The Skyline theater department has once again shown its talent and filled their seats with the success of their latest musical, “Guys and Dolls”. Although there were many new faces gracing the stage for the past two weekends, the characters came alive and the audience was brought back to the American gangster-era, a time when all the guys were gambling and the girls were dancing the nights away.

For those unfamiliar, “Guys and Dolls” is set in the atmosphere of the Roaring 20’s. We follow two sets of protagonists as they try to balance the loves of their lives with their love of gambling. This conflict is the main power behind each twist and turn of the story, all jazzed up to the style of the New York mob scene. It’s a story about the hustle, and how life and love can shake things up in the best of ways.

The musical was months in the making, having had a class fully devoted to its production. Auditions had been held the prior semester, while the class was devoted to getting all of the intricate details of a serious musical into perfect harmony. All of this attention shows, too. Audience member Rachel Matthews, who had been to the two previous Skyline productions said, “This [show] definitely didn’t have that amateur feel to it. I would forget I was watching a show and just be entertained the whole time!”

This production was only the second musical Skyline has produced in over 30 years, but the department is showing just how deserving it is of the new class coming in the Fall. Many of the students in this production were performing for Skyline for the first time and had a great experience.

As new actor Alex Rosales, who played the lead role Sky Masterson, said, “It was awesome to find out [I was the lead]. I’m taking new directions.”

He also went on to say that, unlike many bigger professional productions, the whole cast shared a unanimous energy and “nobody was really a diva”, or no one actor has trying to hog the spotlight.

Rosales wasn’t the only newbie to grace the stage in this production. Phoebe Jancinto played the dynamite role of Miss Adelaide, fiancé

to the lead Nathan Detroit, played by Kevin Valera. Jancinto proved an impressive force to be reckoned with, able to have her amazing singing voice shine out while still carrying the distinct New York accent. Another lead character Sarah Brown, played by Skyline theater veteran Jamie Weinstock, lent her amazingly angelic voice and cute attitude to her role.

The production’s shining moments, however, were when Weinstock and Jancinto finally come together for their duet “Marry the Man Today”. Their chemistry was amazing and perfectly complimentary, with the contrast of Adelaide’s New York naivety to Brown’s religious persona blending together to be an amazing cocktail to the ears.

There was definitely an amazing feeling of accomplishment and a pressure lifted after the first night’s showing.

As Amber Steele, director of choreography for the show, had to say when asked, “I’m so relieved!”

She had right to feel that way, too, as the many dancing portions of “Guys and Dolls” were executed beautifully. From the raunchy scenes at the red-light’s “Hotbox”, to the spontaneous dance number of the illegal gamblers hiding in the sewers of New York, all the movements fit into place and never came off as too chaotic or dull, which can be hard when managing so many people on stage at once.

The show stayed interesting and fun from beginning to end, with no really big comments or complains to point out. That is, however, for one small problem: microphones. It has become custom in stage productions to mic the actors, but these are usually done to accent the actors. In “Guys and Dolls”, however, the mics transformed from crutches to lean on into wheelchairs that became disabling when missing.

Entire sections of dialogue or song would go completely unheard when a microphone malfunctioned. This lead to the only theatrical criticism that stuck out, being that the actors need to speak to the audience, not to the other performers. The old guys in the back of the house paid just as much as the guys in front, why shouldn’t they hear what’s going on too?

In the end, though, the production shines out as a defining moment for the rising Skyline theater department. The students are talented and excited, and the proof is in the pudding. If you missed it, “Guys and Dolls” is one of the many amazing productions that Skyline is sure to be putting out in the coming years.

This article was update to fix errors, Amber Steele and Phoebe Jancinto names were misspelt. 5/2/2013 2:14 p.m.