Biel, Bakula, Mahoney, Stokes Mitchell, Page, Williamson & More to Star in Hollywood Bowl Guys & Dolls

It may be March, but all eyes and ears on the West Coast are focusing on July, 2009, when the Hollywood Bowl will present Frank Loesser's Guys & Dolls as their annual musical.

Guys and Dolls in Concert combines the color and pizzazz of Damon Runyon's legendary musical comedy characters with Frank Loesser's dazzling score and the starry cast will feature Jessica Biel (as Sarah Brown) in her Hollywood Bowl debut, as well as Scott Bakula (Nathan Detroit), John Mahoney (Arvide Abernathy), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Sky Masterson), Ken Page (Nicely-Nicely Johnson) and Ruth Williamson (General Matilda Cartwright).

The same creative team behind last summer's Les Misérables in Concert, director Richard Jay-Alexander and conductor Kevin Stites, plus choreographer Donna McKechnie, bring this timeless classic to life (July 31, August 1 and August 2).

No casting has been announced yet for the role of Miss Adelaide, which would signal, based on the caliber of stars listed here, that they're up to something good. 

We learned back in December, from the Hollywood Bowl...last summer's artistic team will be jumping from Les Miserables, the world's most popular musical, to what may be possibly be the greatest American musical of all time...Guys & Dolls, with a crackling book by Joe Swerling and Abe Burrows and a glorious score, with music & lyrics by Frank Loesser.

Returning to the Hollywood Bowl after last summer's successful and sold out Les Miserables in Concert, the Director will be Richard Jay-Alexander. Kevin Stites will once again serve as Musical Director, conducting The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. In addition, other artistic holdovers from Les Miserables will be Evan A. Bartoletti as Scenic Designer and Lighting Design by Tom Ruzika.

Guys & Dolls in Concert at The Hollywood Bowl is being presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Producers are Steve Linder of IMG Artists and Brian Grohl from LA Phil/Hollywood Bowl.

Music and Lyrics are by Frank Loesser, with the book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Set in Damon Runyon's mythical New York City and dubbed as "A Musical Fable of Broadway", this oddball romantic comedy - considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy - soars with the spirit of Broadway as it introduces us to a cast of vivid characters who have become legends in the canon: Sarah Brown, the upright but uptight "mission doll," out to reform the evildoers of Time Square; Sky Masterson, the slick, high-rolling gambler who woos her on a bet and ends up falling in love; Adelaide, the chronically ill nightclub performer whose condition is brought on by the fact she's been engaged to the same man for 14 years; and Nathan Detroit, her devoted fiancé, desperate as always to find a spot for his infamous floating crap game.

For more information on the Hollywood Bowl, visit http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.