Guys & Dolls Jr

What a privilege it was to see a group of young actors performing the classic show and one of my favourite Musicals namely “Guys and Dolls”, this was no easy feat as the music can be difficult to sing, even for adult performers. Set in New York“Guys and Dolls” has lyrics and music by Frank Loesser and the story centres around the romances of two couples who are all very different characters. It also has some of the most iconic musical theatre songs in its score such as “Luck be a Lady” and “Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat”. 
Directed by Jackie Creer this young talented cast entertained us with excellent strong performances, all with a maturity that belied their ages. They included Scarlet Sandiford ,who had a lovely singing voice and suited the role of Salvation Army Sargent Sarah Brown beautifully and Joshua Nichols  gave a strong performance as her love interest Sky Masterson the gambler who accepts the bet that he won’t  be able to persuade Sarah to go to Cuba with him, they were very believable as the unlikely lovers and both maintained their very different characters throughout.  Niamh Hardman gave an excellent mature performance in the comedic role of the dizzy night club entertainer Miss Adelaide and she was well complemented by Mason Sandham who also gave a good comedic performance as her on off fiancé of fourteen years Nathan Detroit, who runs an illegal floating crap game. Ben Brooks as Nicely Nicely Johnson one of Nathan’s friends and fellow gambler expertly led the company in a superb rendition of “Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat”, Ben also has really good stage presence and rapport with the audience. I would love to mention everyone in this review but I don’t want to miss anyone out as there were very enjoyable performances from the actors in the supporting roles as well as from the ensemble who all performed as a team with loads of energy and enthusiasm all appearing to be enjoying themselves immensely. Generally diction, clarity of words and American accents were spot on and the pace of the show was just right.
The cast were accompanied by backing tracts, but I must admit I personally feel this type of classic show really needs a live band, and the tracks did sound as if they were a taken from old recordings, but I must stress this is only my personal opinion. However I must congratulate Choir Master Louisa Watson for her hard work, as all the singing which also had good harmonies when needed was a credit to her and the children.
Choreography by Heather Hodgson assisted by Jennie Millier was well thought out, just right for the show and was executed very well by all the cast.

The set, sound and lighting were as is usual from AMAS very good, the set was well designed and constructed, was suitable for the show and made good use of the stage area.Costumes were authentic for the era and the production, some thought must have gone into getting them right, so well done to all backstage crew.

 Congratulations to Director Jackie Creer and to all involved in bringing this excellent production to the stage, and for there leadership and dedication. Thank you for a very enjoyable evening, I hope to see you for your next production.

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