Where costumes hung waiting to be worn there are now empty racks.
Mascara, eye shadow, brushes and lipstick are strewn on the counters in the dressing rooms. The smell of hairspray still lurks in the air.
The cast is ready.
The moment is here. Months of rehearsal will now be put to the test.
Backstage, some are mouthing the lines they’re about to speak, others are stretching or practicing dance steps, but most of them are silent.
Director Robin Stephens comes in for the final talk before show time. There’s no mention of things to work on during practice. There won’t be any more practices. It’s show time.
“You’ve put so much work into the show at all kinds of levels. Please honor the work,” Stephens said. “Break a leg and have a wonderful show.”
“Places!” The stage manager gives the final call before the orchestra strikes up the overture. Just like that. Everyone from the dancers to the costume designer come alive.
After months of preparation the cast of “Guys and Dolls” performed in Brown Auditorium last weekend. There were four performances over the course of the weekend.
“Guys and Dolls” is set in New York City during a time when gambling was illegal. This play was filled with secret casinos and unexpected love through the lives of the four main characters: Miss Adelaide, Nathan Detroit, Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown.
Flashback: Dress rehearsal
It’s Tuesday. Opening night is two days away and the cast has been having nightly rehearsals for two weeks.
Dressed and ready, the performers listen while Stephens gives notes before rehearsal starts.
“Let’s go forward with our work and not backwards,” Stephens said. “I had to pry myself out of the fetal position yesterday, but last night I was grinning and loving every moment.”
While waiting to go on stage Allison Friloux, who plays general Matilda B. Cartwright, and McKenna Giovingo, who plays Miss Adelaide, make small talk.
“It’s been a long week,” Friloux said.
“It’s only Tuesday,” Giovingo said.
Tucker Futrell, who plays Nathan Detroit, paces back and forth while practicing his gestures. Mouthing his lines. Earlier Futrell talked about how he feels while onstage during the performance.
“I always want to at least make sure the audience is engaged with what I’m doing. If they are engaged I can take the energy they’re giving me and always try to give that back,” Futrell said.
Futrell, a music education major, said he was a little nervous because he hasn’t played a part this big. His first performance was in last year’s production of Chicago when he played the master of ceremonies.
The girls have changed into their outfits for “Bushel and a Peck.” One of the dancers is practicing steps. Another dancer goes to grab her shovel, which is a prop in the performance. But then they run off to their places.
Flash forward: Opening night
“Opening night is always a frenzy of emotions for everyone involved. It’s the culmination of all the long hours of hard work that have gone into the planning and rehearsal process,” Alison Tugwell, the stage manager, said.
While the stage is lit with vibrant colorful dresses and loud musical numbers, the lights are off backstage. Only one blue light leads the performers back and forth from the green room to the props table and then on stage. Any other light comes from flashlights.
While the performers sing loud on stage and project their lines toward the audience, all is quiet backstage. There has to be silence so the actor’s microphones won’t pick up the noise.
But just because no one’s talking doesn’t mean the action hasn’t picked up. It’s much like the dress rehearsal. Performers run off stage to change for the next scene while listening to the overhead speakers set up in the green room.
Out on stage the cast lights up the auditorium with dramatic dance scenes of crap games and trips to Havana. This play is a complete turn around from last year’s production of “Chicago.” Stephens said “Chicago” was a “great way to hook an audience.”
“You can’t do Chicago every year. You have to do some varying away from that,” Stephens said. “This is iconic and it should be part of everyone’s experience with the musical theater.”
The cast gives all they’ve got until the very last note. And once the production is over the dresses will go back to the racks, the dressing room counters will be free of makeup and the scent of hairspray will dissipate.
But everyone involved will always remember the experience and hard work put into this production.
