Guys and Dolls

This is a musical of contrasts. The contrast between The Salvation Army’s Sarah Brown and gambler Sky Masterson who start poles apart but then love brings them together. The long engagement between Nathan and Miss Adelaide which he wants to prolong but she now wants to get married. All of which gives the actors plenty of chance to make the characters their own, which they did with gusto.

The hired-in scenery was good and there were several flats that had to be moved around for the various scenes. Although this was done quietly and efficiently by the back stage crew, it did tend to slow the action between scenes. Props were very good and in keeping with the period and story, enhanced by well designed lighting. Costumes captured the 1950s with the colourful ‘Dolls’, the Salvation Army uniforms and the men in their double-breasted suits, trilby or fedora hats and the two-tone shoes. Callum Yule and his band had the balance in sound just right. The quality of the solo and ensemble singing was high and everybody looked and sounded confident. The choreography by Bertie Witt and Jessica Punch was, as usual, superb and the highlights for me had to be the men in the Crapshooter’s Dance, Luck Be A Lady Tonight and the ensemble in Sit Down,You’re Rockin the Boat. Fugue for Tinhorns was a great opening number between Nicely Nicely Johnson played by the talented Tom Tapsfield , Benny Southstreet (Ian Blackmore) and Rusty Charlie (Jon Alcock). Vocally the balance between Sarah (Kate Dellow) and Sky (Matt Hall) was good but I did feel that Kate struggled slightly in the top register.

 Julie Atkinson as Miss Adelaide was spot on and funny, partnered by Simon Kerr-Davis as Nathan. There was obvious rapport between them and they brought out the comedy (I did get a bit irritated by Simon’s continuous hand gestures though!). Peter Crockford as Sarah’s grandfather Arvide Abernathy played an important part and his solo More I Cannot Give You was sung beautifully. A dignified performance. A small but important part was that of General Cartwright played by Lynn White. She gave a natural performance enjoyed by all. There was a very polished chorus with tuneful singing and lots of colour and fun in Havana and the Hot Box nightclub. All the smaller parts and cameo roles, too numerous to mention, were all very supportive and just as important.

The stage version Guys and Dolls is now unbelievably over 60 years old and Runyon’s characters and Loesser’s melodic score have endured and combine to give us a show that is colourful, brash and exuberant. It is still a firm favourite with societies and audiences alike. Thank you Director Sheila Hook and your very talented cast and team for a very enjoyable afternoon’s entertainment.

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