ALL DOLLED UP HINES & CO. BRING NEW SHINE TO AN OLD FAVORITE.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

Our welcome into the musical world of Damon Runyon comes courtesy of a dapper Maurice Hines, who we find standing, all attitude, in a pool of light. ``Come with me'' he shouts, executing a nifty set of taps and spins (The actor is a hoofer, remember) and causing the neon lights of Broadway to snap on with every hand gesture.

Meet Nathan Detroit the MC, who later morphs into Nathan the slickster. When you consider the beset-upon, ultra-henpecked Detroits of ``Guys and Dolls'' past (among them Nathan Lane, Bob Hoskins and Frank Sinatra), Hines' jiggly work is a new take ... and every bit a star turn. Partner him with the even more remarkable Alexandra Foucard as Miss Adelaide (more on her presently) and you've got some real freshness going down at the Wilshire Theatre.

That's the great thing about a musical as perfectly crafted and musically bountiful as ``Guys and Dolls.'' Play it traditional or jazz it up, Frank Loesser's musical is near impossible to flub. This production began at Washington, D.C.'s, famed Arena Stage where, after a near-sold-out run, the producers had the smarts to take it on the road. Should it reach Broadway, this ``Guys and Dolls'' would be a 50th-anniversary production. For now, the Southland should be glad that it's paying us a visit, if only for a quick two weeks.

Charles Randolph-Wright's production is consistently delightful, if not necessarily a barn burner. Real-life husband and wife Brian and Diane Sutherland don't quite reach Hines and Foucard's charismatic heights as gambler Sky Masterson and Salvation Army ``doll'' Sarah Brown. Randolph-Wright and choreographer Ken Roberson can't quite coax a show-stopper out of any of the numbers; at times it feels like character interaction is taking a back seat to pacing. The production doesn't exactly rush, but it doesn't pause much either.

Still, these are quibbles. All of the laughs in Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows' book are in the right places on stage. Randolph-Wright makes especially good comic use out of things like height disparities (alongside Curt Buckler's massive Big Jule, zoot-suited Carlos Lopez as Harry the Horse is positively dwarfish.) Clent Bowers makes Nicely-Nicely Johnson a man of, ahem, appetites. Clearly, the part invites girth, but he's got the vocal chops and the humor both for ``Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat'' and the musical's title track.

Hines' Nathan Detroit is every bit the hustler, a man with an answer for everything. No space for the ``oldest established permanent floating crap game''? No problem, baby. Adelaide's desperate to get married after a 14-year engagement? You know I love you baby. It's nice to watch a comic couple who are also clearly nuts about each other.

Foucard is a find. Leggy and sultry but unafraid to break out into a horsey cackle, she's a beautiful mixture of sultriness, philosophy and sheer ditz. Her scenes both with Hines and leading the Hot Box dancers play like fire.

A final note: Those with the good sense to check out this production might do well to arrive early. The Wilshire, home of most of the Broadway L.A. series as long as the Pantages is occupied, has quite possibly the worst parking facilities of any theater in the city.

GUYS AND DOLLS - Three and one half stars

Where: Wilshire Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; through April 28.

Tickets: $47 to $67. Call [phone].

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Nathan Detroit (Maurice Hines) and Miss Adelaide (Alexandra Foucard) love each other a bushel and a peck in ``Guys and Dolls,'' through April 28 at the Wilshire Theatre.