Luck be a lady tonight! Guys and Dolls is showing at Woking Theatre until July 30, Dermot Hoare was loving the razzamatazz in this 4.5 STAR review
Guys and Dolls first hit London in 1953 and was an instant success. It came in marked contrast to the previously highly acclaimed American musical shows, Annie Get Your Gun and Oklahoma, since it was based not on the glamorous world portrayed by Rogers and Hammerstein or Irving Berlin and Dorothy Fields, but on some Damon Runyan short stories depicting the low life characters of down town New York: The gamblers, the prostitutes, the crooks and con men.
Since its first appearance the show has been revived countless times both here and in America with a film adaption starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra screened in 1955. The latest revival being the current London production and tour – Woking being its final venue.
Guys and Dolls is essentially a love story: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boys gets girl. The boy in this case being Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler, and the girl, Sarah Brown, a pious Save-a-Soul Mission sergeant. But along the way there are fourteen wonderful Frank Loesser songs and a secondary love interest to provide the comedy – between Nathan Detroit, the organiser of an illegal floating crap game, and Adelaide, a show girl who hides her fourteen-year engagement to Nathan from her mother by pretending they are married with five children.
But it’s not all just about the songs and the story, it is also about the vibrancy of the dancing, and we have Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright and an excellent ensemble to thank for that. Adding to the pleasure is one of the most imaginative sets that I’ve seen on stage which sets the scene for anything the story calls for, from a sewer to a Cuban night club, from a New York street to the Hat Box Club so many congratulations to Peter McIntosh.
In the end though it is the cast who provide the entertainment and Richard Fleeshman as Sky Masterson, Maxell Caulfield as Nathan Detroit, Bethany Lindsell as Sarah Brown and Louise Dearman as Adelaide all deserve the highest praise for a job well done. However, I have to keep a special place for Jack Edwards as Nicely-Nicely Johnson who, among other songs, gave us the applause winning rendition of ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’. If you haven’t booked your seat, do so now as this is your last chance to catch a brilliant piece of musical theatre.
To book tickets visit atgtickets.com
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