Colfax duo portrays leads in Guys & Dolls

A nightclub singer in a red dress bats her eyelashes at her fiancee of 14 years on the set at the Regional Theater of the Palouse in Pullman. Hardened gamblers paw the newspapers for gambling info.

Such was the scene at the media day preview Monday for Guys and Dolls which will begin a three-week run in the RTOP Theater Friday. Performances will be April 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24, all at 7:30 p.m.

The plot: hot-headed gambler Sky Masterson (George Carson) strikes a bet with Nathan Detroit (Jared Lisonbee) he can get a level-headed missionary girl to attend a gambling trip to Havanna. The musical occurs in the fast-paced underground scene of 1940s gambling in New York.

Two of the lead actors, Detroit (Lisonbee) and Miss Adelaide (Shairylann Lisonbee), are a married couple from Colfax. The Lisonbees, who had a baby two months ago, Tessanya, began rehearsal a week after the birth. For two months, the Lisonbees, who have been in other RTOP productions, have commuted to the Pullman rehearsals from Colfax with their children. The time together rehearsing the lines has been unifying for them all, said Shairylann.

All her character, Miss Adelaide, wants in the world is for Nathan Detroit to marry her, a decision the gambler can’t quite make due to his “commitment issues.” On top of this, his life as a gambler is always leaving him broke. Shairylann said their marriage in real life adds to the depth of their acting.

“I think it’s easier to do when it’s your husband because you’ve been there,” she said with a laugh, shaking her pink feather boa.

And how does she like running around in tiny red dresses and red high heels?

“It’s so fun!” she said.

Adelaide, Shairylann said, is a bit of a ditz. The thoughtless blonde has some funnier lines too, she said.

“Tell him I never want to talk to him again and have him call me tonight,” she recited.

As far as bringing their two older children and their newborn baby to rehearsals, Shairylann said it was a challenge.

“The rehearsal started a week after she was born,” she said.

During an interview with the Gazette, Jared Lisonbee held their wailing new daughter as he answered questions about Detroit’s character.

“He’s distracted,” he said, calling for his older daughter, Syrenna, to bring him a pacifier for the baby.

Detroit is being pulled in several directions as the play wears on. On top of trying to steady out his lifestyle so he can marry Miss Adelaide, his ill-timed bet with Masterson goes south when it appears Masterson may win. Added to this, Lt. Brannigan, a New York policeman, is trying to shut down Nathan’s “oldest established floating crap game.”

Jared actually appears as Lt. Brannigan on alternate nights.

“I get to play my own nemesis,” he said.

Jared too said the time at rehearsal is a warm, fun time for their family.

Jared is an assistant professor at WSU’s department of human development, and Shairylann works as a receptionist for the WSU philosophy department. The family moved to Colfax four years ago from Auburn, Ala., when Lisonbee took the position.

Advance tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children. Tickets at the door are $17 for adults and $10 for children. Reservations can be made by calling the theatre in Pullman.