The dueling perspectives of "good vs. evil" and "he vs. she" have been immortalized to perfection by the humorous musings of short story writer Damon Runyon, who enjoyed chronicling the lives of gamblers, thugs, hustlers and the like in prohibition-era New York City.

Runyon struck gold when, with the help of book writers Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, he combined two of his short stories, "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure," added a brilliant score by Frank Loesser, and called the end result "Guys and Dolls."

This lively musical follows no-goodnik Nathan Detroit and his cohorts, Nicely-Nicely Johnson and Benny Southstreet (just to name a few), who proudly uphold and preserve the "oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York."

This fact meets with great resistance from Nathan's long suffering, sinus-challenged fiancée, Miss Adelaide, who has waited patiently for a little band of gold for more than 14 years.

Though well respected, fellow gambler Sky Masterson walks alone. That is, until he meets the lovely Miss Sarah Brown, the "Mission Doll" who runs the Save a Soul Mission.

What starts as a simple wager for Sky ends up asking him to take the biggest gamble of his life - love.

Director Marcia Weiss guides Community Players' production with a healthy sense of fun, allowing her talented cast, led by impressive newcomer John Curcuru as Nathan Detroit, to sail through the evening with tongues planted firmly in cheek.

A simple-but-effective playing space created by John Brittingham provides a cityscape and a rare onstage appearance of the orchestra, led by musical director Melody Palm. This gives us cause for concern at first, thinking the stage will appear cramped, but the sizable ensemble sails through with room to spare.

Show highlights, almost too numerous to mention, come courtesy of Curcuru and Chrissie Stong (Miss Adelaide), who delight with "Sue Me"; Chad Kirvan (Sky Masterson) and company, who rock the sewer with "Luck Be a Lady"; Bob McLaughlin (Nicely Nicely), who raises the mission roof with "Sit Down"; and McLaughlin, Brian Artman (Benny Southstreet), and John Lieder, who get the ball rolling with "Fugue for Tinhorns."

Want to go?

Venue: Community Players Theater, 201 Robinhood Lane, Bloomington

Times and dates: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and Nov. 6 through 8; 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 9

Cost: $6 to $15

Running time: 2 hr. 45 min., including 15-min. intermission