Guys and Dolls – Northwest Musical Theatre Company

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I went to see Guys and Dolls yesterday at the Stanwood Performing Arts Center presented by the Northwest Musical Theatre Company. It was a great production with a lot of talented actors and musicians. Standouts to me were TJ Thaddeus Burzynski (Nicely Nicely Johnson) and Jerome Chandler (Big Julie). All of the parts were well played.

The sound was excellent – I could hear 99% of the lines and the vocals always projected over the pit musicians. The costumes were fun, especially the colorful gangster suits. The set was minimal, but worked very well for this production. Audience response was good and people were bebopping along at the end to the orchestra exit music.

There were several people in the production I have worked with before or traded contacts with, so it felt a little like family to me. Kyle Blevins does excellent sound, Stuart Hunt is always a pleasure to see conduct, Doug Morasch (Saxes) gave me several players for my last show, Clarence Holden I worked with in AIDA, Amanda Curtis also from AIDA, Sam Buchanon I remember from FAME (He was OUSTANDING!), Jerome Chandler I saw for the first time in Jacque Brel (He has charisma up the ying yang, very strong presence). So hats off to current and future friends, a show well done!
CAST
(In order of appearance)

Nicely Nicely Johnson – TJ Thaddeus Burzynski
Benny Southstreet – Steve Feris
Rusty Charlie – Shaman Winn
Agatha – Amanda Curtis
Martha – Ksenia Popova
Calvin – Mason Eger
Arvide Abernathy – Clarence Holden
Sarah Brown – Tiffany Jewell
Harry the Horse – Bob Nydegger
LT Brannigan – Jim Ruth
Nathan Detroit – Mark Abel
Angie the Ox – Jerry Vander Veen
Scranton Slim – Sam Buchanan
Miss Adelaide – Melissa MacNeal
Sky Masterson – Nathan Lacy
Joey Biltmore – Bob Nydegger
Announcer – Shaman Winn
Hot Box Dancer – Skye Dahlstrom
Hot Box Dancer – Erin Grandy
Hot Box Dancer – Heather Bartle
Hot Box Dancer – Lorna Faxon
Mimi – Erin Grandy/Skye Dahlstrom
General Matilda B Cartwright – Laurie Miller
Big Julie – Jerome Chandler
Liver Lips Louie / Drunk – Don McPherson

ORCHESTRA
Musical Director/Conductor – Stuart Hunt
Trumpet – Larry Laverne
Trumpet – Bill Oakes
Saxes – Doug Morasch
Synthesizer – Josh Zimmerman
Bass – Martin Rush
Trombone – Erike Hunter
Percussion – Todd Parks

GUYS AND DOLLS
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Directed by Robert MacNeal
Music Director and Conductor – Stuart Hunt
Executive Producer – Melissa MacNeal
Choreography by Skye Dahlstrom

PRODUCTION TEAM
Artistic Director – Robert MacNeal
Executive Producer – Melissa MacNeal
Music Director – Stuart Hunt
Choreographer – Skye Dahlstrom
Technical Director – Bob Nydegger
Stage Manager – Amy Lazert
Lighting Design – Brent Stainer
Sound Design – Kyle Blevins, Robert Campbell
Scenic Designer – Bev Schatz
Scenice Design Coordinator – Craig Wollam
Property Master – Bob Nydegger
Property Assitants – Anya Petrick and Kara Composano
Costume Mistress – Brenda Scamehorn
Backstage Crew – Ashley Anderson, Audry Ugrin, Anya Petrick and Kara Composano
Rehearsal Pianist – Dorothy Herivel and Lauren Lippens
Graphic Design for Poster and Postcard – Walking Cat Design
Website Manager – Sydney Paige
Advertising – Doug McLaughlin and Melissa MacNeal
Publicity – Katie Garner and Anna Ronning
The Stanwood Performing Arts Center
August 4-20, 2006
The Kirkland Performance Center
August 24-27, 2006

Presented by Northwest Musical Theatre Company