Guys and Dolls, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Sidney Harman Hall, Washington, DC
Rob Collletti (center) and the cast of Guys and Dolls . Photo credit: Teresa Castracane Photography. Since October 2022, I have seen three productions of Guys and Dolls : the first was the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage production (if you are interested, you may find my blog entry at https://theatregoerthoughts.blogspot.com/2022/10/guys-and-dolls-kennedy-center.html ), the second was Nicholas Hytner’s “immersive” production at London’s Bridge Theatre in September 2023 (which I did not write about), and the third is the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s current production at Sidney Harman Hall. Each of these productions, of course, is built on the dynamic and ingenious work of composer Frank Loesser and librettist Abe Burrows. (Jo Swerling shares the writing credit contractually, for having created an initial draft that was not accepted; Burrows may or may not have borrowed from that draft.) The year was 1950, the so-called “Golden Age” of American musical theatre, at th...