Written by orange• February 28, 2026• 10:25 pm• Costa Mesa, Musical, Theater, Uncategorized, Vanguard Uni

Guys And Dolls @ Vanguard University – Review

photo credit : The Lyceum Theater

Written by Daniella Litvak

If someone said, “Name a classic Broadway show,” it is safe to bet Guys And Dolls would be the answer. Guys And Dolls has been delighting theater goers for 75 years. Vanguard University’s production absolutely reminds you why this show is beloved. The cast and crew do justice to the show’s colorful characters, engaging story, and timeless songs. They do it all with style to spare.

Guys And Dolls takes place in 1950s New York City. Nathan Detroit (Ron Gutterman) has two problems. The first is that he needs $1,000 in order to secure a location for his floating craps game – the oldest established, permanent craps game in New York. The second is trying to convince Miss Adelaide (Kendra Barnhart), his fiancée of 14 years, to be happy without walking down the aisle. The first problem seems solved when Nathan bets high-roller Sky Masterson (Matthew Barge) that Sky can’t take missionary Sarah Brown (Julia Flores) on a date in Havana. Sky takes the bet, but both he and Nathan are about to find out they have a lot to learn about love and women.

Sky, Sarah, Barge, and Flores have smoking-hot, kiss-kiss-slap chemistry. Their duet of “I’ll Know” was operatic. Gutterman and Barnhart make you root for Nathan and Miss Adelaide to stay together, even though they should have split long ago. Then there are the gamblers – talk about colorful (I’ll discuss the literal portion of that statement further on)! Shir Ben-Zeev and Alex Norman, who played Harry the Horse and Big Jule, respectively, were great at conveying menace while remaining comedic characters. Everyone nailed the choreography, which made the instrumental sequences, “Havana” and “The Crapshooters’ Dance,” an absolute blast to watch. Tony Ozuna’s (Angie the Ox) acrobatics were the cherry on top.

The Art Deco set design was simple but effective. One look at the stage, and you immediately knew when and where the story took place. Garrett Spady’s lighting design added a lot of atmosphere to the stage, especially during “I’ll Know.”

It was the costumes, though, that stole the show. I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say gangster suits of every shade of the rainbow were featured on the stage. Like clowns coming out of a clown car – the suits kept on coming. The gangster suits and other costumes added so much life and vibrancy to the stage.

Roll the dice on Guys and Dolls at Vanguard University!