Detroit And Crew Are Trying Their Luck On Round Barn Stage
NAPPANEE — Anyone looking for a little action shouldn’t miss the game that’s going on at Amish Acres Round Barn Theatre, Nappanee. You won’t be able to shoot any dice but you can enjoy watching Nathan Detroit (Trent Loggins) and his buddies try their luck. And, you will enjoy “Guys & Dolls,” currently on stage.
It’s a fast moving musical so fasten your seat belts and tap your toes as Detroit seeks places to hold his floating crap game. Detroit’s object is to make lots of money. Lt. Brannigan (Justin Williams), however, has other ideas. He’s out to shut the games down.
Loggins makes the perfect Detroit as he tries to outfox the police in New York in the 1940s. He turns in a first-rate performance.
Detroit has convinced his fiance of 14 years he has reformed. Miss Adelaide (Randa Mierhenry) is hot and cold about whether or not she believes him. Mierhenry charms the audience to her way of thinking as she tries to get her Detroit to the altar. Her facial expressions are the tops. Williams makes the perfect policeman as he keeps showing up unexpectedly.
Enter Sgt. Sarah Brown (Maggie Youngblood) and her crew from the Save-A-Soul Mission. They are out to save sinners and is doesn’t matter whether they want to be saved or not. Youngblood is exceptional as she shows her disappointments and her enthusiasm. Her voice is beautiful and her facial expressions show Sarah’s trials and tribulations as she try to convert lost souls of the Big Apple.
Sky Masterson (William Charles Pedergast) arrives in New York seeking action. However, he only wants a sure bet. Detroit challenges him to take Sarah to Havana for dinner. Off to Cuba the two go and Sarah gets drunk. Youngblood plays this scene to the hilt. She might be a prim and proper and religious lady but with alcohol’s help she lets her hair down and shows another side of her personality. Pendergast turns in a first-class performance as a gambler and a man who has fallen in love.
As Arvide Abernathy (Don Hart) is fun to watch as he performs with the mission band and tries to convince granddaughter Sarah there is more to life than saving lost souls.
Adding to the fun of the evening are Harry the Horse (Pierre Cooks), Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Travis Bird), Benny Southstreet (Martin Flowers), Rust Charlie (Cooks), Angie the Ox (Jacob Clanton) and Big Jule (Ryan Schiler). They are looking for action and won’t be happy until Detroit finds them a place to roll the dice. All are magnificent and the scene in the sewer is played to perfection.
Hats off to General Carwright (Katherine Barnes); the Hot Box Dancers, Mikaela Brielle, Kristin Britnall and Akira Watanabe; and too the mission band, Claton, Britnall and Watanabe. They are all great!
Hats off for jobs well done to producer Richared Pletcher, artistic director Amber Burges, director and choreographer David Gravens and the other members of the staff who have worked hard to make this another Round Barn success.
The show features such memorable songs as “A Bushel and a Peck,” “If I were a Bell,” “Luck Be a Lady Tonight” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”
“Guy & Dolls continues through Aug. 27. Don’t miss the action. Call (800) 800-4942 or go online at Amish Acres.com.