THEATER REVIEW : Stephens’ Masterson Puts ‘Dolls’ on a Roll

“Guys and Dolls” could be used as a test.

Take someone who professes to hate musicals to see this show. If, after viewing this greatest of all American musicals, your companion still claims to hate musicals, there’s no hope. The poor person simply hates musicals.

But you can bet few theatergoers feel that way after leaving composer Frank Loesser’s fabled trip through Runyonland. After 45 years the show’s amazing craft and charm still sparkle, even in the imperfect Actors Co-op production in Hollywood.

Though authors Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows plucked plenty of immortals from Damon Runyon’s stories of Broadway bookies and boozers, “Guys and Dolls” ultimately rises or falls on Sky Masterson, the dapper gambler who finds love in the unlikeliest place.

Perry Stephens’ Sky is a beaut: A smooth-as-silk, strikingly handsome hot-shot who can juggle dice with the worst of them. When Sky and the crapshooters sing and dance their way through “Luck Be a Lady,” Alan Johnson’s staging shakes off its remnants of sluggishness and really cooks.

That’s not all. Kelley Hinman, in a yeomanly turn as wisecracking third banana Nicely-Nicely Johnson, makes waves with “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” Loesser’s infectious paean to gospel revivals. And as grandfatherly Arvide, Walt Beaver captures the simple sentiment of the ballad “More I Cannot Wish You.”

The rest is more mixed. A key problem is that the proscenium at Crossley Terrace Theatre is too small to accommodate most production numbers. The choreography in usual show-stoppers such as “A Bushel and a Peck” seems disappointingly tentative here.

Music presents another hurdle. Like “Gypsy,” “Guys and Dolls” by its very nature calls for brassy orchestrations. Craig Victor Fenter provides synthesizer accompaniment. While better than nothing, it still produces a flat backing that sounds a bit like an organ grinder.

After some initial fuzziness, the rest of the cast settles down to business. Tim Farmer brings the right light touch to henpecked crap-game organizer Nathan Detroit, with Janet Raycraft registering brightly as his moll, Miss Adelaide. As Sky’s betrothed Sarah Brown, Susan Sandel acts the part well but sounds better singing in the lower registers.

* “ Guys and Dolls,” Crossley Terrace Theatre, 1760 N. Gower, Hollywood. Thursdays (except Thanksgiving)-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Dec. 23. $17. (213) 964-3586. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes.