The stage has been set, the choreography perfected and the costumes fitted. The only thing left to do for the cast and crew of the KSU Theater's "Guys and Dolls" is to take the stage. After many weeks of daily practices, the curtain will open in McCain Auditorium this Thursday for the first performance

"I wouldn't say I'm really nervous, but I'm definitely excited," said Chelsey Fritch, who plays Adelaide, the ditzy leader of the Hot Box dancers. Fritch, senior in humanities, said her favorite part about preparing for "Guys and Dolls" was the musical numbers and seeing everything come together in the end.

The cast and crew held dress rehearsals Monday and Tuesday night and will have a preview performance today for more than 200 Kansas high school theater students, said R. Michael Gros, assistant professor in theater and director of "Guys and Dolls." After that, opening night will be Thursday, and the musical will run each night through Saturday with a matinee performance on Sunday.

"Having the high school performance gives the cast a chance to rehearse one final time in front of the audience and also gives the high school students a look at K-State's theater program," Gros said.

He also said having dress rehearsals is important because adding costumes and full sets to rehearsal can add major variables.

"The cast has been rehearsing this whole time in jeans and flip-flops, and being put into costumes and wigs can be very different," Gros said. "For the guys, it can be hard because before they were in a sweatshirt and now in full suits and hats from the period. It can be very restricting."

He also said having quick changes as short as 30 seconds in between scenes can be quite a challenge.

"This is also a rehearsal for the crew because they have to get the scene and costume changes down," Gross said. "The sound and lighting crews are also getting everything together and making it perfect. It's exciting when everything comes together so rapidly to share a finished performance with the audience."

Sarah Unruh, junior in theater and a member of the stage crew, said she believes the hardest part of the performance is keeping track of the many costumes.

"A lot of the Hot Box girls' costumes have little pieces that they take off on stage, so you have to make sure everything is together and everything is on straight," she said.

Unruh said she has never worked with costumes before and is helping out as part of a class she is taking.

With an orchestra in the pit to play the upbeat songs synonymous with "Guys and Dolls," another variable of the live performance is thrown in. During rehearsal, the orchestra was still tweaking and tuning their 1940s-style sound that is essential to the many song and dance numbers of the show.

"My favorite song is ‘If I Were A Bell,' because I can have fun with it and it's one of my character's big numbers," said Kristi Mason, who plays Sarah Brown, the pious leader of the Save-A-Soul Mission.

Mason, sophomore in applied music, said she probably will be nervous for the first performance.

"This is a lot bigger production than other plays I've done," Mason said. "The stage is a lot bigger."

She also said "Guys and Dolls" is a show everyone can enjoy.

"It's a classic Broadway musical, and I think that because there are so many different main characters, everyone can find someone to relate to," Mason said.

There is a diverse group of characters in the show, from the smooth-talking gambler Nathan Detroit to Sarah Brown and her band of missionaries.

Staci Horton, who is making her debut on the K-State stage as a recent transfer student, plays General Sarah Cartwright, Sarah Brown's stern boss.

"My favorite part about rehearsal is watching the actors become their character," said Horton, graduate student in music. "When they say a line completely differently and just step in and own the character, I think that's a really cool thing to see.

"The actors have done such a great job of making their characters fun and getting all the one-liners right. Visually, it's also really fun and high energy with all the costumes and sets. This is definitely not a show people will be leaving at intermission."

Rihanna recently explained details of her well-known experience with domestic abuse during an interview on "20/20" with Diane Sawyer, according to People.com. Parts of the interview also appeared on "Good Morning America."

In the interview, Rihanna described what was going through her mind as her then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, began physically assaulting her on their way to a pre-Grammy party in February.

In the interview, Rihanna said Brown "had no soul in his eyes" during the incident, and added there was "no person" when she looked at him.

The singer said the fight started after Brown received a text message from another woman while in the car, then lied about it. She explained she had repeatedly caught Brown lying to her. She would not let the subject drop and Brown could not deal with her persistence.

Rihanna said, looking back, she believes her relationship with Brown was unhealthy and it was "a bit of an obsession."

Brown pleaded guilty of felony assault as a result of the fight, has five years of probation and six months of community labor and one year of domestic violence classes. In addition, he is not allowed to contact Rihanna for five years.

For only the second time in the magazine's history, "O, the Oprah Magazine," will feature two women on its cover. Oprah Winfrey recently posed with Ellen DeGeneres in four different versions of the magazine's December cover, according to People.com.

The Web site described three of the four covers, saying one cover will feature both women dressed in all white, with Winfrey sitting on top of a large gift box. Another version will include Winfrey in a red dress and DeGeneres wearing white, wrapped in Christmas lights. The last cover shot the Web site described will be DeGeneres decorating a life-sized gingerbread house while Winfrey, dressed in a green dress, leans against the door frame.