong, ding, dong, diiing! And ring the bells they do, for that splashy, lush Frank Loesser musical, Guys & Dolls. Who’s ringing bells? Tidewater Players, that’s who. It’s a cute and campy way to close out their 2024/2025 mainstage season and it’s got a lot of adorable little moments and some stellar performances that are worth taking a gamble on seeing! Directed by Mark Briner with Musical Direction by Jeff Baker and Choreography by Becca Vourvoulas Szymanski, this charming classic ‘old school’ Broadway musical has a lot to offer and lets the Tidewater Players’ season go out on a high note.

The performances are aces, pretty much across the board, so it’s rather disappointing that Set Designer William A. Price III couldn’t give them more of a set. There’s nothing with backdrops as a starting point, and minimalism when it’s intentional, but for as strong as some of these performers are, their talent is crying out for something more than just a few cross-curtain backdrops (some of which don’t exactly match what’s happening on stage…like the New York City skyline when the gamblers are underground in the sewers.) The overall cobbled together nature of some of the set pieces feels lackluster, especially with the vibrancy of the performers and some of their equally vivacious costume pieces.

Costumes, designed by Dickie Mahoney, across the board fit the campy aesthetic of the show— particularly those saturated jewel-tone…let’s call them Vegas-Peacock-Feather-Affairs…featured during “Bushel and a Peck.” There have been a lot of “Miss Adelaide’s down on the farm” over the years for this reviewer, some literal fluffy yellow chicken feathers and boas, some Dorothy Gale-gingham gowns, but never lush, hot pink, radiant purple, screaming turquoise, or striking sapphire with matching showgirl fans. While it’s certainly a unique approach, it actually makes the number a lot more entertaining and leaning into a throwback to Vaudeville. And the Hot Box girl ‘Mink’ gowns are of a similar color scheme only in longer satin. You get these vibrant, popping colors all throughout the performance— in addition to the Hot Boxers, mostly notably in Miss Adelaide’s cloud-blue and teal wardrobe pieces toward the end of the performance, and on both Nicely-Nicely Johnson in popping aqua and orange, and Benny Southstreet, wearing eggplant and lime. It actually makes you wish Rusty Charlie had a popping jewel-tone suit rather than the sandpaper banana yellow to match their level of colorfulness (though he does have bright orange and yellow collared shirt and tie.)

Holy rolling smokes! Dickson Teel rolled a seven with the sound design for this show. The tracks weren’t overblowing the performers, the mics weren’t hot, the mics weren’t cracking, and there wasn’t any feedback at the opening weekend Saturday matinee performance. It was a very impressive balance, considering the innumerable issues that the Opera House space is known to have when it comes to sound and balance and their microphone system overall; truly impressive this time around!

Musical Director Jeff Baker has done a beautiful job of bringing all these guys and dolls together with their vast array of vocal ranges and talents, really creating rich and fulsome sounds out of Frank Loesser’s score. He’s particularly successful with “Fugue for Tinhorns”, which opens the show after the unending ‘Runyonland’ (so called in this case not for Damon Runyon but because it might just be the longest overture in musical theatre history!) The trio balances and race-around singing here come across beautifully thanks to Baker’s work and the three talented individuals in the number. You get more of Baker’s blending talents like the dueting harmonies in “Marry the Man Today”, which features the two female protagonists in intricately metered back-and-forth singing patterns. The group numbers, like “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat!” and the finale are hearty and robust, filled with balanced sounds. Baker has done a superb job creating balance and really following the stylistic senses of the songs in this show.

The show’s choreography is somewhat uneven and that’s not to fault the dancers— they do a terrific job with what they’re given— but Becca Vourvoulas’ choreography doesn’t quite seem to settle into Mark Briner’s overall camp-tastic vision of the show. The Gambler’s Ballet, for example, which features Maggie Dennis, Lisa Rigsby Geiger, Jenna Horblinski, Carissa McCool, Leslie Perry (the show’s dance captain), and Suzanne Zacker, has a lot of great moves, only Vourvoulas has them clumped tightly downstage center, almost at the apron lip with all of the crap-shooting gamblers knotted up behind them, rather than spreading them out more evenly across the entirety of the stage (or even clearing the non-dancing fellas out of the way entirely to give these lovely ladies a chance to showcase the moves and their ability to execute them with the necessary space to do so.) And while everything else in the show is playing at an over-the-top crazy level (costumes included, and honestly this vision embraces the nature of the show as a whole) Vourvoulas has the dance routine in both “Bushel and a Peck” and “Take Back Your Mink” as very, very simplistic. Please don’t mistake me— the dancing dolls roll through these moves with excellent precision and are very clean in doing so (for these two numbers they’re allowed full use of the stage space) but it feels minimalistic and underwhelming compared to the level of campiness happening throughout the rest of the performance. Vourvoulas understands the campy concept— she’s got the three gents of “Fugue For Tinhorns” cha-cha shuffling all through that number, which is generally a park-n-bark number, so it’s just unclear what her intentions were.

Director Mark Briner, who sets out with the notion of big splashy, campy, over-the-top comedy, lands this notion in a lot of ways but misses the mark in others. Often it’s the little details, which in a space like the Opera House, are noticeable. There are also some minor pacing issues (and some blackouts that end too soon leaving the run crew/stage manager visible on stage) but for the most part the show is successful in its attempt to be humorous and bring joy through laughter to the audience. The overall assessment is that the show needed more. Perhaps projections to show the gamblers rolling their dice (Tidewater has used projections in the past) or perhaps scenery to really augment and uplift the action on stage (they’ve had that too.) Intentional minimalism is one thing but this does not feel like it settles well into that vein. There are also some issues with dialogue pacing. While a great many in the cast have an excellent accent, which is noteworthy and praiseworthy particularly at the community level, there are scenes— particularly with Sky Masterson (Casey Brogan) and occasionally with Nathan Detroit (Gabe Webster), though separate from one another as the pair rarely share the stage at the same time, where these actors are talking with a modern cadence, likely in an attempt to ‘push the tempo of the scene’ and this detracts from the play’s overall setting and often makes them more difficult to understand. To Briner’s credit, there are some outstanding performances— particularly cameo folks of the ensemble who chew scenery and steal scenes in ways that makes the audience truly appreciate them.

One such is the multi-faced (literally) Matt Perry. He plays the brash, mouthy Joey Biltmore with such style and vocal affectation that you almost don’t recognize him (and have to check the digital program to see that it’s really him.) He also gets his dance on quite ferociously with Leslie Perry when they’re tango-salsa-cruising through Havana as the ‘dancing couple.’ He also doubles up as Scranton Slim, Society Max, and you can catch him trudging the New York City streets with the mission band! Talk about a multi-purpose performer! But Perry will have you rolling with laughter the most in his Joey Biltmore bit; it’s hilarious. Scene stealing nonsense looks great on Matt Perry, but Donnie Lewis is giving him a run for his money. While he’s credited as Lt. Brannigan, and he’s got some zippy slingback lines in that role, he’s laugh-your-rear-off funny when playing the Hot Box Emcee and post-show cleanup. Whilst sweeping up after “Bushel and a Peck” Lewis’ character claps back to a callout ‘I know he liked it’, and Lewis slays the audience with “No. That was some bulls**t.” And the house took a hot minute to recover from how funny that zinger was. You can also catch Lewis shuffle-stepping the microphone stand off to the side and it’s really zany. Perfectly balanced little moments of scene-stealing that aren’t pulling focus from others but enhancing the show; Lewis and Perry have those aces up their sleeves for sure!

The ensemble is chock-a-block with little scene-stealing pop-ups like Michael Maistros, who’s credited as a gambler, but his drunken street bum character is the one who will leave you giggling. Or Lisa Rigsby Geiger, who gets that zippy line as Mimi when talking smack to Nathan, but it’s her ‘star-to-be’ homage during ‘Runyonland’ (complete with stolen suitcase bit) that is really humorous. Briner actually has so many insane things happening in this opening sequence that you almost don’t notice how long it is. Thrown into the mix are the diligent Mission Band (Jamie Morgereth, Matt Perry, Sam Ranocchia, Cheryl Vourvoulas) led by Arvide Abernathy (Phil Hansel.) With delicate and avuncular tones, Hansel sings ever so sweetly to Sarah with his feature tune “More I Could Not Wish You”, and while the song is 100% a space-filling, scene-plug, Hansel is so endearing with the number that you can’t help but adore it. Though don’t be fooled; Hansel’s Arvide is as sharp as a tack, particularly when it comes to threatening Sky Masterson. Almost as pointed as General Cartwright (Emily Jewett), who shows up with her bad news and leans a little modern in her ‘drinking in’ of the gambling sinners.

Cheeping like a bunch of plucky, adorable hens, The Hot Box Dolls (Maggie Dennis, Lisa Rigsby Geiger, Jenna Horblinski, Carissa McCool, Leslie Perry, Suzanne Zacker) flock like one at nearly all times, whether they’re tittering they way across stage throwing Adelaide her kitchen shower or appearing in formation for their Hot Box show routines. All six of these performers have cleanly executed dance skills, which are on display both for “Bushel and a Peck” and “Take Back Your Mink.” The way they work their costumes for the latter of the two numbers is perfectly in-line with the lyrics of the number and they do a sensational job of razzle-dazzling the audience with both sets of routines. You catch these six girls doubling up in their gamblin’ suits during “The Gambler’s Ballet” as half-a-dozen assorted crap-shootin’ dancers too.

When it comes to playing up the over-the-top shenanigans of the show, you’ve got the grousing Big Jule (Chris Pardo) and the bombastic, ready to explode Harry the Horse (Chris Zaczek.) There’s definitely some apoplectic energy bursting out of Zaczek at all times and it’s hilarious. He’s physically engaging and his working camaraderie with Pardo’s Big Jule adds to some of the campy nature which Briner has washed over the production as a whole. Pardo and Zaczek understand the assignment, making their personalities large and over-the-top, without overdoing it. Though Pardo’s rage as Big Jule is a little one-note, it’s very gravelly and very at the level of camp that makes sense for this show. Watching Zaczek haul him off by the ear in the second act is one of the most humorous moments in the show.

Tidewater Players’ has certainly got the horses with those Guys what sing the “Fugue For Tinhorns.” Rusty Charlie (Matt Wilson), who is just a half-step behind Benny Southstreet (Ryan Geiger) and Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Dickie Mahoney.) Wilson’s half-step behind seems somewhat intentional, like a comedic choice, it’s the vein in which he’s taking the campy direction of his character and he’s got good clear vocals for “Fugue For Tinhorns.” Mahoney and Geiger are taking turns trying to hijinx one another all throughout the production in subtle ways that fit right into the groove and grain of their respective characters and its wild, adding that perfect edge to their comedic exchanges. Geiger has a more subtle approach to his accent, while Mahoney’s accent is something straight out of a 1950’s gangster movie. The pair spin circles around one another during the titular number, providing glossy vocal sounds that really enrich the aural experience. Mahoney is in his element for “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” with the lustiest tenor belts you’ll hear in the show. It’s smooth sailing from his voice through his vocal affectation to his general comedic physical antics. It’s a probable twelve to seven that Mahoney and Geiger are the slapstick duo, really rolling big time vocals and characterizations that pay off in spades with great consistency throughout the show.

Sky Masterson (Casey Brogan) is that tried-n-true, well-traveled gambling master. While Brogan looks a little young for the part and at times speaks too quickly to truly be believed that he’s in the show’s timestamp, he holds his own against Sarah Brown (Krysta Stefanosky.) He’s got a clean, clear vocal sound which really delivers when it comes down to “Luck Be A Lady” and his half of “I’ve Never Been in Love Before.” And while at times the volatile anti-chemistry between Brogan’s Sky and Stefanosky’s Sarah feels a bit rushed (let’s chalk it up to a directorial ‘pick-up the pacing’ being misinterpreted) it does feel natural, as if they are building up the classic arc of ‘mortal enemies to meet-cute lovers.’ Brogan hits the notes for “My Time of Day” clearly and you get a little bit of sentiment behind that number as well.

 Stefanosky is a true soprano gem, a real reserved Mission Doll, as it were. You get this spicy frigidity from her when she first encounters Sky, which makes it that much more wild to watch her unwind and become unhinged during “Havana.” By the time Stefanofsky rolls into “If I Were a Bell” it’s this adorable madcap-semi-drunken quirky love narrative that has her bouncing all over the stage, popping vocal panache like it’s Pez and really leaning into gestures that accompany the lyrics of the song. “Marry the Man Today”, a duet played opposite Miss Adelaide (Emily Rice) is an excellent showcase of Stefanosky’s vocal versatility. Stylistically it’s a little more edgy and doesn’t involve the soaring soprano sound of “I’ll Know”, which she delivers sublimely and with much heart.

Hands down the ace in the hole, the most impressive Doll in the show, is Miss Adelaide (Emily Rice.) With a flawless accent, perfect patter— both in her natural speech cadence and when she’s patter-rolling her voices through “Sue Me”, a duet performed opposite Nathan Detroit (Gabe Webster)— and an exacting understanding of precision comic timing, Rice is the cat’s meow, the gambler’s bet, and all that jazz. Her accent and affectation are not only consistent but well delivered in both her speaking and her singing voice. When she hits “Adelaide’s Lament” she’s got the audience eating out of the palm of her hand with her lush vocals, her ripe sense of humor, and her perfectly pitched accent that carries the song in it’s micro-serious moments and it’s more high-octane-humorous ones. Rice is the epitome of a New York Doll and she finds a superb balance between making the character just a little bottle-blonde-brainless and cheeky. Whether she’s talking to Sarah about loving the wrong guy, recounting all the letters she’s had to send her mother over the years on a count of the fact that Nathan hasn’t actually been a good guy and married her yet, or delivering her ‘table talk’ directly opposite Sky in that post-“Mink” scene, Emily Rice’s Adelaide is sensational and she’s the perfect fit for the role.

If you need a good laugh, if you need some feel good songs— particularly Mahoney and the cast when it comes to “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat!”— if you need to escapes your daily doom and gloom for about three hours, Guys & Dolls at Tidewater Players is the ticket that you should bet on! They’ve got another weekend’s worth of hot, hot shows and you won’t want to miss your chance to catch them in action!

Guys & Dolls will play May 9^th through May 18^th 2025 with Tidewater Players in residence at the Cultural Center at The Havre de Grace Opera House— 121 N. Union Street in historic downtown Havre de Grace, MD. For tickets call the box office at 667-225-8433 or purchase them online.

To read the interview with Big Jule & Harry the Horse, click here.

To read the interview with Benny Southstreet, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, and Rusty Charlie, click here.

To read the interview with Miss Adelaide and her Hot Box Dolls, click here.