Taking the Stage: Guys & Dolls Opens Thursday at West Morris Central

With spring just about here, is preparing to premiere its annual spring musical this week. West Morris has chosen to produce “Guys & Dolls” this year, under the direction of Linda Quinn.

Quinn told Long Valley Patch that all aspects of this year’s production have come together due to involvement from the entire school community—parents included.

“(The kids) painted (the set) by hand which is kind of cool. Most kids never get the chance to do that kind of thing,” said Quinn. “The parents all chipped in and built all the pieces. It’s a real community type of thing.”

No matter their talents, Quinn had a job for every parent wishing to become involved.

“We did all the costumes ourselves. The moms sewed,” said Quinn. “Some are in charge of concessions, some sold advertisements, but every parent did something for the play. It’s really a unique kind of group, that they’re all working together.”

Set in the 1940s, the plot of “Guys & Dolls” centers around Nathan Detroit, a notorious gambler who has been engaged to Adelaide, a cabaret performer, for 14 years. Detroit makes a bet with fellow gambler Sky Masterson when he becomes confident that Masterson will be unable to win the heart of Sarah Brown, head of a local Mission Band, by taking her on a trip to Havana.

An interesting feature of West Morris’s production of the play is the location of the pit orchestra. The pit is located behind the scrim, which allows the band to be featured on several occasions when lighting causes the scrim to become transparent.

Locating the pit orchestra behind the scrim not only allows the group to be featured at key moments in the play, but solves the issue of where to locate the musicians in the first place.

“That was what I wanted, because there’s no room in here for the pit. I put them on the stage and figured we’d highlight the pit during those times,” said Quinn. “When they’re not needed, they’re still up there. We can see that all of the stuff is going on in the front.”

West Morris’s production of “Guys & Dolls” is scheduled to open on Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. in the West Morris Central High School Auditorium. Showings will also take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12, with an additional matinee showing on March 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets for the production are not yet sold out, and vary in price between $10-12.