Guys and Dolls Preview at Kensico Dam Italian Festival

The Mount Pleasant Community Theater will perform an excerpt from “Guys and Dolls” at the Kensico Dam Italian Festival on July 26 at 1 pm. The full length production, directed and choreographed by Rose Cremonese-Norton, can be seen on July 31 and August 1, 7 and 8 at 8 pm, August 2 at 2 pm and August 6 at 7:30 pm in the John Whearty Theater at Westlake High School, 825 Westlake Drive in Thornwood, NY. Tickets can be ordered on-line at www.mpctshows.com. For further information call 914-769-0958 or 914-773-9171 or e-mail mpctshows@gmail.com.

Bedford Hills residents Jim Stake* (head shot) of Bedford Hills plays Nicely-Nicely Johnson, the nicest and cheeriest of the gambling crooks. Jim Stake* returns to the Nicely-Nicely Johnson role which he first performed 37 years ago at Valhalla High School. He worked on the daytime soap “All My Children” from 1982-1988. Film credits include “Working Girl,” Brewster’s Millions” and “The Fisher King.” In theater, Stake toured nationally in “Grease” starring Jack Wagner and in “Peter Duchin’s Broadway” starring Robert Lupone. He and his partner, Liam own the award-winning Croton Creek Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Croton Falls, NY. *Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity

Tom Ammirato of Mt. Kisco stars as Sky Masterson, a high stakes gambler whose luck never seems to run out. Audiences will remember Tom as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof in the summer of 2013. Robyn O’Brien of Eastchester plays female lead Sarah Brown as a pretty, bright-eyed woman who serves as Sergeant of the local mission.

The cast also includes:

· Richie Murden of Pleasantville -- Nathan Detroit

· Rae West of Salem, VA, Cremonese-Norton’s daughter-in-law, -- Miss Adelaide

. Frank Accosta of Elmsford -- Benny Southstreet

. John Wright of Hawthorne -- Rusty Charlie

· Chris Jamison of Yorktown Heights -- Arvide Abernathy

· Chuck Buchanan of White Plains -- Lt. Brannigan

. Claudia Torzilli of Hawthorne as General Curtis

· Gary Simon of Cortlandt Manor, and

· Mark Firestone of Cold Spring -- Big Jule

Guys and Dolls, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, depicts colorful gangsters, gamblers and other characters of the New York underworld, based on stories by Damon Runyon. The premiere on Broadway was in 1950. It ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.

About Mount Pleasant Community Theater

Mount Pleasant Community Theater was founded in the summer of 1970 by Cremonese-Norton, owner of Rose’s School of Dance. Support has been provided by the community, including the Mt. Pleasant Recreation Department and the Thornwood/Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce. In addition, this year the theater group has set up a Go Fund account to raise money to defray the cost of costumes. The link is gofund.me/mpct_costume_fund Any and all donations are appreciated.