THE GILBERT & SULLIVAN SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED (Established 1937) Patrons Board of Management Stuart Maunder President Brian McLauchlan Dennis Olsen AM Vice-President Richard Trevaskis The Hon. Trevor Olsson AO MBE KCSJ RFD ED Treasurer Kathryn Smiles Secretary John Hochwald Board Members Production Manager Anne Doherty, Louise Gillan, Sarah Nagy, Elizabeth Olsson (ex-officio), Louise Gillan Paula Pamment (ex-officio), Marsha Seebohm, Helen Snoswell, Alexandra Wiedenmann, Minute Secretary: Sue Franks Honorary Life Members John Axe, Bette Backhouse (in memory of Mark Backhouse), Cecilia Borda, Christine Butler, James Dodds, John Drake, Helen Ellis, Hazel Green, Susan Henderson, Peter Herriman, Barry Hill, Mary House, Richard House OAM, Maurice Howie, Molly Howie, Brian Hurrell, Anne Ide, David Lampard, Julian McCabe, Alan McKie, Brian McLauchlan, Margaret McLauchlan, Brian Moore, Bruce Napier, Elizabeth Olsson, Geoffrey Olsson, Paula Pamment, Monica Pole (in memory of Peter Pole), Marjorie Quin, Beverley Scarce, Ted Spence, June Stephenson, Marie Taylor, Richard Trevaskis, Barbara Turner, John Turner, Jenny Twigden, Renie Walker, Laraine Wheeler TheGILBERT & SULLIVAN SOCIETY of South Australia presents GUYS DOLLSand DIRECTOR Karen Sheldon MUSICAL DIRECTOR Martin Cheney CHOREOGRAPHER Kerry Hauber Please note: st th The use of cameras and audiovisual 1 - 10 October 2015 equipment is strictly prohibited in this theatre. Offenders may be asked to leave the theatre or their cameras may be removed for the duration of the performance. Mobile Phones: Mobile phones must be TURNED OFF for the duration of the performance as they may interfere with the the amplification system and many include cameras. ARTS Adelaidetheatre DIRECTOR’S NOTES Guys and Dolls has been described as “The most perfect musical comedy ever written.” (Sunday Times). Based on short stories by American author Damon Runyon, including The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown (1933), which displays both Runyon’s love for the people of the world of Broadway as well as the New York gangster life that he witnessed through his journalistic eyes. Since its very first Broadway season in 1950,Guys and Dolls has been showered with Tony, Drama Desk, Olivier and Helpmann Awards. It is a musical with a fantastic score by Frank Loesser and the script by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows is brilliant using Runyon’s slang and exact wording. It is both clever and witty, with a fantastic mix of comedy and a truth that just works. Guys and Dolls is one of my favourite musicals. It was the first musical I ever performed in, the first musical I had a lead role in and the first musical that I assistant directed for the amateur world. To say I am a little partial to it would be an understatement. This show doesn’t require reinterpretation because the show simply works as it is, and just as beautifully today as it did when it opened in 1950. My job then as director is simply to trust that material and to present it faithfully. The characters are presented humanly, but with innocence, romanticism, and a generosity that transcends realism. Our gangsters aren’t the gritty criminals seen on TV, nor are they cartoon buffoons; they are real, openhearted humans with romantic notions and dreams of making it big. Our cast have worked so very hard to create this ‘realness and connection’ and to bring to life Runyon’s crazy world of characters, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. Working with Martin Cheney and Kerry Hauber is like being surrounded by family. We know what each other wants and how each other works. We support and encourage each other, our cast and crew and we have created, grown and loved this production like it was one of our own. I could not have done this without their support and expertise, they are truly exceptional at their craft and I am proud to call them my friends. Our crew have worked tirelessly for months to bring our vision to the Arts Theatre stage and I thank them for being so willing to recreate this American classic so truthfully. I also thank Louise, Anne and Peter for their constant support and for being my sounding board through the entire process. Tonight the Society brings you the story of Sky, Sarah, Nathan, Adelaide, and all of the guys and dolls brought to life by Damon Runyon, through the music and lyrics of Loesser, and adapted for the stage by Swerling and Burrows. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have putting it together. Karen Sheldon Karen has alwaysDirector had a passion for performing. From a very young age she began dancing which then led to her finding a strong and unrelenting passion for musical theatre. In 1987, Karen was cast as a hot box girl in Northern Light Theatre Company’s production of Guys and Dolls, from there, there was no turning back. After falling in love with all aspects of performing arts, Karen went on to complete her drama teaching degree, she is currently head of drama at Saint Ignatius’ College, Athelstone and enjoys life often imitating art. Some of her on stage performance credits include: for NLTC, Jan (Grease), Anybody’s (Westside Story), Miss Sherman (Fame); for The Met, Adelaide (Guys and Dolls), Chava (Fiddler on the Roof), Ursula (Bye Bye Birdie), Electra (Gypsy); for The Hills, Little Becky Two Shoes (Urinetown) and Mayor Maggie (Bat Boy). Karen has directed many school musicals and plays, some of these being Singin’ in the Rain, Bye Bye Birdie, The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Grease, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver!, Cinderella, 12 Angry Jurors, The Importance of Being Earnest, Amadeus, Pride and Prejudice and Away. In 2012 Karen directed NLTC’s production of Into the Woods. This is the first time Karen has worked with the Society and she is very excited to be directing her favourite musical. Martin Cheney Music has been one of the main drivingMusical forces in Martin’s Director life for as long as he can remember. Since graduating with First Class Honours from the Bachelor of Music Education majoring in Classical Saxophone in 2011, he has held the position of secondary school music teacher and accompanist at Concordia College, Highgate. Martin is a founding member of the Adelaide Wind Orchestra, a member of the South Australian Music Camp Association committee, has recently launched his own production company, Lydian Productions, and is passionate about coffee, spelling and punctuation. Martin’s first taste of the Adelaide musical theatre scene was as Associate Conductor for the Northern Light Theatre Company’s production of Beauty and the Beast in 2011 under the musical direction of Peter Johns. Martin was also repetiteur for the Society’s Oliver! (first season, 2013) and played keyboard for Into the Woods (NLTC, 2012 - also directed by Karen Sheldon and choreographed by Kerry Hauber) and The Secret Garden (G&S, 2013) as well as being repetiteur for Concordia College’s productions of Children of Eden (2009), Grease (2010), The Wizard of Oz (2011), Aladdin Jr. (2012), Guys and Dolls (2013), The Sound of Music (2014) and Godspell (2015). Martin made his debut as Musical Director for the Therry Dramatic Society’s production of She Loves Me in 2014 and was also MD for Pelican Productions’ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in April 2015. His own company, Lydian Productions, is set to present its first musical theatre show in the 2016 Adelaide Fringe Festival. Martin is very excited to be involved in Guys and Dolls for the second time and has loved working with Karen and Kerry again. Kerry Hauber Choreographer Kerry is a both a dance teacher and choreographer based in Adelaide. With full qualifications in jazz, tap and classical, Kerry has run her own studio and now teaches for TIDC Performing Arts Studio as well as freelancing with several schools and colleges around Adelaide. Kerry’s choreography credits include Fame, Beauty and the Beast, Into the Woods, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (NTLC), Batboy (HMC), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (G&S Society) and several Disney performances for TIDC. She has also choreographed and toured with the Australian Drill Dance Team, which won the Miss Drill International competition in each age group. In addition to teaching, Kerry also enjoys adjudicating Dance Eisteddfods around Australia including Ballarat - Royal South Street, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Orange, Lake Macquarie and Centralian Eisteddfods. DRAMATIS PERSONAE SKY MASTERSONThe GamblersJason Bensen MISSHot ADELAIDE Box GirlsJeri Williams NATHAN DETROIT Brendan Cooney MIMI Lauren Noble NICELY NICELY JOHNSON Nicholas Bishop DIAMOND Hayley Wolfendale BENNY SOUTHSTREET Raymond Cullen CRYSTAL Jessica Beattie RUSTY CHARLIE Nathan Quadrio SAPPHIRE Emma Kavanagh HARRY THE HORSE Joel Amos JADE Roxie Giovannucci BIG JULE Robert Drusetta RUBY Mackenzie Price BRANDY BOTTLE BATES Will Daniels PEARL Sarah Cooper ANGIE THE OX Henry Davis AMBER Caitlin Palmer LIVER LIPS LOUIE Patrick Marlin CORAL Holly Fennell SOCIETY MAX Evan Wolfendale LT. BRANNIGAN Timothy Blackshaw SISTER SARAHThe BROWN MissiomSophia Bubner ARVIDE ABERNATHY Ian Brown GENERAL CARTWRIGHT Linda Ellis AGATHA Wendy Rayner CALVIN Bobby Goudie MARJORIE Catherine Batty DOROTHY Jasmin Watkins MELVIN Christopher Stansfield JEAN Natalie Lambert DORIS Sarah Panigas THE ORCHESTRA VIOLINS Samuel Blanchard-Jackson Rebecca Wu CELLO Hamish Netting DOUBLE BASS Lucy Hatcher PERCUSSION Chris Neale KEYBOARD / Martin Cheney CONDUCTOR REEDS Sarah Byron Dan Burgess Samantha Webber TRUMPETS Tim Frahn Angelo Valdivia Jason Bensen Jason has been performing onstage from an earlySky age. MastertonHe joined the cast fresh from his lead role as Caractacus Potts in the April production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, working with musical director Martin Cheney, and the May production of The Wedding Singer. He completed a Bachelor of Music in 2013 majoring in Classical Voice, and has been performing with the Adelaide Symphony Chorus for the last four years, including performances with Ennio Morricone, The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, and Bernstein’s Mass.