Guys and Dolls at San Francisco Playhouse

Offering a snappy spin for the holiday season, San Francisco Playhouse will stage a new look at the Broadway hit "Guys and Dolls." Inspired by Damon Runyon’s stories about post-prohibition New York, Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, and Jo Swerling’s beloved musical tale of gamblers, gangsters, and betting on love follows two unlikely pairs: a high-roller wooing an uptight missionary to win a bet, and a burlesque dancer whose slippery long-time fiancé can’t seem to commit. Helmed by San Francisco Playhouse Artistic Director Bill English with music direction by Dave Dobrusky and choreography by Nicole Helfer, the Playhouse’s new production reexamines the classic musical, bringing alive Damon Runyon’s gritty world of New York’s Lower East Side and Harlem during the 1930s. Filled with beloved Broadway standards including “Luck Be a Lady,” “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat,” and “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” "Guys and Dolls" premiered on Broadway in 1950, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. It has since received five Broadway revivals and has been performed around the world. The Washington Post lauded “Frank Loesser’s priceless score” and called the show a “magnitude of delight.” In 2015, The New York Times said, “There are many students of the form who proclaim ‘Guys and Dolls’ the best musical comedy ever, and they may well be right.”