Review: Mercer Opera makes “Guys and Dolls” shine

Mercer University’s opera program reproduced the famous Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls” this past weekend. The production ran from Oct. 25 through Oct. 28.

The opera program usually puts on one show per semester, and has been working on “Guys and Dolls” since the beginning of the this school year.

“Guys and Dolls” was a wonderful experience. From the live music to the lights to the acting, being in the audience was an absolute pleasure. The singers were very talented, and listening to them singing was very entertaining.

The musicians were amazing, and very obviously prepared for the show. The music that they played at the beginning of each act was so great and beautiful that it felt kind of like I was watching a movie with similar vibes to “Meet Me in St. Louis” or “Gone With the Wind.”

The show takes place in New York, and follows two guys who are both gamblers. One of the main characters, Nathan, is engaged to his longtime fiancee, Adelaide. She is pushing him to finally marry her, but he’s more interested in his traveling gambling game.

The other male lead, Sky Masterson, is another gambling man, who bets against Nathan that he can get a devout Christian girl named Sarah to travel to Havana with him. Sarah and Sky inevitably fall in love, despite all of their differences.

I think the reason that this show was so great was because each of the characters were able to really connect to the audience. I felt myself sitting on the edge of my seat when the tension was building up between Sarah and Sky.

The whole audience applauded loudly when Sky and Sarah finally kissed for the first time. And, from what I understood, people loved the camaraderie between Sarah and Adelaide when they commiserated about their love.

Overall, the show was very fun to watch. Although it lasted for nearly three hours, I feel that I was entertained for most of the show. I was awed by the amount of talent that was poured out by every actor and musician.

Mercer University Opera put on another spectacular show, and I am very glad that I was able to experience “Guys and Dolls” before it closed.