Guys and Dolls | Bridge Theatre

A Tony winning Broadway classic since 1950, Guys and Dolls has been reinterpreted and revived several times including the 1955 film Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, the beloved 1992 Broadway revival starring Nathan Lane, and the 2015 West End revival, the latter which I happened to see starring Oliver Tompsett, Simon Lipkin, Siubhan Harrison and hot ticket Rebel Wilson. With so many versions of Nathan Detroit’s crap game out there, it seemed impossible to bring anything new to the table until an immersive production was announced for the Bridge Theatre.

With immersive shows growing in popularity following the pandemic and especially when the Cabaret revival received acclaim, it seemed like a no-brainer the Bridge Theatre would hop onto the trend as they had their own immersive shows which received fanfare. I hopped onto TodayTix on Saturday and luck be a lady, my ticket was in the standing pit. So, was I rockin’ the boat or did this Guys and Dolls miss the mark?

Guys and Dolls

Cast

• Sky Masterson: Andrew Richardson
• Nathan Detroit: Daniel Mays
• Miss Adelaide: Marisha Wallace
• Sarah Brown: Celinde Schonmaker
• Nicely Nicely Johnson: Cedric Neal
• Benny Southstreet: Mark Oxtoby
• Rusty Charlie: Ryan Pidgen
• Big Jules: Cameron Johnson
• Arvide Abernathy: Anthony O’Donnell
• General Cartwright and Good Time Charley Bernstein: Katy Secombe

Rating: ★★★★★

What is Guys and Dolls about?

To keep you up to speed on the hustle and bustle in Depression-era New York, petty gambler Nathan Detroit has a massive crap game coming up. Low on cash and in need of a venue, he bets master gambler Sky Masterson $1000 that he can’t take Save-a-Soul missionary Sarah Brown on a date to Havana, Cuba. Meanwhile Nathan’s long suffering fiancée of fourteen years, nightclub singer Miss Adelaide, has a cold, which may marriage. Many hijinks ensue.

What were my thoughts on Guys and Dolls?

Guys and Dolls is considered the quintessential Broadway musical, and with that title immediately comes high standards when “revival” and “immersive” appear together. However, director Nicholas Hyner appears unafraid of this massive task in this phenomenal production. and showstopping is the best and worst word I can use to describe it. Frank Leossner’s bombastic numbers give the audience all the time in the world to applause yet the plot moves with such exhilaration thanks to Bunny Christie’s neontastic set design (complemented by Paule Constable’s vibrant lighting), which takes full advantage of the Bridge’s elevating platforms, and Dame Arlene Phillips’ slick choreography in collaboration with James Cousins.

Watching the characters navigate the messiness in their lives, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows’ charming and funny book is left intact while the updates in direction, ch to make it sexier. Even proving to be ahead of its time in some areas, all else I can say is this Guys and Dolls gives everything old and new theatregoers will want out of a new Guys and Dolls show.

What was the cast like?

So often the main quartet is split into Sky and Sarah as the alpha couple and Nathan and Adelaide as the beta, but these Guys and Dolls leads manage to bring depth to all four. Andrew Richardson brings old school suaveness and an amazing tenor voice to Sky Masterson in his professional debut. Daniel Mays (Line of Duty) is appropriately flustered as petty crook Nathan Detroit while stringing his long frustrated fiancée along. Celinde Schoenmaker (The Phantom of the Opera) brings gumption and passion to missionary Sarah while singing numbers like If I Were a Bell with her soaring soprano.

Amongst the main four guys and dolls, the standout was easily Marisha Wallace (Waitress, Hairspray) as Miss Adelaide in a performance that should finally put her on the map. Exuding unadulterated sexiness in her larger than life numbers and a smashing comedic partner with Mays’ Nathan Detroit, Wallace acts scenes often played for laughs with such sincerity and yearning. By the end of Adelaide’s Lament, you understand her frustration over being engaged to the love of her life for fourteen years to the point of lying to her mother she already has five children with another on the way.

Guys and Dolls’ large supporting cast is also spectacular. Cedric Neal (Back To The Future) showing off his humorous side and amazing pipes as Nicely Nicely Johnson alongside Mark Oxtoby’s Benny Southstreet, while Katy Secombe shines as Save-a-Soul’s leader General Cartwright and the gender swapped emcee of the Hot Box club Charley Bernstein.

Were there any standout moments?

The one song people often remember from Guys and Dolls is Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat. Always a fun number to show off Nicely Nicely’s chops, Cedric Neal’s charismatic performance plus Dame Arlene Phillips’ energetic choreography equals a showstopper that is so exhilarating even the audience members sat in the galleries at the performance I attended leapt up to a standing ovation. With each break the applause grew louder and by the end we were encouraged to dance and sing along.

Having said the above, a very close second is the entire Havana sequence. Fast paced, fun and sexy while having in a wink to LGBTQ community by Sky and Sarah visiting a very different kind of bar (let’s say she doesn’t get jealous and start a drunken brawl by him dancing with a woman), the audience is given full reign to join in. After that, it becomes a sweeping romance as Sky and Sarah pay homage to Singin’ In The Rain as they dance the night away on lamp posts bathed in blue lighting.

What was the immersive experience like?

If you want to truly experience this Guys and Dolls, the only way is in the standing pit. However, I’m going to provide some warnings for people who aren’t able to stand or move around for too long or are autistic – I’m dyspraxic with hypersensitivity to loud noises, bright flashing lights, with a dislike for crowds and standing for too long, so you can thank me for being brave enough to step out of my comfort zone for reviewing purposes:

Despite all of the above, I still had a good time in the pit and I say it’s worth doing at Guys and Dolls because you’re so close to the action. As soon as you enter the auditorium, you can walk around Bunny Christie’s vibrant New York set including shop signs, barber posts and stop signs as you hear subway trains roaring past and taxi horns beep. The front of house walk around wheeling carts with pretzels, hot dogs and fedora hats, or if you’d like to have a sit down before the show there are diner tables in the corner where you can read the paper and take have a look at the menu (sadly no cheesecake was available).

I also ended up making my theatrical debut in the role of Insignificant Hot Box Patron. During the interval the theatre turns into the Hot Box Club as Cedric Neal sings jazzed up versions of the songs before a fantastic tap dance break. I sat at one of the tables and ordered a dulce de leche (of course) chatting with some of the Hot Box girls. Then the block went up, and I watched Marisha Wallace’s glorious version of Take Back Your Mink.

The end of the show turns into what I call a musical theatregoer’s dream nightclub as the stage is lowered and we dance away to Marisha Wallace’s amazing remix of Luck Be A Lady (which I need on my Spotify playlist ASAP). I’m normally the worst in these situations as I hate clubs/loud music and crowds, but I had so much fun. I managed to get selfies with Marisha Wallace and Celinde Schonmaker and suddenly got roped into a dance circle with Daniel Mays and gamblers until somebody accidentally pushed me and my dulce de leche split on the floor.

Besides my clothes being stained which I could easily hide with my coat, luckily I was OK.

What are my overall thoughts?

The Bridge Theatre made a gamble that certainly paid off in this charming, thrilling and spectacular revival of Guys and Dolls. With a phenomenal cast who bring new essence to classic characters and sumptuous visuals from some of theatre’s finest creatives, I cannot recommend this production enough. If you want that spark of live theatre while having fun, see this as soon as you can. Dare I say it, give this Guys and Dolls of all the awards.