By Levi J. Long
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Hal Hundley got some sage advice when he was young:
Always leave the audience humming a tune.
" 'If they don't leave humming the music, there's something wrong,' " said Hundley, 77, quoting a former music conductor who advised Hundley early in his career. "It was the most intelligent statement I'd heard."
It's no wonder Hundley decided to produce and direct "Guys and Dolls," the Frank Loesser- penned musical about the oldest surviving floating crap game in New York.
"Guys and Dolls" was based on a short story by Damon Runyon.
Staged at the Leo Rich Theatre, "Guys and Dolls" opens next Friday and runs through Oct 14.
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It's the first production of the season by the Redondo Music Theatre, formerly the Roundabout Music Theatre, which opened last year in Tucson.
The name change happened this summer, sparked by complaints from the New York City-based Roundabout Theatre Company.
The New York company said Tucson's Roundabout's name might cause possible donor and contributor confusion on the East Coast, Hundley said.
"That's absurd," Hundley said. "We're a small theater, and they're concerned we'd take their thunder? Well, we talked to our attorney and figured we might as well find a new name."
Hundley and Larry Kraus, RMT's president, decided on Redondo, Spanish for circular or round.
"It a better fit with the Southwest," Hundley said.
Ready with a new name, Redondo plans to produce three other musicals in the coming season: Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," "Cabaret" — which the company did last year — and the Arabian-themed "Kismet."
"We felt that we needed to do the classic war horses everyone loves," Hundley said.
Hundley, founder of the now-defunct Southern Arizona Light Opera Company, has a career that spans more than 50 years.
With the Redondo's shows, Hundley plans to keep things simple.
"It's minimalist. The focus is mostly on the actor," he said. "And music, of course — something you can hum."
● Contact reporter Levi J. Long at 573-4179 or llong@azstarnet.com.
Preview
"Guys and Dolls"
• Playwright: Frank Loesser.
• Director: Hal Hundley.
• When: Performances are 7:30 p.m. next Friday and Oct. 6, 12 and 13; and 2 p.m. Oct. 7 and 14.
• Where: Leo Rich Theatre at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.
• Tickets: $22, regular performances; discounts available.
• Information: 615-1130.
• Running time: 90 minutes with one intermission.
• Cast: Craig Oldfather, Keith Wick, Danae Ervin, Joe Marshall, Lisa Bielat and Dave Hatunen.
