"Guys and Dolls" Take Over Hinsdale South

drama students will take to the stage this weekend to perform Guys and Dolls for their spring musical production.

Director and Drama Club adviser Pam Baker said she can’t wait to see her students in action.

“My favorite part (about being a director) is watching them go from being beginners in performing arts and watching them progress,” she said.

The musical will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17, through Saturday, March 19, in the Hinsdale South Auditorium. Tickets are $8 each and will be on sale during lunch periods, or available at the door.

Set in the 1940s, the plot of Guys and Dolls centers around Nathan Detroit, a notorious gambler who has been engaged to Adelaide, a cabaret performer, for 14 years. Detroit makes a bet with fellow gambler Sky Masterson when he becomes confident that Masterson will be unable to win the heart of Sarah Brown, head of a local Mission Band, by taking her on a trip to Havana.

For sophomore Maura Carr, who plays Miss Adelaide, opening night “seems so far away and so close at the same time.”

“It seems every day we get a little bit better,” she said.

The parts of Nathan Detroit, Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown will be played by Hinsdale South High School students Michael Guritz, Jake Novak and Simona Curkoska, respectively.

For Michael, a senior, this is his first time in a lead role, which he admits has him “a little stressed out.”

“I’m absolutely terrified,” he said with a laugh.

But he’s looking forward to opening night.

“We’re all really confident,” he said. “The musical’s going to go great.”

Michael is no stranger to the production Guys and Dolls, having played a part in the musical while in junior high.

This is his third theater performance at Hinsdale South.

“My freshman year, I tried to balance sports with drama,” he said. “After that I became a full-fledged drama guy.”

Maura is no stranger to the stage either, having already participated in about six of the high school’s theater productions.

“I’ve always really loved music,” she said. “First it was more instrumental, like the violin and piano. And that led me to vocals and then on the stage.”

She is excited about taking part in Guys and Dolls, which she said is “such a classic.”

“It’s nice to do something so well-known,” Maura said.

Baker, who has been a director for 30 years, said she has enjoyed working with the students for the last few months on the production.

“They’re just great kids and very dedicated,” she said. “They’re a lot of fun.”

And Michael lauds Baker as a director “who knows what’s going on.”

“She gets us from Point A to Point B," he said. "And Point B is usually pretty good.”