GOOD OLD RELIABLE NATHAN. Beth Jean Olson is Miss Adelaide and Kevin Drzakowski is Nathan Detroit in the Menomonie Theater Guild production of Guys and Dolls.

Like a craps game, taking on a beloved musical theater classic is a roll of the dice: You can win big or fall short of expectations. The Menomonie Theater Guild is gambling on the latter outcome with its upcoming production of Guys and Dolls, which opens Feb. 26 at the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts.

The tale of gamblers, showgirls, and crusading Christians, which is based on newspaperman Damon Runyon’s colorful stories of New York street life, has been making audiences laugh since its original Broadway debut in 1950. Through countless professional and amateur productions (not to mention the 1955 film version with Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando), theatergoers have learned to hum along to tunes like “A Bushel and a Peck” and “Luck Be a Lady.”

“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” director Melissa Kneeland says of staging a classic like Guys and Dolls. “There’s the danger of being predictable, and the danger if you stray too far people will say, ‘That’s not my musical.’ ”

Kneeland is confident that the talented cast of her Menomonie Theater Guild directorial debut can both hit the right notes and offer audiences something new. While the show is typically presented as taking place in the late 1940s or early ’50s, Kneeland said her love of mid-century modern style inspired her to push the production design toward the latter part of the ’50s – so expect the show to look less like The Untouchables and more like Mad Men. In addition to the cast, which is filled with Menomonie theater standbys, Kneeland heaped praise on costume designer Susan King and musical director Erika Svanoe.

For those not familiar with the plot, it focuses on a gang of colorful gamblers, including Nathan Detroit (Kevin Drzakowski) and Sky Masterson (Seth Berrier), who are trying to stay one step ahead of the law with their floating crap game. In need of $1,000 to secure a safe location for the game, Nathan bets Sky that the latter can’t get the chaste Sarah Brown (Kristy Wilson) of the Save-a-Soul Mission to go on a date with him. Meanwhile, Nathan’s got troubles of his own with longtime (and dissatisfied) fiancée, nightclub performer Miss Adelaide (Beth Jean Olson). Two acts full of broken (and mended) hearts, saved souls, and great tunes ensue. Audiences will especially enjoy showstoppers like “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Take Back Your Mink,” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” Kneeland said.

(As an aside, parents take note: The production includes a strip-tease act that might be a bit mature for young kids. As Kneeland explains, “It’s not Cabaret, but it’s not Willy Wonka.”)

Kneeland says the show’s subtitle, “A musical fable of Broadway,” is a good description of Guys and Dolls: It’s got classic romance, fighting, beautiful love songs, and plenty of humor. “Guys and Dolls has lasted so long because it’s wickedly funny as well as being wonderfully emotional,” she says.

Menomonie Theater Guild presents Guys and Dolls • Friday-Saturday, Feb. 26-27 and March 4-5, 7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 27-28 and March 5-6, 2pm • Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, 205 Main St. East, Menomonie • $20 for adults, $18 for students, youths, and seniors • (715) 231-PLAY (7529) • menomonietheaterguild.com