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Letter From the Theater

 We flew to another country — then drove a long way — to see a revival of “Guys and Dolls.” Is this odd? I don’t care. Loesser’s musical, one of the all-time greats, is essentially a Shakespearean comedy, and so it “works” at the Stratford Festival. In a Shakespeare story, a young man or woman travels to an enchanted place (a forest or island), assumes a false identity for bizarre reasons, then makes a mess. That’s also Sky Masterson. He begins wooing Sarah by pretending certain things are true: a Havana “milkshake” doesn’t really have alcohol, a certain flight to Cuba is really just about finding a decent lunch. Complications ensue.


Amazingly, Sky’s conscience begins to wake up. He finds that he cares too much about Sarah to continue pulling the wool over her eyes. At the same time, Sarah notices she has a “well of forgiveness” deeper than the well she’d imagined for herself. A casual remark from a third party points the way toward resolution — just in time.


Generally, a successful Broadway musical has a strong book or a strong songlist — and viewers can forgive various flaws. (“FOLLIES has that wonderful music. So I ignore the story.” “RAGTIME has such an efficient book, I can almost forget that each character sounds like a Hallmark card when he or she has a solo….”) But “Guys and Dolls” fires on all cylinders. When Sky finds himself gambling in a sewer, he becomes a poet:


They call you LADY Luck—

But there’s been room for doubt.

Sometimes you have a very unladylike way…

Of running out.

You’re on this date with me!

The pickings have been lush.

And yet before this evening is over…

You might give me the brush….


This is a show that still has emotional force — after approximately seventy years. That’s not a small compliment.


Another nice discovery has been the David Milne Room at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Milne lived in seclusion for the final decades of his life — from approximately 1929 to 1953 — on the shores of Baptiste Lake. He was a mostly self-taught artist. I’m including his “Fields Under Snow” — along with his “Winter Sky” — within this post. 











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