Davidson students playing tough guys in “Guys and Dolls” include, from left, Allen Rigby, Derek Marsh, Gordon Cobb, and Nick Upright.

Two of Davidson’s most revered performing arts professors—Joe Gardner in theatre and Bill Lawing in music—are joining forces again on production that first brought them together 34 years ago. In 1979 these then-young members of the faculty produced the romantic musical comedy “Guys and Dolls” on the Davidson stage as their first collaboration.

Well, it’s 1979 all over again! Gardner and Lawing have dusted off the script and score of the Frank Loesser play for another Davidson “Guys and Dolls” production March 20-24.

Lawing directs the Davidson Jazz Ensemble and Symphony for the show’s 20 or so music and dance scenes. Gardner directs the cast of 25 Davidson students. Artist Associate Jacque Culpepper is the music director.

Performances are Wednesday-Thursday, March 20-21 at 7:30pm, Friday-Saturday, March 22-23 at 8pm, and Saturday and Sunday March 23-24 at 2pm, all in Duke Family Performance Hall.

Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for seniors, $10 for faculty and staff, and $6 for students. Call 704-894-2135 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays for reservations, or purchase online at www.davidson.edu/tickets. ^[3]The show is recommended for ages eight and up.

REUNION OF ’79 CAST

The weekend of the play will include an alumni reunion for the “Guys and Dolls” cast of 1979. Actors involved in the original Davidson production have been invited to return to campus to reminisce, sing, meet the 2013 cast and enjoy the new collaboration between the two celebrated professors.

Gardner and Lawing are both alumni of the college. Gardner joined the faculty in 1974, and Lawing joined in 1976. “It’s a special opportunity to return to this project together, with the wonderful benefit of many additional experiences to reshape our thoughts,” said Lawing, the Milner Professor of Music at Davidson.

Professor Gardner said “Guys and Dolls” still appeals to audiences today because of its outstanding score and universal theme. He said, “The play confirms the idea that people are essentially good, regardless of station or status. The characters—good and bad— find common ground in their humanity. “Guys and Dolls” is a classic, one of America’s best musicals ever, and we think we have the resources to do it very well.”

Hailed as one of the greatest musical romantic comedies ever, “Guys and Dolls” opened on Broadway in 1950, ran for 1,200 performances and won five Tony Awards in 1951, including “Best Musical.” It has enjoyed several Broadway and London revivals, and a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

The fast-paced, madcap adventure features gangsters, gamblers, outrageous bets, love, showgirls, cops, and missionaries bent on saving their souls. It is based on Damon Runyon’s short stories of 1940s New York, including “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure.”

The period sets and costumes in the Davidson production will create a feel of mid-century New York City. Josh Peklo is set designer for the production, and Donna Conrad designed the costumes. David Fillmore is lighting designer, Eddie Mabry is choreographer, and Emily Griffin is props master.

For more information on the production, call the theater department at 704-894-2361.

THEATER CALENDAR

Theater: “Crimes of Omission,” Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216-A Westmoreland Road, Cornelius – “Crimes of Omission,” a psycho drama written by Don Cook, directed by Divina Cook, starring Lamar Wilson, Tom Ollis, and Jim Esposito. Performances March 7-24: Thursdays to Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. Tickets: General Admission: $20, Seniors/Students/Groups: $15. Call the box office at 704-619-0429, or email tickets@warehousepac.com ^[4] See a review here ^[5].

Theater: “Wit,” Armour Street Theater, 307 Armour Street, Davidson – Davidson Community Players’ production of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Wit,” about one woman’s search for peace and grace as she slips away from ovarian cancer. Performances Feb. 28, March 1, 2, 7-9, 14-16 at 8pm, and Sundays March 3, 10, 17 at 2pm. Directed by Melissa Ohlman-Roberge and starring local theater veteran Marla Brown in the lead role of Vivian Bearing, PhD. Tickets $20, available at www.davidsoncommunityplayers.org ^[6] or by calling the Box Office at 794-892-7953.