Guys and Dolls", first produced on Broadway in November 1950, has been described as the quintessential American musical

PROGRAMME NOTE WRITTEN BY RACHEL KEEGAN FOR HATTON OPERATIC SOCIETY'S PRODUCTION OF "GUYS AND DOLLS" IN SEPTEMBER 1994

Guys and Dolls", first produced on Broadway in November 1950, has been described as the quintessential American musical. It is based on the short stories of Damon Runyon, a distinguished sports and crime reporter, who created the fictitious "Runyonland" with its colourful characters such as Angie the Ox, Harry the Horse and Brandy Bottle Bates, in order to supplement his income from journalism. The principal source for the libretto of "Guys and Dolls" was "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (it is interesting to note that the longest speech in "Guys and Dolls", in which Sky tells of his father's warning about getting an earful of cider, is a direct quotation from this story).

The composer of "Guys and Dolls" was Frank Loesser (pronounced "Lesser") who also wrote the lyrics for the songs. Many of the accounts of the preparations for the first production of "Guys and Dolls" refer to Loesser's volatile personality. One of his most violent outbursts came during the first stage rehearsal of the Crap Game number when the cast did not sing the song to his satisfaction because they were concentrating on learning the dance steps (I am sure that many operatic society Musical Directors would sympathise with him!) On another occasion he was so infuriated by the original Sarah's inability to perform the song "I'll Know" without breaking in the middle of her register that he leapt on stage and punched her on the nose!

Another series of arguments with the producers centred around Loesser's wish to reprise the ballads in the second act. The director, George S Kaufmann, eventually quietened the composer by agreeing to reprise the ballads if Loesser would allow Kaufmann to reprise some of the first act jokes! In fact the amount of new material in the second act is one of the strengths of the score - it is difficult to think of another show which has songs of the quality of "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" and "Marry The Man Today" so close to the end of the show.

It has often been said that there are no weak numbers in "Guys and Dolls" (with the single exception of the second act finale which is a very short reprise of one of the Act I numbers - a weakness shared by some of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas). The score is also remarkable for its wide diversity of musical styles. The ensembles range from the simple hymn tune "Follow The Fold" to the barbershop-style close harmony in "The Oldest Established Crap Game" and the gospel music of "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat". There are examples of the conventional love duet ("I've Never Been In Love Before"), blues ("Adelaide's Lament") and Latin American dance music ("Havana"). The opening "Fugue for Tinhorns", in which three of the supporting characters express their different opinions in strict counterpoint, is totally original (incidentally, our present Musical Director has pointed out that, technically speaking, this trio is a canon, not a fugue) Arvide's touching little solo in Act II is quite different from anything else in the score. Most remarkable of all is the evocative "My Time Of Day" which anticipates the more operatic style of Loesser's next show, "The Most Happy Fella"

"Guys and Dolls" reached London in 1953 where it ran for 555 performances at the Coliseum, and the film version starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra appeared in 1955. There have been two major professional revivals since then - the much acclaimed National Theatre production in 1982 (with Bob Hoskins and Julia McKenzie as Nathan and Adelaide) and an equally acclaimed Broadway production in 1992. The making of the cast recording of the latter formed the subject of a fascinating television documentary earlier this year. This included an interview with Loesser's widow who described his somewhat eccentric working habits. He got up at about four o'clock in the morning, worked until about eight o'clock and then went back to bed. One therefore needs look no further than "Guys and Dolls" for an appropriate epitaph:

My time of day is the dark-time
A couple of deals before dawn
When the street belongs to the cop
And the janitor with the mop
And the grocery clerks have all gone
When the smell of the rain-washed pavement
Comes up clean and fresh and cold
And the street light lamps fill the gutter with gold
That's my time of day......