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On Broadway

 "Guys and Dolls" is so masterful, it's able to break the rules. Famously, it assigns its 11:00 number to a minor character. This is not "Rose's Turn." It's just a high-energy diversion shortly before the conclusion of the evening.


Nicely-Nicely Johnson, an unreformed thug, needs to find a stalling tactic at a prayer meeting. So he imagines what a conversion experience *might* look like. And he does some playacting.

I dreamed last night I got on the boat to Heaven--
And, by some chance, I had brought my dice along.
And there I stood, and I hollered, "Someone, fade me."
But the passengers, they knew right from wrong.

This show is a celebration of language: "So nu?" "I got the horse right here," "Luck, be a lady tonight," "Take back your mink," "If I were a banner, I'd wave." I imagine Frank Loesser did a little dance of joy when he landed on the following: "Someone, fade me." And it doesn't matter if we're unaware of the meaning. And Loesser *knows* that this doesn't matter.

And as I laughed at those passengers to Heaven....
A great big wave came and blew me overboard!
And as I sank....and I hollered, "Someone, save me...."
That's the moment I woke up, thank the Lord!

It's fun just to appreciate Loesser's verbs--"laughed," "blew," "sank," hollered," "save me" .....

"Guys and Dolls" is like a mini Sistine Chapel for Broadway.

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Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 12, 2026 at 5:42 AM

    I had the amazing experience of seeing this version on Broadway (I had played Adelaide in middle school, and have always kept this musical close to my heart)! Nathan Lane (of course) was remarkable!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ReaderApril 12, 2026 at 4:08 PM

    If only another great revival would happen! Amazing that Nathan Lane is still in the spotlight in this current theater season.

    ReplyDelete

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