In ten performances around the country

When you see a guy reach for stars in the sky

You can bet that he's doing it for some doll.

In February and March the veteran English speaking musical theater company, the Light Opera Group of the Negev (LOGON), will be presenting the enduring musical, Guys and Dolls, in ten performances around the country. The show (adapted from Damon Runyon’s short stories about crap games, salvation and the guys who only do it for some dolls), is one of the most popular and legendary Broadway musicals, never losing its fresh and vibrant energy. With music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, Guys and Dolls was first produced on Broadway in 1950, and has had countless hugely successful revivals.

The story revolves around Nathan Detroit, the organizer of "the oldest established permanent floating crap game" in New York, who is trying to set up a game while avoiding the wrath of his fiancée, a brassy chorus girl named Miss Adelaide, desperate to marry Nathan after a 14-year engagement. Nathan bets fellow inveterate gambler Sky Masterson that he can't romance straitlaced missionary Sarah Brown. The stage is set for a hilarious evening of complications involving other colorful Runyon underworld characters.

The shows well-known songs include "Luck Be a Lady"," Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat"," I've Never Been in Love Before"," A Bushel and a Peck" and "Sue Me".

The director of LOGON's production of "Guys and Dolls" is Yaacov Amsallem, who directed the company’s very successful production of "The King and I" last season. Yaacov both directs and acts in the Negev theater, a 30-member professional theater company, as well as in several amateur theater groups, especially community theaters.

This is now David Waldmann’s 13^th consecutive year as LOGON's musical director. David directs several choirs in the Negev and has his own recording studio in Arad.

Every year LOGON benefits from a new talent pool who have come from abroad to study at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva. This year's "new blood" includes Jacob Schatz who plays Sky Masterson, and Christina Maria Paschyn who plays his love interest, Sarah Brown, the mission army sergeant. Christina, who has come to Israel on a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarshipis studying for a master’s degree in Middle East studies. She has appeared in musical theater productions in the U.S. Jacob is a concert pianist and professional baritone singer. His wife, Tiffany, is studying at the school of international medicine and played Hope Harcourt in LOGON’s production of “Anything Goes”. The two other lead characters in the show – the ditsy show girl Miss Adelaide and her reluctant fiancé, the craps-obsessed charmer Nathan Detroit – are played by long-time LOGON veteran performers Myra Bennett and Dov Landzbaum, both of whom admit they've been dreaming of playing these roles for years.

LOGON is the only English speaking amateur group that travels around the country with its shows. Apart from those in Beersheva, all the performances in the other cities are used by various charity groups as fundraising events.