Culture | Back Story

A bold “Guys & Dolls” holds lessons for the future of theatre

As Sky Masterson would say: it isn’t wrong to gamble, only to lose

Image: Manuel Harlan

Like shooting craps, theatre is risky business. Actors can miss cues or forget lines, dancers and jokes may fall flat. Punters risk forking out royally for tickets only to hate the play. Producers are subject to the vagaries of the economy and (if they rely on it) statutory funding, not to mention the lightning strike of a pandemic. If the show bombs, they risk losing their shirts.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Luck be a lady”

From the March 25th 2023 edition

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