One of the hottest tickets in town, Guys and Dolls is currently filling seats at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.
The show - one of the all time musical theatre greats - is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably "Pick the Winner".
The premiere on Broadway in 1950 ran for 1200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The show has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.
The plot involves a Broadway citizen by the name of Nathan Detroit, who maintains the oldest established permanent floating craps game in New York. Seeking a location for his latest high-stakes game, Nathan has an opportunity to rent out the Biltmore Garage, but he needs $1000 to do so. He decides to extract the money from high-rolling Sky Masterson, known for his willingness to bet on anything.
He wagers that Sky will not be able to talk Salvation Army girl, Sarah Brown into going on a date with him. While Sky goes to work on Sarah, Nathan endeavours to fend off his girlfriend Miss Adelaide who has developed a psychosomatic cold because of her frustrating 14-year engagement to the slippery Mr. Detroit.
This production, fresh from the team at BMOS, breathes new life into the script. The set is clever and slick, allowing for a clever, quick method for scene changes - something attempts at big name shows can fall foul of.
But what shone was the chemistry of those in stage and the quality of the performances.
Annabel Pilcher gave a faultless performance as Sarah Brown, with a beautiful take on a role which is incredibly vocally challenging. Alongside James Gordanifar as Sky Masterson, the duo bounced off each other with a beautifully believable chemistry.
Pat Pryce had the audience in the palm of his hand as the loveable ‘villain’, Nathan Detroit who, alongside a perfectly characterised performance from Jo Smith as Miss Adelaide, gave the audience some laugh-out-loud moments.
However, for me, Alex Broadfield absolutely stole the show as Nicely Nicely Johnson, with his performance of ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat’. With an energy and charisma worthy of any stage in the land, the audience were waiting for the song - and Broadfield absolutely delivered.
However, credit should also go to the supporting cast too. This is, at times, a real ensemble piece and everybody stepped up to the plate. I don't think there was a single person in the auditorium who left disappointed tonight, other than mourning the fact it had come to an end!
Guys and Dolls runs at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 2nd July. For more information or to get your tickets, head online to atgtickets.com.
