Music and lyrics by
Frank Loesser
Book by Jo Swerling
and Abe Burrows
Directed by Jude
Colquhoun
Musical Direction by
Jenna Hinton
Q Theatre, Queanbeyan
to 12 November
Reviewed by Len Power
3 November 2017
One of the enduring, classic musical comedies, ‘Guys and Dolls’
first opened on Broadway in 1950 and remains popular to this day. It’s set in the late 1940s and is based mainly
on two Damon Runyon short stories about gangsters, gamblers and other characters
of the New York underworld around Broadway.
The unique dialect that Damon Runyon used in his stories for
his colourful characters – a mix of highly formal language and slang – is an
important aspect of this musical. Tina
Robinson as nightclub performer, Miss Adelaide, gets it right with her very
funny and appealing performance. Anthony
Swadling does well as the colourful Nathan Detroit and Chris Bennie displays
strong comic timing as Chicago gangster, Big Jule. The rest of the cast playing the underworld
characters are uneven in their ability to master the dialect resulting in many
lost laughs.
There are also strong acting performances from Kitty McGarry
as Salvation Army Sergeant Sarah Brown and Rob Grice in the sentimental role of
her father, Arvide Abernathy. Especially
notable in the Cuba nightclub scene was chorus member, Kara Sellars, who gave a
very funny performance as a latin dancer with attitude.
The singing is generally very good with strong work
from the chorus who manage the harmonies well, especially in ‘Sit Down You’re
Rocking The Boat’, led by Ben Wilson, in fine voice as Nicely-Nicely Johnson
and ‘Luck Be A Lady’, led by Steve Galenic.
Some of the leading players had difficulty singing their top notes. Musical direction by Jenna Hinton produced a
fine sound from the orchestra with good sound balances between performers and
cast.
The lighting was a bit hit and miss with performers working
often in shadow. Some lighting cues were
late on opening night. Performers
wearing hats need to be more aware that the hat brims are inclined to shadow their
faces. Set design by Thompson Quan-Wing
was simple and practical. The scene
changes often took too long.
Choreography by Belinda Hassall was fine for most of the
numbers, especially ‘Take Back Your Mink’ and the Cuban nightclub dance but was
less successful for the Crapshooters Dance where there was no clearly defined theme
for this lengthy dance number. Jennie
Norberry’s costumes were colourful and nicely reflective of the period.
‘Guys And Dolls’ is an audience-pleasing show and this
production should win new fans who haven’t seen it before.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s new ‘On Stage’ program on Mondays from
3.30pm and on ‘Artcetera’ from 9.00am on Saturdays.
