SwoCo recently sat down with some of the actors who will be starring in Showtimers upcoming show, ‘Guys and Dolls’. ‘Guys and Dolls’ is based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon and is directed by Michael Ridenhour.

Meet Summer Hayes, who plays Sarah Brown in the musical.

“The play is about gamblers and how they live,” Summer said. “I’m pretty much a missionary. My mission is to convert the gamblers and one of them falls for me.”

Heather and her husband Matthew Hayes, who plays Sky Masterson the highest stakes gambler, just moved to the Roanoke area from Indiana. They met in high school doing shows.

Before they moved, Summer said they did a search on community theaters because it was important to them to be able to continue acting and singing.

“We do two to three shows a year,” Summer said. “Our interest is musical theater. We auditioned through YouTube for the show, “Best Little Whore House in Texas” last spring.

“Singing is my top priority,” Summer said, who is a 2nd grade teacher at Garden City said.

“I always just loved acting. I was the little kid in my room acting by myself all day,” Matthew said.

A week before the musical begins, Heather O’Bryan, the stage manager says she is working on the scene changes.

“My job entails, when the show starts, it’s basically my show. I take over and I run the show,” O’Bryan said. “There are a lot of logistics, keeping the cast happy and they in turn keep me happy.”

For O’Bryan, this is the second time she has been stage manager is a production. But she’s been involved in plays since she was in high school at Glenvar.

“I did every play they had. When I was 30-years-old I realized something was missing and it was theater,” O’Bryan said. “So I auditioned and I’ve dabbled in about everything.”

It’s not always easy for O’Bryan who works part time for the Virginia Synod, Lutheran Bishop of Virginia office and D.J.’s in her spare time, but does these plays out of her love for theater.

“It’s difficult organizing 30 actors. It can be challenging. But I’m pretty organized,” she said. “I don’t get paid. I do this as volunteer work to keep the local theater alive. There are a lot of local actors in town.”

At Showtimers, the actors are 100 percent local, unpaid volunteers. And according to O’Bryan, they are always looking for new local actors, especially people who can sing.

The Guys and Dolls cast includes about 35 total cast members.

“I’m on a constant quest to learn new things. With this there’s always a new experience. Being anywhere to get the chance to hear the applause at the end is worth it. That’s why I do it.”

And the show could not go on without a costume and wardrobe designer.

Meet Cynthia Keeling, who works for Creative Energy but volunteers her time and has been a costume and wardrobe designer for over 20 years with different production companies.

“We have a very limited budget. We have to improvise and create,” Keeling said. “Part of wardrobe design is looking at the broader picture, the movement on stage, who will be walking and dancing, and colors you are using.”

“When the audience is in their seats and the curtain opens, the first thing they see sets their mood. The actors breathe that life into their characters. My job is to help in body that person.”

“I couldn’t do this alone. I have two ladies that help me with the show, they are phenomenal.”

Patrick Kennerly plays Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the play. His character is one of Nathan Detroit's boys.

Kennerly recently played in the play "Children of Eden" that was shown at the Jefferson Center. Kennerly also holds a theater degree from Virginia Tech, where he graduated in 1978.

And he surely knows his theater, as he informed SWoCo that 'Guys and Dolls' premiered in 1950 and was the longest running show on Broadway. The show made millions and was made into a movie featuring Frank Sinatra.

"It was probably one of the classic American comedies," he said. "The show defined the genre of musical comedy for years.

"It's fun to make people laugh and cry and to bring out deep emotions," Kennerly said about acting. "It can be healing."

The best part of acting for Kennerly is that he enjoys getting into people's skin while he is in character and doing things that he wouldn't normally do as himself.

"This is a great show, and that's why I wanted to do this production," he said.

Kennerly currently serves as Clerical Supervisor for the City of Roanoke.

And what you may not know about Dr. Blackford Nolend who works at Lewis-Gale Hospital is that he also shares a love of theater.

Nolend plays Harry the Horse, a gambler that makes his living in the streets of New York.

"It's just a fun show and its been hard for me because I'm having to learn a northern accent," Nolend said.

Depsite the fact that Nolend has never performed at Showtimers before, he did some acting in high school and while he was in medical school.

"It's hard to find time to do this as a doctor. After 30 years I found time to do it and so I gave it a shot in 2007," he said.

What Nolend gets out of it is "the joy of expressing one's self as an actor, being something you aren't. It's a whole new discovery I've discovered at the ripe ole' age of 62."

"It's just a pleasure to be working with talented people who enjoy the same thing. We are having a good time."

The musical, ‘Guys and Dolls’ will be showing Thursday, July 17 through Sunday, August 3. Show times are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12. For reservations call 774-2660 or 877-335-9294 or visit www.showtimers.org to order online. Showtimers is located at 2067 McVitty Road in Southwest County.

Photos: The 'Guys and Dolls' cast practice their music parts last Tuesday, July 1 at Showtimers.

We had a post on June 30 with a photo gallery of characters from the show.

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