Guys & Dolls

The Untold Stories of Guys and Dolls

To engage our audience in our dramaturgical work, we created a museum-like lobby display titled “The Untold Stories of Guys and Dolls”. This display was made collaboratively by the dramaturgy team for Guys and Dolls: Dr. Karin Waidley, Reese Leif, and Abigail Labbé. The “exhibits” included Fire Island, Havana Nightlife, Housing in New York, The Early Civil Rights Movement, and The Garment District. The following are the “exhibits” curated by Abigail Labbé.

The Early Civil Rights Movement

Following the cultural revolution of the Harlem Renaissance, the early civil rights movement began to spread from New York. In March 1941, A. Philip Randolph sent a letter to the White House calling for an end to racial discrimination in the armed forces and employment. He suggested organizing a march on Washington but met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt before it could happen. This meeting resulted in Executive Order 8802 which banned discrimination in hiring and led to the creation of The Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC). In the following years, the civil rights movement gained momentum both legally and culturally. In 1947, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers becoming the first African American to play in the MLB. In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and Ralph Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize. The empowerment that came from the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s sparked the changes that occurred in the following decades.

“It is time to wake up Washington as it has never been shocked before.” - A. Philip Randolph 1941

Havana Nightlife

In Havana, the nightlife scene was vibrant, full of music and dancing. This photo shows “Zulema”, a rhumba dancer, as she performs at the Zombie Club in 1946. The Zombie Club launched careers for musicians such as Olga Guillot (a singer, sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Bolero”) and Facundo Rivero (a composer and bandleader). Havana was a popular destination spot for rich tourists, celebrities, and American mobsters, full of golf courses, clubs, and casinos. Local performers spent their nights dancing rhumba, bolero, flamenco, and more styles at clubs across Cuba. While creating many regional stars, nightlife became the heart of culture in Havana and sparked the artistic transformation of musical styles.

“We are constantly searching for ways to live both then and now by honoring the legacy of the past without sacrificing the integrity of the present and future. Our production kept the magic of Damon Runyon’s characters alive while taking the time to acknowledge the sensitive topics and limiting language present in the story. With meaningful conversations led by DEI and Intimacy consultants, we hoped to create a culture of care necessary for revisiting classics. In the rehearsal room, the dramaturgy team displayed a collage of images exploring not only the world of the show but also showcasing a diversity of people who are often overlooked by the glamorizing of Runyon’s grit that drives the musical. The creative team encouraged each performer to bring their own identities into this classic in a way that felt authentic to them.

For some, Guys and Dolls may not feel relevant and fresh. Our research provided context and methods to reframe moments of outdated gender roles and breathe new vigor into them. In “Marry the Man Today,” the “dolls” take control of their futures independently and in spite of their “guys.” In “Guys and Dolls” a loveable duo explores broad definitions of romance, gender expression, and sexuality. Even our conversations with the Hotbox dancers helped to reframe crowd-pleasing numbers to decenter the objectification of women when approaching the material. We may not be able to point to a specific moment and say there it is–the fruits of our dramaturgy–but if you cut this production open, like the ink and lifeblood of Runyon’s characters, it pours through its veins, bringing new possibilities, perspectives and perhaps another kind of permanence to this classic.”

Photos: Peter Smith