Fort Defiance Players to perform
"Guys and Dolls"

Fort Defiance Players’ April 17 – 20 performance of one of Broadway’s most enduring hits, “Guys and Dolls,” will star two familiar faces to Defiance audiences—and two new relative newcomers.

Sylvia Brown (Sarah Brown) has been in numerous FDP shows, including the recent “Scarlet Pimpernel,” “Christmas Carol,” and appeared as Babette in “Beauty and the Beast.” She is a US Postal worker and a member of several area clubs, including the Eagles and AmVets. She says that Sgt. Sarah Brown of the Save-a-Soul-Mission “tries to be very prim and proper,” but that she “is a romantic by nature.” As a result of Sky Masterson’s conniving, she is introduced to “an aspect of herself that she didn’t know existed and she falls in love despite herself.”

Mark Schnitkey (Sky Masterson) has played many leading roles both for FDP and for Maumee Valley Civic Theater. He is a vice president of capital growth and investor relations for an automotive technology company. His starring roles have included Tevye in “Fiddler on a Roof,” Emile DeBecque in “South Pacific,” the title role of  “Don Quixote”, and Capt. Von Trapp in “Sound of Music.” In addition, he is on the board of the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program and serves as its vocal director. Sky, says Schnitkey, “is smooth. He’s a polished gambler and lady’s man. But when love smites him, he let’s his guard down and surrenders completely.”

Kim Bingham has played Adelaide twice previously, including for the Maumee Valley Civic Theater production. She has also appeared as Maria in “Sound of Music,” as Ado Annie in “Oklahoma,” and as Zanetta Shinn in “Music Man.” She is a Deputy Clerk at the Henry County Family Court. Adelaide, she says, “is a ditzy dancer who’s been engaged for fourteen years. She’s a fun character to play because she’s naïve in an innocent and very honest way.”

Chris Clark (Nathan Detroit) is a vocal music educator at Tinora High School and is appearing in his first FDP production. He has been in productions of several companies, including as Judd Fry in “Oklahoma,” as both Smudge and Sparky in “Forever Plaid,” and was the music director for Geauga Lyric Theater Guild’s production of “King and I.”  He says that “Nathan is a bum.” “He has been a criminal as long as he can remember. However, he is endearing and full of life—and a lot of nonsense.”