Inside a Senior Guys and Dolls, Where the Cast Is Over 60 and Cue Cards Are A-OK

Going to see a young family member in a school play is a cherished, time-honored tradition, but how about the same for a grandparent?

Music Theatre International revolutionized school theatre decades ago with Broadway Junior, a program that adapts full-length Broadway musicals into versions designed for young performers, most commonly middle school-aged. A two-and-a-half hour, two-act show typically becomes a one-hour one-act, with keys changed for young voices and any potentially offending material adjusted.

Schools were once relegated to odd, oratorio-style musicals developed by choral music publishers. Since the advent of Broadway Junior, schools have been able to perform age-appropriate editions of popular shows like Into the Woods, Legally Blonde, and Beauty and the Beast.

And now, the theatrical licensor is stretching their wings in the opposite direction with Broadway Senior. Much like the Junior series adapts musicals for performers 18 and under, the Senior series is intended for the 60-and-up crowd. The impact of these theatre programs for kids is pretty clear, from teaching teamwork and fostering a love of the arts in the next generation. But what about for the older generation?

To find out, Playbill visited a pilot production of Guys and Dolls SR. at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House in Manhattan. The House is a community organization that provides support and enrichment services to people of all ages, including older adults. As long as you’re over 60 and live in one of NYC’s five boroughs, you can come to Lenox Hill for free exercise classes, meals, education, and arts training—including the ability to perform in a Broadway Senior musical. The cast of Guys and Dolls SR. ranged from 60 to 93 years old.

“I think when you get past a certain age or point in your life, you just think you’ll never do certain things,” says Deputy Chief Program Officer Jessica Leylavergne. She says the impacts of the House’s work, and particularly this drama program, are clear. “It gives not only people who were artists, but who were accountants and lawyers the opportunity to do something completely different. It shows people what they’re capable of.”

That’s certainly true for cast member Penina Debra Scher, one of Miss Adelaide’s hotbox girls in the House’s production. Scher spent the early part of her life in the world of opera, but eventually used her command of the German and French languages from her operatic training to enter the corporate world as a conference interpreter. Scher says she doesn’t regret the career change—anyone who’s attempted to make a life in the arts knows how difficult it can be. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t miss it.

“I first started as an administrative system assistant,” Scher remembers. “Whenever I had to type the word ‘signaling,’ I would type ‘singing’ without meaning to. It was a difficult transition.”

The Neighborhood House’s Broadway Senior program has let her rediscover her artistic side now that she’s in semi-retirement. “There was some getting used to using the voice again, but as corny as it sounds, it was like riding a bicycle,” Scher says.

She’d been taking exercise classes at the House when she happened to see auditions for The Music Man SR. She admits there was some trepidation—“I mean, who’s not in denial about their age!”—but it ended up being transformative. “I’ve wandered in and out of exercise classes, but there’s something about being onstage that feels like it's really making a statement.”

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine (back left) visit Lenox Hill Neighborhood House's *Into the Woods SR.* Lenox Hill Neighborhood House

Guys and Dolls is the third Broadway Senior title the House has piloted for MTI. A 2019 production of Into the Woods SR. even got a special visit from the show’s writers, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, making it among the very last Into the Woods productions Sondheim ever saw.

Adapting shows for younger performers is not all that dissimilar from adapting them for the older generation. That one-hour length end is perfect for older staminas, so the Broadway Senior titles that have happened so far all use their respective Broadway Junior editions as a starting point.

However, designing these shows for older actors gives everyone a chance to re-tinker. For instance, Sarah Brown does not get drunk on Cuban dulce de leches in the Junior version of Guys and Dolls for obvious reasons. That’s not a concern when you have a cast that’s all well over the legal drinking age.

And Nathan Detroit and Miss Adelaide’s 14-year engagement? That’s become 40 years in Guys and Dolls SR. Poor Miss Adelaide.

Overall, the bulk of the adjustments made for older performers are more on the production side, affecting how it is performed. This is a Guys and Dolls where, if you need help standing back up after sitting down and rockin’ the boat, a stage manager will be there to assist.

Cheryl Kann-Ferst and Anthony Lentini Mia Isabella Photography / Michael Russell

It's an experience that's been fulfilling for not only for those who have performance backgrounds, but also people entirely new to acting. “You don’t have to be at the top of your game, in terms of singing or acting. There’s room for everybody—It’s a wonderful way to enter into a community,” says Scher.

That community aspect is one of the most powerful for this particular brand of performance. Performing for audiences who have paid $170-plus to see you on Broadway is one thing. But for community theatre performers, there is nothing quite like the camaraderie of coming together to do a show simply because you love doing the show.

The cast of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s Guys and Dolls SR. did not need to worry about selling tickets—tickets were free, and the entire run “sold out” quickly. They also were not pressured to be slick professionals. Many cast members performed with hidden scripts on props or notecards due to memory issues, leading to several pregnant pauses if someone lost their place.

In some cases, a stage manager got the cast back on track from backstage. In others, the actors themselves would help out their cast mate—and the audience couldn’t have cared less. Once the actors were back in the scene, their joy was so palpable. With that heartwarming energy on display, who cares if there’s a little trouble remembering lines? As Scher points out: “When you’re working in the corporate world, everything is very specific and goal-oriented,” she says. “Theatre… I can just enjoy it.”

It's done for love, yes, but that doesn't mean Guys and Dolls SR. was barebones—quite the opposite, there were costumes, props, and, for the first time in a Neighborhood House senior production, even choreography (in one scene, Adelaide’s Hot Box girls all did aerobics).

Jerry Petardi (center) and the cast sing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" Mia Isabella Photography / Michael Russell

Older people can and do, of course, regularly play older roles in the theatre, from professional stages to community theatres. But Broadway Senior is something altogether different. It lets older communities play roles they would otherwise not have the chance to do anymore, and is a vehicle to become part of a community of peers.

Scher says that can be incredibly powerful. “You get to be a certain age and find yourself, unless you have a completely codependent relationship, pretty much alone,” she shares. “My work as a translator is already pretty solitary. Just coming out into this community does a lot.”

And Leylavergne agrees. Community building across all generations is the bedrock of the work of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, but Leylavergne says that the over-60 crowd seems to have a particularly special need for it. “The older population were disproportionately impacted by COVID in a lot of ways,” she says. “We saw so many people sad from the pandemic, and from social isolation. These Broadway Senior shows have been a great vehicle for creating a community, having a project to work on, a common goal. It lets them build something and build connections again.”

The cast of *Guys and Dolls SR.* Mia Isabella Photography / Michael Russell

Leylavergne also says that the theatre program has been immensely popular: "This is the first year we had to turn some folks away." But if you’re thinking back to your own school or community theatre days and wondering if that created backstage drama, we have bad news for you. This company seems to all really love each other.

“No drama,” Scher says. Well, almost. She reconsiders: “It’s like any cast. The fact that people are 60 and older doesn’t mean that sudden feelings of competition and what not have passed them by. But on the whole, it’s a warm and supportive environment. There’s a great solidarity that grows as you work with people week after week.”

P.S. We’re also proud to report that Guys and Dolls SR. at Lennox Hill distributed an authentic, Broadway-style Playbill. The Neighborhood House uses our create-your-own Playbill platform PLAYBILLDER, and we didn’t even ask them to!