Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, such as "Pick the Winner".
The show premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine.
Original 1950 Broadway cast recording
Guys and Dolls window card starring Vivian Blaine, Robert Alda and Sam Levene from original 1950 Broadway production at the 46th Street Theatre
New York Mirror "Theatre-Ticket Ordergram" featuring original Broadway stars Vivian Blaine, Sam Levene and Isabel Bigley in 1950 Broadway production Guys and Dolls at 46th Street Theatre
Vivian Blaine and Sam Levene meet Queen Elizabeth after a Royal Command Variety Performance of Guys and Dolls on November 2, 1953
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won a Tony Award for Guys and Dolls and shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How to Succeed. He also wrote songs for over 60 Hollywood films and Tin Pan Alley, many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning once for "Baby, It's Cold Outside".
Frank Loesser in a 1936 Paramount studio headshot.
Guys and Dolls, Libretto and Vocal book, printed by Music Theatre International, 1978