HM Guys & Dolls Dramaturgy Tumblr

How to read a racing form or racing scratch sheet

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:55:44 -0400

Links from Wendy to the Dolls in the cast on hair-dos and other 1950's beauty tips...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:08:00 -0400

Vacation Beauty Challenge!

Just as the guys will be identifiable as living in 1950 by their hats, it will be really great to get a vintage look for all you dolls with the distinctive hairstyles from the time. It will be tough to create these in the frenzied time of the tech week, so I am encouraging you to spend some of your leisure moments this week (hah!) to play around with your hair and see if you can come up with a style you like, that you can do yourself or teach someone to do, and that will be secure enough to last through a performance. You might need to keep your style going for performance week – and set a whole new fashion at HM.

There are lots of videos online that show ways to do this.

Here is one that will take time to set – I think you have to sleep in the pincurls – but it looks amazing:
pincurls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=7lMz4CZllso

Here is one that’s much easier, but can still be effective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWl1aZOiHCQ

Here is one that uses a foam roll. We have some, but you can get them at Ricky’s if you want to try it. It’s really more 40s, but evocative.
http://youwereneverlovelier.wordpress.com/2009/08/16/1950s-hair-the-roll/

If you’re into this project, you can get some other ideas by browsing around the net.

The key is to get long hair rolled up in some way so that it is shorter than shoulder length, and to have some fullness around the face.

If you can’t manage anything, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out…

Write if you have questions!

Wendy

The best darn glossary of Guys and Dolls verbiage on the web right now

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:13:19 -0400

The best darn glossary of Guys and Dolls verbiage on the web right now

What's the hidden joke in the General's last line of the prayer meeting?

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:56:00 -0400

Gentlemen, we will now sing number 244. “Follow the Fold”.

And with the music rising we transition to the next scene. We assume that the sinners who have been handed prayer books will turn to hymn number 244 in their books, but the audience has been toyed with. Though ostensibly this hymn is alluding to the metaphor of a sheepfold, where the shepherd Church, will gather its wayward flock (of sheep), and lead them to safety.

From a hardened gambler’s perspective, the hymn takes a more practicable direction. When you have no more money to bet in a card game, or if your cards will not amount to anything worth a winning wager, you fold.

Who has just folded? Why all 12 sinners have.

What are the rules of Hoyle that Sky refers to in the prayer meeting?

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:43:33 -0400

According to Wikipedia:

Edmond Hoyle (1672 – August 29, 1769[1]) was a writer best known for his works on the rules and play of card games. The phrase “according to Hoyle” came into the language as a reflection of his generally-perceived authority on the subject;[1] since that time, use of the phrase has expanded into general use in situations in which a speaker wishes to indicate an appeal to a putative authority.

What’s ironic here is that the book that should instruct and enforce moral behavior—the holy bible— goes unmentioned. Hoyle is kind of a jumble of holy—sort of.

In Nicely Nicely's dream he hollers "someone fade me..."

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:37:00 -0400

No, it isn’t a cue for special camera work. It’s common parlance in an open craps game. “Someone fade me” means someone cover my bet. Punto. That’s it.

Later in the song he’s undergone a transformation and says “someone save me” instead.

Nicely Nicely's reference to a mug fresh from the jug--explained.

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 03:26:00 -0400

When Nicely Nicely Johnson sings When you meet a mug lately out of the jug And he’s still lifting platinum folderol Call it hell, call it heaven But it’s probable twelve to seven That the guy’s only doing it for some doll. Loesser is at the peak of his powers.

Basically, when you meet an ex-con who’s lately out of jail, and he’s stealing valuable trinkets [platinum folderol is an oxymoron, with platinum more highly valued than gold as a precious metal, and folderol (or falderal, an old English word meaning meaningless nonsense) being trifles], that’s larceny earning twelve months to seven years jail time if convicted.

Note also that Vitalis is a hair tonic and Barbasol a shaving cream. The duo mention both later in the song, and both products were used by men who cared about their appearance in the 1940’s.

What Adelaide was referring to in "Take Back Your Mink" by mentioning "Hollanderize" was a 1950's New York long gone....

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:12:00 -0400

What Adelaide was referring to in "Take Back Your Mink" by mentioning "Hollanderize" was a 1950's New York long gone....:

This New York Times article from 1992 covers a lot of ground in Runyonland, for those of us too young to have lived to see it.

Additionally, the article explains the odd reference to a Scarsdale Galahad [purchaser] of a Brooks Brothers suit with “two pairs of pants” as the standard package offer of the time giving the wearer two-for-one value and double the lifetime on the legs. (Otherwise, you might think that the tony menswear store was outfitting formal wear for horses.)

And, “Hollanderizing” was a process to refresh minks by tumbling them in a cool-air “dryer” with sawdust and chemicals to absorb stale smells. The process still exists, but the eponymous firm that first provided it has long passed.

Finally, Lieutenant Brannigan can’t partake in Nathan’s festivities anymore, because the Police Department in 1950 was under a lot of pressure to clean up its own acts of collusion with gambling rings.

Why did Americans stop wearing hats?

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 08:26:00 -0400

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/03/01/bringing-back-the-hat/

How do you speak with a Brooklyn accent? Any videos we can watch to learn how?

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:45:00 -0400

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hrA9-6o4tI

What is the meaning of looking like "the male chorus from Blossom Time?"

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:45:00 -0400

Now, thanks to the serendipity of browsing, I also found the answer to a question that had lingered in my head since we last performed “Guys and Dolls”. (Lingered, yes, but obviously not with enough urgency for me even to look up the answer.) It comes via this item:

It’s a bit of music quoted from an operetta called “Blossom Time”, by Sigmund Romberg, which apparently was enjoying some popularity in 1947, just a few years before “Guys and Dolls” premiered.

There’s a scene where the gents / thugs / gamblers are all lined up and wearing red carnations. The local cop comes in and says something like “Delightful! This looks like the male chorus from ‘Blossom Time’!”

Not surprisingly, perhaps, none of us were acquainted with Sig Romburg’s operetta, and we wondered about the reference. Now I know.

http://bearcastle.com/blog/?p=1634

Woody notes that the Shubert Organization, big Broadway producers, kept trotting out revivals of this (there were four over a decade, each lasting a shorter and shorter run) until the musical became so stale and dated, it was a Broadway joke.

Who was Emily Post?

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:42:00 -0400

Emily Post was an expert on design, architecture, and interior decoration who started writing an advice column that eventually was syndicated and carried by 200 newspapers. This column advised readers on matter of etiquette, and manners. She also hosted a national radio show on the same topics. She became the noted expert on proper behavior and decorum.

What would streetwalkers look like in New York City in the late...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:41:00 -0400

What would streetwalkers look like in New York City in the late 1940s? Due to the large number of anti-prostitution raids led by New York City, street walking was a contradiction between not wanting to draw too much attention to yourself through outward dress, but by drawing attention to yourself by emphasizing your natural assets (the attractiveness of your body’s shape—bust, suggestion of neck and cleavage, and legs). Clothing is close fitting and not flashy in and of itself, but moving in it allows the body to suggest itself. Everyone wore make-up and nylons, so wearing both didn’t signify that the wearer was a sex worker. Check out the site for more examples: http://www.retronaut.co/2011/09/prostitution-posters-wwii/

In any gambling venture, there are bettors for and against. But...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:29:00 -0400

In any gambling venture, there are bettors for and against. But once bets have been placed by the primary bettors, secondary bettors bet on the primary bettors’ chances at winning the originally placed bets. Here, in a scene from Caddyshack, bettors are betting for and against nose-picking. Other bettors then bet on the first two bettors.

Who was Rogers Peet?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:56:00 -0400

Rogers Peet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rogers Peet was a men’s clothing company founded on November 6, 1874. Rogers Peet introduced several innovations into the men’s wear business: they attached tags to garments giving fabric composition, they marked garments with price tags (the established practice was to haggle), they offered customers their money back if not satisfied, and they used illustrations of specific merchandise in their advertising.

The company’s reputation was strong enough that the song “Marry the Man Today” from Guys and Dolls mentioned Rogers Peet as one of the finer things in life:

(Adelaide): Slowly introduce him to the better things; respectable, conservative, and clean

(Sarah): Readers Digest!

(Adelaide):Guy Lombardo!

(Sarah): Rogers Peet!

(Adelaide): Golf!

(Sarah): Galoshes!

(Adelaide): Ovaltine!

The last Rogers Peet store closed in the mid-1980s. One of their green delivery vehicles can be seen in a street scene in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The rules of street craps

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:43:00 -0400

According to the website http://www.mademan.com/mm/street-craps-rules.html

By: Sidney Johns

Break Studios Contributing Writer

The phrase “street craps rules” is almost an oxymoron. The game is played in back alleys, back rooms and schoolyards around the world. Dating back to the early 1900s, the dice-throwing game is an illegal form of gambling. During the hardest times in United States history, the 1930s, the game flourished along the streets of large cities, including Chicago and New York. The poorest people placed their bets in the hope of making a few dollars more for the week. Mainly, they just lost their grim earnings and went hungry for the week, but a few made a living running and playing the game. Street craps remains illegal in modern times. Those who organize the games can actually be charged with racketeering. Before taking up a friendly game in your home, be sure the shades are drawn and the lights are low. Only invite those you know for sure are not stool pigeons or snitches.

Dice. Street craps rules call for two regular game dice be used. Some sneaky organizers use loaded or trick dice to assure the bet placers lose.

Betting. All bets must be placed when the dice are in the hand of the shooter. Street craps rules are mostly enforced when it comes to betting as it is the key to money changing hands.

Pass. In street craps rules, a bet is placed as a “pass” when the shooter believes the sum total of the dice will be seven or eleven. If the dice hit these numbers, the bettor wins.

Don’t pass. Street craps rules include a “don’t pass” betting option just like in a casino. This is when the bet placer thinks a two, three or twelve will be the total of the dice.

Points. In street craps, if the sum of the two dice is four, five, six, eight, nine or ten, it makes a point. These points act as carry over bets for the next round.

Shooter. There is only one shooter at any given time. In street craps, the shooter is the person throwing the dice. The shooter can bet or pass.

Fingers. According to the rules of street craps, all fingers must be kept clear of the shooting area. This goes for feet and other body parts as well.

Player additions. There is no limit on the number of players in street craps. Players may be added between any throw that does not include previous points.

Bounce. Street craps rules require that the dice bounce off a wall or other back stop. If the dice do not bounce, the throw is no good and must be redone.

Run. Possibly the most important street craps rule is to run if the police show up. Illegal gambling is not smiled on by local authorities.

How to bet in a street craps game

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:40:00 -0400

From the website http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-play-street-craps.htmlHow By: BWalter

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Learning how to play street craps is a lot easier than the complex rules of a craps game in a Vegas casino. Street craps has a much faster pace than it’s grandiose Vegas counterpart. Street Craps also gives the players more input into what goes on in the game. If you don’t want to get cheated, it’s up to you, the individual, to monitor each and every facet of the game. Lucky for you, street craps doesn’t have too many facets. Lets get on it. OK all of you would be hood gamblers, let’s learn to play street craps.

The shooter. The street craps game begins with the shooter placing a bet on whether or not he’ll be able to roll one number, then roll that number again without rolling a seven or eleven. Because this is street craps, there are slang terms related to this action. Calling “pass” “I do” or any number of slang phrases means the shooter is betting that they will be able to land the number twice. If they call “don’t pass” or “don’t” or other negative terms, it means they’re betting that they wont be able to hit the same number twice without rolling a seven or an eleven.

The other betters. Before the shooter rolls, the other betters will also place wagers based on the whether or not they think the shooter will roll a single number twice without hitting a seven or eleven. The rotation goes to the left.

Matching bets. The shooter will place his wager down. It’s up to the rest of the players involved to cover his bet. The people involved with the roll usually split the covering wager equally among them. Although, it isn’t out of the ordinary for one person to big up a bigger portion of the matching bet in a game of street craps. This also means that the player with the bigger portion gets a bigger portion of the winnings, that is, if the shooter doesn’t win it all.

Rolling. If the shooter rolls a two, three, or twelve, then all the players that made negative bets (don’t pass) get paid. If the shooter rolls a seven or eleven, then the positive betters are winners. If any other number is rolled, its up to the shooter to roll that number again. The shooter keeps rolling as long as the two, three, and twelve aren’t rolled (in which case the shooter’s turn is over). The amount of money continues to raise until the shooter hits a seven or eleven in which case the positive betters (pass) are paid out. If seven or eleven is rolled again the shooter’s turn is over and the positive betters lose. The dice is then passed to the left and the cycle begins again.

Alternate betting. In a game of street craps, it’s not uncommon for side bets to be made on nearly anything that can be wagered for. People bet on specific numbers being landed and a host of other things. There’s a lot of money to be made because of the flexibility of the game.

Who's holding the money during a game of street craps?

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:15:00 -0400

According the the website http://www.freecraps.org/craps/street/

Why such a violent game? Think about it – small amounts of cash are being exchanged without a security presence. Most of these games take place near a bar – meaning heavily intoxicated players – and if you believe popular culture, many street craps players have imbibed a little crack or some other illicit drug at some point that night. Regardless of what substances may or may not be coursing through a street craps player’s veins, the lack of security and oversight puts you and your money in extreme danger.

Back to the game — if the Shooter’s bet it not completely covered, he can either increase the odds, giving the players a chance to make more money if they then cover the bet, or the shooter can withdraw the remaining, uncovered portion of the bet. This is another sometimes dangerous move that implies a lack of trust in his own bet or the play of his fellow dice shooters. Once the shooter’s bet is covered, the other players now have the option of wagering against each other. Any player who chose not to bet against the Shooter will likely place a bet against another player who did. This is another difference in the two games – in casino craps, there are far less players betting against the shooter. In street craps, there is no casino to cover the action, so to speak, so it isn’t necessary to have both players betting FOR and AGAINST the shooter. This negative action in street craps could also account for the infamous nature of the game. With all bets placed, the shooter may now toss the dice, using the same Come Out, Pass and Don’t Pass rules as in a real casino.

As in casino craps, the shooter’s first roll is the Come Out roll. If the Come Out roll is a 7 or 11, all Pass bets are won. If the Come Out roll is Craps — 2, 3 or 12 — all Don’t Pass bets are won. If the Come Out roll is any other number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, the rolled number becomes the Point. This part of the game is very similar to casino craps – the main difference being that most casino players aren’t armed with a shank. With a Point established, all Pass bets turn into Come bets, wagering that the Point will come again before the Shooter ‘7s Out’ (rolls a 7). In the same vein, all Don’t Pass bets are now Don’t Come bets, wagering that a 7 will be rolled before that Point comes again. A simplified version of craps fun for pimps of all ages.

You may have noticed by now that street craps is an easy game. Players are basically betting on whether the line will be passed or not. There is no placing specific numbers, no betting hard-ways, no Come bets, and no one roll bets. It is also very unlikely that there will be any field action either, to say the least.

So, since there’s no casino to safeguard the money, and since there’s no demarcated table to reflect exactly what bets were made, and since a player’s word is his bond, there’s a lot of room for welching out of a bet—saying that you didn’t place the bet that just lost, or saying that you did place a bet that you just won. And since the money has to be calculated as per the odds for who’s won and who’s lost, there is a great need of trust in the transactions that drive a crap shoot. If fact the idiom “it’s a crap shoot,” starts to make a lot of sense when describing something that could go in any direction.

The Evil of Two Loessers?

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:34:00 -0500

The Evil of Two Loessers?:

While on the subject of “so sue me,” here’s an interesting article on the rivalry between both brothers of the Loesser clan. One takes the musical high road as a classical musician, while our hero, Frank, opts for the “low” road.

Woody's question on how to win 5 G's on a parley, Shadrach, Mischach, and Abednego.

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 07:56:00 -0500

First of all, as with a lot of Guys and Dolls, there are a lot of double and triple meanings to the names and words chosen by the writer of the play’s book. In Sky’s case, he’s wooing Sarah Brown with her own weapon: the bible.

In a world where the amount of cheesecake or strudle sold at Mindy’s one morning could amount to a large amount of cash, information is king. Shadrach, Mischach, and Abednego were Hebrews about to be punished in Babylonia by King Nebuchadnezzer for not worshiping his idol. They were compelled to be thrown into a fiery furnace and burned alive. An angel was sent down to save them and they emerged from the furnace unscathed. This compelled the king to accept the validity of the Jewish God. All of this is written down in the book of Daniel (the same book that includes the saying “the writing’s on the wall,” implying doom to the king if he does not heed the word of God). Again, it’s all about knowing the future. If you’re thrown into a fiery furnace for your own beliefs, the betting odds are against you that you’ll ever emerge alive.

Hence, betting on Shadrach, Mischach, and Abednego to “show” before the hot race (or picking the trifecta) would be a very long shot indeed. Sky could win $5,000 in a parley bet like that.

A parlay is the practice of rolling your winnings from one race to make a bet on the next race and not skimming any profit until you’ve also won the third race. You’re either desperate or very inspired to trust your luck three races in a row.

How to Make a Show Parlay Bet on Horse Races

Are you with a group of friends betting on horses at the racetrack? A fun way to bet on horse races that gets everyone in your party involved is a group show parlay. It works like this: Have each person ante up $5, and pool the money. Each person in the group picks one race and one horse to bet to show. Place the first bet, and if you win, parlay the money on the next race and horse. Your winnings can add up very quickly. For example, if four people start with $20 and each person wins a $3 show price, you’ll have $101 after only four races!

(http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/betting-on-horse-racing-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html)

Of course, to Sarah Brown the answer to everyone’s future is found in the pages of the bible. How ironic that ace gambler Sky Masterson knows it so much better than she!