Guys and Dolls, Bridge Theatre (2024) Review

`Jonathan Andrew Hume and the cast of Guys and Dolls. Photo by Manuel Harlan`

Written by Penny for Theatre & Tonic

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.

It is a year now since Nicholas Hytner’s production of Guys and Dolls opened at London’s Bridge Theatre, garnering great critical and audience acclaim and cleaning up at the awards ceremonies. Its staging is a masterclass in creativity, with Bunny Christie’s glorious set incorporating a series of platforms rising and falling under neon signs that depict the New York landscape and then on to a wild night in Havana. The audience is seated around the action, on three levels, with the option to buy a promenade ticket that sees you moving around the staging area with the action, fully immersed in the live theatre experience.

Based on stories and characters created by Damon Runyan in the 1920s and 30s, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, Guys and Dolls is the definition of a classic musical, it first opened on Broadway in 1950. Now, over 70 years later, Hytner’s production feels like a fresh new show, giving its cast of gamblers, molls and Mission dolls a whole new lease of life.

As the production enters its second year, it has welcomed some new faces to its principal and ensemble cast. Original cast members Marisha Wallace, Daniel Boys and Cedric Neal have just picked up Olivier Award nominations for their performances, amongst nine nominations for the show. So, the new cast members have some pretty big shoes to fill but their performances made it immediately clear that they are just as phenomenal as their predecessors.

Returning to the production in the role of Nathan Detroit, a role he played for three months last year when original cast member Daniel Mays had some filming commitments, Owain Arthur is instantly likeable. Despite Nathan’s dodgy dealings as he tries to stage an illegal crap game, Arthur plays the part with a great deal of charm and humour. His relationship with long-suffering fiancée/, showgirl Miss Adelaide, brings some of the show’s biggest laughs as Nathan tries to avoid her matrimonial ambitions.

As for Miss Adelaide, Timmika Ramsay is perfectly cast. She has incredible stage presence and charisma and everything she does has tremendous energy. Her rendition of ‘Adelaide’s Lament’ is both hilarious and poignant, but it’s when her character is performing in the Hot Box club that Ramsay’s powerhouse vocals lift the roof off the theatre. Towards the end of the show, Adelaide’s duet with Sarah, ‘Marry the Man Today’, can sometimes feel a little anti-climactic but this production turns it into a rallying call for women to take control of their lives, it’s great fun and brilliantly performed with the two actors feeding off each other beautifully.

The role of Nicely Nicely Johnson is now played by Jonathan Andrew Hume. He makes his presence felt from the start of the show, an eternal optimist with a big grin and strong, clear vocals. Just when you think there have surely been enough showstopping numbers, his rendition of ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’ takes the atmosphere in the room to a whole new level. With the volume and energy building with every encore, Hume and the ensemble put in a performance that would convert the most hardened sinner.

Staying with the production from the previous cast, George Ioannides and Celinde Schoenmaker have fabulous chemistry as Sky Masterson and Sarah Brown. Their relationship has plenty of humour but it is when the two sing their more romantic songs that their voices soar and the audience is swept along with their story.

Although the principal cast is fantastic, the show would not be the huge success that it is without its brilliant ensemble, bringing to life the colourful characters, offering fantastic vocal harmonies and filling the space with the high-energy choreography from Arlene Phillips and James Cousins.

Credit also has to go to the hard-working crew who manage the movement of the audience members with the standing tickets around the set. They get to take a well deserved bow at the end of the show.

Standing throughout the show can be tiring but it is such an exhilarating experience, offering a chance to be right in the heart of the action and watch the cast performing up close and personal. Some people get a chance to sit at the tables in the Hot Box club and the actors weave in and out of the audience as they make their entrances and exits. It’s a unique and very special experience that I’d highly recommend for anybody who is able to stand for the show.

But wherever you are sitting or standing, this production is an incredible piece of theatre. It feels as fresh and original as it did a year ago and doesn’t have a weak link in its outstanding cast. It is a joyful reimagining of a musical theatre classic that, despite the familiar songs, story and characters, made me feel like I was watching Guys and Dolls for the first time.