A performance of “Guys and Dolls” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. (Brett Beiner)

“If it gets around Chicago that I went to a prayer meeting, no decent person will talk to me!”

- Big Jule in “Guys and Dolls”

Sin and salvation form an odd power couple in Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls,” a true classic of American musical theater that’s tuneful and fresh nearly 75 years after it premiered.

And Drury Lane Theatre’s new staging of the beloved 1950 musical finds the funny in its sturdy old bones.

Subtitled “A Musical Fable of Broadway,” the show depicts a fairytale of New York City populated by wise guys with names like Angie the Ox and Nicely-Nicely Johnson. The characters were created by Damon Runyon, whose short stories provided the source material. They speak in Runyon’s very own slanguage and say things like, “As you can see, the boys are fatigued from weariness.”

The plot is simple and symmetrical — while gamblers search for a spot to shoot craps, two sets of lovers roll the dice in their relationships. One couple has just met; the other pair has been engaged for 14 years, and their long engagement is referred to as a “chronic condition.”

As “good, old reliable” Nathan Detroit, Jackson Evans brings first-class comic energy and Borscht Belt schtick. And Alanna Lovely, as his put-upon fiancée Adelaide, unloads a satchel full of sass as a nightclub performer whose patience is running lower than her neckline.

A performance of “Guys and Dolls” at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace. (Brett Beiner)

Fabled gambler Sky Masterson is played with smooth charm by Pepe Nufrio, whose slight accent — the actor is from Madrid — adds an unexpected facet to the timeless gem “Luck Be a Lady.” The object of his affection is missionary Sarah Brown, portrayed by Erica Stephan, whose clear, ringing voice is ideal for “If I Were a Bell” and other tunes. (Stephan won a Jeff Award last year for a very different role — Sally Bowles in Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Cabaret.”)

Also not to be missed: Actor Nkrumah Gatling delivers a top-shelf performance of one of the great showstoppers in Broadway history, “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.” Gatling sailed on a sea of gospel fervor and won the biggest applause of opening night.

The production is choreographed and directed by Dan Knechtges, who earned a Tony nomination for “Xanadu” on Broadway. Here, he puts athletic dancers through a series of sensational moves as the story jumps from Broadway to Havana and from the Save-A-Soul Mission to the sewers of New York City.

With solid accompaniment by the Drury Lane Orchestra, a neon-tinged set and a crackerjack cast animating Loesser’s immortal music and lyrics, this “Guys and Dolls” holds a winning hand.

“Guys and Dolls” runs through June 9 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. For tickets, visit drurylanetheatre.com.