York Theatre Royal until Saturday 17th March 2018. Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
3 ½ ***
York Light Opera Company bring the musical fable of Broadway, Guys and Dolls, by Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, to the stage at York Theatre Royal.
The show opens with a lively dance number where the stage is full of the hustle and bustle of 1950’s New York. The story revolves around two couples, a crazy mixed bunch of gamblers, a gangster, some street missionaries and beautiful showgirls, The Hot Box Girls.
Nathan Detroit (Andy Roberts), is intent on setting up an illegal craps game and needs to find somewhere to host it, a place where he won’t be caught out, much to the disapproval of his fiancée of 14 years, Miss Adelaide (Rachael Wilkinson), a cabaret singer. He has somewhere in mind but has to fork out $1000, money he just does not have. He comes up with the idea of making a bet that he cannot lose, is there such a thing (?), with Sky Masterson (George Morgan), who will bet on anything and usually wins. The bet involves Masterson convincing Salvation Army Sergeant Sarah Brown (Annabel Van Griethuysen) to accompany him on a date to Havana. Needless to say, the charming Masterson, in all his bravado, manages to pull it off, but beneath the veneer we can see a softer side and the obvious chemistry between the characters.
The large ensemble cast showed great chemistry, that word again, worked well together and looked like they were having a blast. The orchestra, conducted by John Atkin, were uplifting and a real asset to the whole performance.
The four leads hold their own throughout the show. Roberts plays Detroit as a cheeky, loveable chancer that you can’t help siding with. Wilkinson plays his long suffering fiancée, with her squeaky New York accent, with a vulnerability and sweet innocence, belying the fact that she is a cabaret singer. Morgan and Van Griethuysen are making their first appearances with York Light, both who I would love to see again. The two, but especially Van Griethuysen, gave great vocal performances and I have already mentioned showed a lovely chemistry together and I really wanted the “guy” to get the “doll”.
There were a few teething problems on the opening night, namely the noisy scene changes from behind the curtain and a couple of mike hiccups. I’m glad to say that they weren’t too much of a distraction and I’m sure will improve as the run continues.
Guys and Dolls is really just a sweet tale about saints and sinners, but ultimately redemption, that in parts made me laugh out loud, what more could you ask?