Guys and Dolls

This is one of my favourite shows. I have been involved in three productions of
it, once as a chorus member and twice as MD. I also have experience of working
on a school stage and the difficulties of set changes with little wing space.
The hall seated in the region of 180 patrons but not all the seats were filled on
this opening night. The budget for the show is very tight and does not run to a
live orchestra or radio microphones. Whilst disappointing, it is easy to see why
these decisions were taken. The recorded orchestrations were, as you would
expect, excellent, if a little too loud in some of the solos. The singing was
tuneful from the soloists who were given a good start by the Fugue for
Tinhorns. The chorus singing was of a high standard, particularly in the final
number.
My main criticism would revolve around accents. In portraying New York in the
1950’s actors have to tread a fine line between a strong accent and clarity.
Tonight, I felt that some characters tried too hard with the accent, leading to
rushing the words and giving the audience some difficulty in following the story.
Even knowing the script as I do, I found it hard at times. Talking ‘upstage’ is
also a no-no unless you have radio microphones.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the show, as did the whole audience. The cast
in general were very talented and all the parts were played with gusto. I was not
aware of a single prompt being given. I have deliberately refrained from
mentioning individual cast members as it is Noda policy not to do so
The backstage crew had worked hard with the set. I was nice to see the cast
moving parts of the set. I fully understood why some scenes were played in
from of ‘the blacks’. It kept the show moving whilst huge scene changes were
going on – very quietly I am pleased to say. Well done to the stage crew !
The sets were generally very good but I would like to have seen a handle on the
Mission door so the cast would not have had to put their hands through the
window to open and close the door. Being finicky, a little more stage dressing in
the Havana scene would have been good. The idea of painting the inside of
glasses to suggest liquid did not work for me.

Costumes, all locally sourced, were very acceptable and the choreography
obviously well -rehearsed and very smooth. I did find it a little strange to see
different numbers of Hot Box dancers in different scenes. Traditionally, they
stay the same throughout the show.
Taken as a whole, the show was very well done. The comments above are only
minor and designed to help your future productions It is a long show, 2 hrs 45
minutes, but the time went very quickly – even sitting on plastic chairs that took
me back to my teaching days. Thank you, to Producer, John Whitchurch, for
your hospitality before the show, it was much appreciated.
I trust the remaining performances also go well and I wish you all the best for
your future productions.
Anthony Pomeroy
(Standing in for Julie Kibby)

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