Guys and Dolls–Part Two

The curtain goes up on Act Two in one of the funniest satires ever written about Gentlemen Johnnies and their gifts to Chorines. Chorus girls learned early and often that each gift offered to them had a string firmly attached to it. Thus, when the following choral number was sung, it was sung with bitter humor, not outrage. As they got to the line “It all seems a horrible dream,” we can imagine the Sarah Bernhardt pose as they put their hands in front of their eyes and turned their heads away.

I may be down but I’m not flat as all that
I thought that each expensive gift you’d arrange
Was a token of your esteem
But when I think of what you want in exchange
It all seems a horrible dream–eek!

Here is the song “Take Back Your Mink” sung by Vivian Blaine and the female chorus from the original cast album.

When the show is over, Adelaide waits for Nathan to arrive so that they can elope. Nathan does not arrive. In point of fact, Nathan is in the middle of his floating crap game and is trying to find a new spot now that the police raided the Mission. Adelaide may not know why, but she knows that her opportunity to elope has vanished. She reprises her lament.

Now, it is Sarah’s turn. Sky returns to the Mission to tell Sarah that she holds his marker for twelve sinners and that no gambler ever welches on his marker. When she refuses to consider his offer, her grandfather, Arvide, turns to Sky in private and tells him to deliver or he will tell the world that Sky does not honor his markers. Sarah is distraught, as she struggles between her love for Sky and the shame she has brought upon the Mission. Arvide tries to explain to her that her happiness should come first. Here is Pat Rooney, Sr. singing “More I Cannot Wish You” from the original cast recording.

Nathan has found a new spot, and the crap game continues. When Sky asks Nicely where it is, Nicely points straight down. It is being held in the sewer! Michael Kidd choreographed a great dance for the crapshooters, which we will feature in a future post. For now, let’s concentrate on the plot: Sky convinces twelve of the players to bet on one roll of the dice. If Sky wins, the twelve must accompany him to the Mission immediately. If Sky loses, they will get one thousand dollars. In his own way, Sky now “prays” for a winning roll as he sings “Luck Be a Lady” in the original cast recording.

Of course, Sky wins. Nathan is one of the men who lost to Sky and must go to the Mission in atonement of his many sins. When Adelaide asks him where he is going now, he tells her the truth. She responds: “Nathan. This is the biggest lie you ever told me.” They then sing a duet that only makes sense when it is seen on the stage, and we will provide a performance in a later post.

Nathan and the others go to the Mission and arrive just as the visiting General is about to close the Mission. They go in but only grudgingly communicate their sins to the General. Finally, Nathan calls on Nicely to give testimony; and, in the tradition of the best revival meetings, he brings the congregation to their feet. Here is Stubby Kaye singing “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from the original cast recording.

After the prayer meeting is over, Sarah accidentally bumps into Adelaide on the street, and they commiserate over loving men that are bad and won’t change. Then Sarah mentions gamblers who were just at the Mission’s prayer meeting, and Adelaide does a double take. She asks if Nathan was there. Finding out that he was, Adelaide says: “How do you like that rat! just when he should have been lying, he’s telling the truth! I’m glad I’m through with him.” Both women claim to be finished with their men, when Adelaide exclaims to Sarah “What are we–crazy or something?” They sing a wonderful duet in which they agree to “Marry the Man Today” and train him subsequently. Here is Isabel Bigley and Vivian Blaine from the original cast recording.

This brings us to the close of the musical. However, it is not the end of the music. At the end of Act One, scene 1, Alan Alda and Sam Levene sang a song that was subsequently dropped from the show, called “Travelling Light.” We do not have any recording from the original cast, but we do have an audio clip from the 1996 recording.

In addition, there was a song added in the 1955 film adaptation, called “A Woman in Love.” Here is a recording from 1996.

See you all next Tuesday as we continue with Guys and Dolls; we will start looking at video clips from various performances.