November 24, 1950: "Guys and Dolls" Premieres On Broadway

November 24, 1950: The musical Guys and Dolls premieres on Broadway. Along with West Side Story because of its macho characters, and My Fair Lady because of its male chauvinism, it is 1 of 3 Broadway musicals that men can like, and not have their heterosexuality questioned.

No, not Damn Yankees. Yes, it involves baseball, and the film version had Gwen Verdon wearing the 1950s equivalent of skimpy outfits. But it also had a locker room scene with men walking around wearing nothing but towels, and even doing a chorus-line kick. Anyway...

The musical was written by Frank Loesser, with a "book" by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows (father of Cheers co-creator and director James Burrows), based on the writings of Damon Runyon. His stories, written in the 1920s and 1930s, concerned gangsters, gamblers, and other characters of the New York underworld.

Runyon was known for the unusual comic dialect he employed in his stories; mixing highly formal language, without contractions, and colorful slang. For example, in the show, Joey Biltmore, owner of the Biltmore Garage, will not accept a "marker" (an I.O.U.) from "Good Old Reliable" Nathan Detroit. Upon hearing this, Nathan's friend, Nicely-Nicely Johnson, says, "Dis, I do not believe!"

("Nicely" is so nicknamed because, when you ask him how he's doing, he says, "Nicely, nicely, thank you." It may be a coincidence that there was a later real-life New York gangster named John Campopiano, nicknamed Johnny Echoes, because he said everything twice. He was depicted in the film Goodfellas as Jimmy Two Times, played by Anthony Powers: "I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers.")

The show begins with a song titled "Fugue for Tinhorns," in which gamblers Nicely, Benny Southstreet and Rusty Charlie talk about racehorses that are running tomorrow, named Paul Revere, Valentine and Epitaph. Nicely enters a phrase into the American lexicon: "I got the horse right here, his name is Paul Revere... "

Nathan runs a "floating crap game": A dice-shooting contest whose location goes from place to place, to avoid the police. But NYPD Lieutenant Brannigan is "breathing down everyone's neck," and the only guy willing to host the game is Biltmore, and even he wants a security deposit of $1,000: "A grand." (About $12,000 in 2022 money, so we're not exactly talking pocket change.) Nathan admits, "The one thousand bucks, I ain't got." But there are so many high rollers coming into New York that his greed kicks in, and he can't simply cancel the game.

Among the high rollers is Sky Masterson, dressed like a million bucks, known for having extraordinary luck, and, when asked how he's doing, says, "Healthy at the moment." Nathan knows that Sky will bet on anything, so he sets up a sure thing. Sky is no dope: He sees through this immediately, and does not take the bet.

But Nathan knows that Sky is a womanizer, so he proposes a new bet: Sky must take a woman of Nathan's choice to dinner in Havana, Cuba -- in those pre-Castro days, the gambling capital of the Caribbean. Sky agrees, and Nathan chooses Sarah Brown, a Sergeant in a Salvation Army-type group. Sky knows he's been had, but he also knows that, in the circles in which he and Nathan travel, a guy can never "welsh" on a bet: He can neither call it off nor refuse to pay if he loses, or he loses all credibility, and nobody will ever deal with him again.

At the mission, Sky attempts to make a deal with Sarah, offering her "one dozen genuine sinners" in exchange for the date in Havana. In spite of her General telling her that her branch of the mission will be closed unless attendance rises, Sarah refuses, and they argue over whom they will fall in love with, with a duet titled "I'll Know."

Nathan has his own romantic problem: For 14 years, he has been engaged to nightclub singer "Miss Adelaide" (her last name is never mentioned), and she's not getting any younger, and she wants to be married. But he doesn't have enough money to support a wife. He would, if this weekend's crap game goes the way he thinks it will. But first, he needs the grand.

Nathan and Sarah are both forced by circumstances into doing what they don't want to do: Brannigan's presence forces Nathan's pals to say they're gathered together for his bachelor party, meaning he now has to marry Adelaide soon; and Sarah promises her General "one dozen genuine sinners."

Nathan sees the band, but Sarah's not in it. He's sure he's lost the bet. But he realizes that the mission will be empty, and he holds the crap game in there. Sure enough, Sky has flown Sarah to Cuba, where they have dinner. They arrive back at the mission in New York at 4:00 in the morning, having not done anything naughty, but admitting that they've fallen in love with each other. (It's Broadway: It requires a little suspension of disbelief.) They hear a police siren, and the cops break the game up. Nathan gets away, but Sarah sees it, and breaks up with Nathan.

The game has moved to the sewers. To protect Sarah's reputation, Sky gives Nathan $1,000, implying that he was unable to take her to dinner. (He might as well, since he won the terms of the bet, but lost the girl.) Sky offers a bet to every one of the gamblers, including Big Julie, a nasty but illiterate gangster from Chicago. (We know he's illiterate because he writes an X on a piece of paper, and says, "That's my marker!") If Sky loses his turn at the dice, he'll give every one of them $1,000 -- which he doesn't want to lose, as a matter of pride, but he does have, so it's not that bad. But if he wins, he gets their souls. No, he's not the Devil: They will have to follow him to Sarah's mission. Preparing to throw, he sings "Luck Be a Lady." He wins.

Among the gamblers following Sky to the mission is Nathan himself. He sees Adelaide, and tries to win her back, singing "Sue Me." The General is impressed by the turnout, Sarah is impressed that Sky kept his word, and Nicely is moved to genuinely repent, and the others join him in singing "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat."

So everything gets resolved: Brannigan shows up to arrest everybody, but Sarah says they weren't there last night, and the General backs her lie up, so Brannigan leaves. Nathan tells Sarah everything, and tells her that it must mean Sky truly loves her. The show ends with Sky using his gambling winnings to marry Sarah, and Nathan using his to marry Adelaide. They have both gone straight: Sky runs the mission band, and Nathan runs a newsstand, and none of the four ever has to worry about love or money again.

The original production, directed by George S. Kaufman, debuted on November 24, 1950, at the 46th Street Theatre. It is still in operation, as the Richard Rodgers Theatre, at 226 West 46th Street. Robert Alda, father of actor Alan Alda, played Sky. Sam Levene played Nathan. Isabel Bigley played Sarah, Vivian Blaine played Adelaide, and Stubby Kaye played Nicely. It won 5 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The film version premiered on November 3, 1955. It stars Marlon Brando as Sky, Frank Sinatra as Nathan, and Jean Simmons as Sarah. Blaine and Kaye reprised their roles. Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed. It was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, but won none.

The newsstand seen during "Fugue for Tinhorns" includes copies of the June 6, 1955 issues of Time and Life magazines, respectively showing Yugoslavia's Marshal Josip Broz Tito and Henry Fonda in Navy uniform as the title character in the film Mister Roberts, a non-musical Broadway play turned 1955 film; and Look magazine from June 14, 1955, showing Jackie Gleason and Art Carney, about to spin The Honeymooners off from a sketch of The Jackie Gleason Show into its own half-hour sitcom.

For those of you who are confused by the film:

* Frank Sinatra rather enjoyed playing losers, and Nathan Detroit, for all his popularity among his kind of guys, is very much a loser for much of the film.

* Yes, Marlon Brando was young and handsome once. Yes, Brando sings in this movie, and he's... not terrible. In fact, it was an inversion of the original stage production: Sam Levene, the original Nathan, couldn't sing; but in the movie, Nathan is played by Sinatra, the top singer of the era, while Brando, known for a speech impediment and dramatics, plays the comic but not-really-musical Sky. In the musical, Sam as Nathan only sings "Sue Me," while Frank as Nathan is in a couple of other numbers.

* No, this Jean Simmons is not related to Kiss singer Gene Simmons. For one thing, she used her real name. For another, she had loads of class, while he has none. If I'd been around then, Jean would have preceded Marina Sirtis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kate Beckinsale and Hayley Atwell as British brunettes that I could not resist.

The 1st Broadway revival was in 1976, with an all-black cast: Robert Guillaume as Nathan, Norma Donaldson as Adelaide, Jimmy Randolph as Sky, and Ernestine Jackson as Sarah. The 1992 revival was highly regarded. Actor Joseph Lane had renamed himself Nathan Lane after Nathan Detroit, and now played the role. Peter Gallagher played Sky, Josie de Guzman played Sarah, and Faith Prince played Adelaide. It won 4 Tonys, including Best Revival. A 2009 revival had Oliver Platt as Nathan, Lauren Graham as Adelaide, Craig Bierko as Sky and Kate Jennings Grant as Sarah.

Damon Runyon had already died in 1946. His last words were recorded as, "You can keep the things of bronze and stone, and give me one man to remember me just once a year." George S. Kaufman followed in 1961, Jo Swerling in 1964, Frank Loesser in 1969, Sam Levene in 1980, Abe Burrows in 1985, Robert Alda in 1986, Vivian Blaine in 1995, Stubby Kaye in 1997, Frank Sinatra in 1998, Marlon Brando in 2004, Isabel Bigley in 2006, and Jean Simmons in 2010.

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November 24, 1950 was a Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. My Three Sons actor Stanley Livingston and original Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Bob Burns were born.

Baseball was out of season. No games were scheduled for the NFL, the NBA or the NHL. There were 5 college football games played:

* Number 14 Miami beat Iowa, 14-6 at Burdine Stadium in Miami. The stadium was later renamed for the game annually held there, on or around New Year's Day: The Orange Bowl.

* Louisiana State University (LSU) beat Villanova, 13-7 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* The University of Houston beat Midwestern Texas State University, 40-18 at Public School Stadium (later renamed Jeppesen Stadium and Robertson Stadium) in Houston. MTSU, in Wichita Falls, Texas, became Midwestern State University. They now compete in NCAA Division II.

* San Jose State beat Montana, 32-7 at Honolulu Stadium in Hawaii

* And the College of the Pacific beat Boston University, 55-7 at Pacific Memorial Stadium in Stockton, California. The home team's school was renamed the University of the Pacific in 1961, and they dropped their football program after the 1995 season. BU dropped theirs after the 1997 season.