Guys & Dolls

Long considered as one of the Broadway greats, I think Guys & Dolls should be on the list of musicals that all theatre fans must experience. Thanks to the hugely successful West End revival, a resurgence of Frank Loesser’s masterpiece on the amateur circuit has opened up this wonderful musical to a whole new generation of theatregoers.

Despite being packed with terrific songs, tricky dance numbers and comedy galore – the 1950’s New York spiel can sometimes seem schmaltzy and dated if the witty dialogue doesn’t have detailed nuance, making a for very long night if a company isn’t up to it!

It’s safe to say Director Steve Carrick led a marvellous production.  There are a couple of scenes in Guys & Dolls which I’ve always found a drag but I was really impressed that this production flowed well and the pacing in general was excellent.   Steve also brought out the best of the comedy that is laced throughout the script, with even the most subtlest of line landing a laugh – testament to not only Steve, but the exceptional delivery given by the leading performers. 

There was a couple of moments I thought the blocking and choreography were contending with each other rather than complementing.  This was most notable in the Havana scene where I felt some of the choreography could have been spaced a little further upstage to ensure the key scene between Sky and Sarah got the full focus it needed from the audience.   That’s not to say Sally Blake’s choreography didn’t hit the mark. I thought she did a brilliant job creating some inventive routines throughout the production with the partner work in Havana and the Crapshooters Dance being particular highlights. I have to say, it was a joy to see such a strong male ensemble in both quality and quantity!

There were some very strong performances on display at The Forum, particularly Rogan Devlin as Nathan Detroit and Katie Priss as his long suffering fiancé, Adelaide.  The pair played off each other superbly and brought the best out of each other.  They were well supported by Samuel Southern as the enigmatic Sky Masterson and Aimee Ashurst as the shy and meek Sarah Brown.   These four roles do the brunt of the legwork in the show and I thought as a quartet, they were fab!

I must also give a mention to Owen Thompson.  His portrayal of Nicely Johnston got more and more outrageous as the night went on culminating in the classic ‘Sit Down Your Rockin’ The Boat’ which everyone was waiting for – needless to say it got the biggest ovation of the night!

Another highlight of my night was to have the performance accompanied by an 11-piece orchestra led superbly by Emma Richardson.  There’s nothing better than being hit by a wall of sound when the overture starts and Emma’s line-up did not disappoint.

Compliments go to the stage crew for the swift scene changes. I felt that the setting and striking of some scenes by the ensemble could have been executed a little smoother so that it looked part of the action rather than just occasionally rearranging the furniture.!

Lighting on the whole, whilst simple, was perfectly serviceable and the sound was good throughout the performance. Whilst I could hear every word,  I felt the vocals were sitting just a little too high in the mix and always just on the cusp of feeding back which as an audience member always has me on the edge of my seat (and that’s coming from someone who likes his shows loud!) 

I can’t thank you enough for the invitation to slip across into District 11 to see your production – it was absolutely worth the trip. When it comes to the ‘traditional’ Broadway musical – they don’t come much better than Guys & Dolls and BODS production was no exception.  Confidently staged, brilliantly acted and I found myself singing the tunes all the way home!

Thank you!

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