Guys and Dolls, Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, Winchester, VA
I have seen four productions of Guys and Dolls in the past four years: the Kennedy Center production (October 2022) as part of the Kennedy Center Broadway Center Stage series (which I hope will be revived), an “immersive” production directed by Nicholas Hytner at London’s Bridge Theatre (September 2023), the Shakespeare Theatre Company production (December 2025), and now at the Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre in Winchester, VA. I wrote about the Kennedy Center and STC productions (you may find the links at the end of this article), but not the London production. What is my obsession with this show? First, I believe it is one of the greatest of the so-called “golden age” of the American musical, featuring a wonderful Frank Loesser score and a libretto by Abe Burrows (who shares credit with Jo Swerling), with endearing characters and an engaging plot that still “holds up” today. Second, I directed a college production of it over 40 years ago, one of the most pleasurable directin...