Shown is the cast for the Wawasee High School musical “Guys and Dolls” in no particular order Dylan Minear, Clay Coblentz, Josh Lesko, Devin VanLue, Colten Edgar, Aidan Stewart, Gavin Malone, Gage Knox, Brynn Jamora, Braxton Gonzalez, Leo Wrage, Jackson Charles, Serena Lesko, McKenna Clay, Amelia Dement, Samantha Rose, Sophia Rush, Taylor Cripe, Ethan Dennis, Ana Wolferman, Abraham Sanchez-Hernandez, Karissa Boesenberg, Vanessa Lantz, Gwen Frank, Leina Helfers, Aubrey Gerber and Allyssa Perkins. Not pictured are Windsor Bonner and Brooke Aleman. Photo by Tim Ashley.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — It was a classic Broadway musical and a 1955 movie featuring two of the most well-known actors to ever grace the screen — Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. The weekend before Thanksgiving Day, the Wawasee High School Performing Arts Department will present “Guys and Dolls.”

Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19-20, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21, in the high school auditorium.

Director Kristin Bonner said Wawasee’s version of “Guys and Dolls” “is exactly the same as the Broadway show.” It is a classic musical, based in the late 1940s in New York City, with plenty of dancing and singing, gangsters and gamblers.

“Guys and Dolls” tells the intersecting stories of high stakes gamblers Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit and their respective love interests, Sarah Brown of the Salvation Army and nightclub entertainer Miss Adelaide.

Bonner noted this is the first of two musicals Wawasee will perform this school year. “The Little Mermaid” will be the spring musical.

Preparing for a musical can take from two to four weeks longer than a play because of all the singing and dancing involved, she said, in addition to learning the lines.

A Wawasee student, Windsor Bonner, is doing all the choregraphy for the musical.

Assisting Kristin Bonner with directing is Mindy Coblentz. The production crew consists of Chris Dykhuisen (technical director), Jordan Fredericks and Shannon Rose (music directors) and Jeremy Van Lue (sound director).

Online ticket prices are $10 for adults and student tickets are $7. Seating is reserved and online purchasing is recommended at wawaseeperformingarts.ludus.com/index.php or at the door if not sold out prior to show night.

Cast members include Dylan Minear, Clay Coblentz, Josh Lesko, Devin VanLue, Colten Edgar, Aidan Stewart, Gavin Malone, Gage Knox, Brynn Jamora, Braxton Gonzalez, Leo Wrage, Jackson Charles, Serena Lesko, Windsor Bonner, McKenna Clay, Amelia Dement, Samantha Rose, Brooke Aleman, Sophia Rush, Taylor Cripe, Ethan Dennis, Ana Wolferman, Abraham Sanchez-Hernandez, Karissa Boesenberg, Vanessa Lantz, Gwen Frank, Leina Helfers, Aubrey Gerber and Allyssa Perkins.

Stage manager is Laura Arford, music/sound effects is Christina Morrow, Wesley Wirebaugh is doing sound, Lynk Klinefelter is doing lights and Caden Edgar is doing spotlight. The stage crew consists of Kaylie Nunemaker, Charlie Krull, Arrington Krull, Gavin Rose and Ayla Torres.