Premiere for a Loesser musical

Composer and lyricist Frank Loesser, creator of the Broadway smash “Guys and Dolls,” has another premiere scheduled -- 35 years after his death.

A musical called “Senor Discretion Himself,” left unfinished when Loesser died in 1969, gets its premiere tonight at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The script has been completed and updated by the Latino group Culture Clash.

“Senor Discretion Himself” is set in a small Mexican town. Loesser based the book on a short story by Budd Schulberg, best known for the novel “What Makes Sammy Run.” The musical tells of a poor, illiterate baker whose indignant defense of his young daughter’s virtue brings about a small miracle, rocketing him into prosperity.

Culture Clash -- Richard Montoya, Herbert Siguenza and Ricardo Salinas -- shortened Loesser’s script and adapted it into 21st century vernacular.