GUYS AND DOLLS
GUYS AND DOLLS
CAODS at the Civic Theatre
24.02.15
The low-lifes steal the show in Ray Jeffery's hugely enjoyable, perfectly paced Guys and Dolls.
The set is a faded Picture Post New York, with the Hot Box Tardis shoe-horned between the fire-hydrants and the news-stands. But the Damon Runyon denizens of the devil's own city are wonderfully colourful: Harry the Horse [Tony Catchpole] in a splendid check suit, hyperactive Benny Southstreet [David Gillett] spivvy Nathan Detroit [Kevin Richards in a terrible toupée] and a florid Nicely Nicely from the excellent David Slater, who also gets to gatecrash the Havana party as a stylish roué.
The male chorus from Blossom Time have the lion's share of the hoofing, with some challenging choreography impressively executed – those two-tone crap-game shoes.
The love interest is provided by Cassie Estall's Sarah with the 100% eyes and Ian Gilbert, cast against type as Sky, but bringing an engaging innocence and a quizzical, compelling stage presence to the role.
Nathan has dame trouble of his own, in the exemplary Adelaide of Robyn Gowers – a flawless performance from the nasal tones to the strategically placed kitchen shower.
A stylish show, with Bette Davis centre stage, cigarette holders, and silver lamé for the wedding. Musically polished, too, with Patrick Tucker's band on fine period form in, for instance, the backing for If I Were A Bell.
And the death throes of vaudeville are neatly captured, in the gorgeous Hot Box Girls, and in the delicious double act of Benny and Nicely for the title number.
I had forgotten what a busy show this is. When the curtains opened we were treated to a wonderfully stylized version of Broadway - colourful, brash, buzzing with life and excitement-and this continued throughout. It would have been hard to sustain the almost cartoon-like physical attitudes of the “Guys” in the early scenes, with their highly exaggerated movements but this set the tone for some of the best and most differentiated characterization of some of the smaller principals, particularly Benny Southstreet (David Gillett) and Harry the Horse (Tony Catchpole), that I had ever seen before in this show. Without this initial exaggeration the subsequent characterization may have seemed forced or just strange but as it happens it was both funny and clever. Of course, the other main Broadway regulars, particularly Nicely-Nicely (David Slater), Nathan Detroit (Kevin Richards) and Miss Adelaide (Robyn Gowers), also served up extremely good characterizations but they were lucky enough to have wonderful songs and sufficient dialogue to develop them. I loved the constant grazing of Nicely-Nicely, the hilarious relationship between Nathan and Adelaide and the consistency with which they maintained their bizarre engagement. All three were flawless in their delivery and timing.
The Broadway visitors, meaning Sarah Brown (Cassie Estall) and Skye Masterson (Ian Gilbert), represented a touch of theatrical sanity amidst the Broadway madness. Sarah was clearly portrayed as the beautiful yet untouchable ice queen but how quickly she thawed after a couple of Dulce de leches. Skye was atypical in some ways, not a classic high baritone and yet his character portrayal was spot on - smooth, quick-witted and charming. These two made a delightful couple that contrasted well with Mindy’s misfits.
The chorus was extremely strong and I have to praise the men in particular, for their dancing skills as much as their vocal strength. Both The Oldest Established and the Crapshooters scenes were especially good, the best I have seen a male chorus dance in a while. The Hot Box girls were great but I expected them to be. The biggest surprise was the riotous Havana number, which seemed to go on for a long time but was nevertheless entertaining throughout. The costumes were colourful and plentiful, providing variety and interest, while the attention to detail with accessories, such as shoes, flowers and smaller props was also very good. CAODS showed us why Guys & Dolls remains a musical theatre favorite.
I had forgotten what a busy show this is. When the curtains opened we were treated to a wonderfully stylized version of Broadway - colourful, brash, buzzing with life and excitement-and this continued throughout. It would have been hard to sustain the almost cartoon-like physical attitudes of the “Guys” in the early scenes, with their highly exaggerated movements but this set the tone for some of the best and most differentiated characterization of some of the smaller principals, particularly Benny Southstreet (David Gillett) and Harry the Horse (Tony Catchpole), that I had ever seen before in this show. Without this initial exaggeration the subsequent characterization may have seemed forced or just strange but as it happens it was both funny and clever. Of course, the other main Broadway regulars, particularly Nicely-Nicely (David Slater), Nathan Detroit (Kevin Richards) and Miss Adelaide (Robyn Gowers), also served up extremely good characterizations but they were lucky enough to have wonderful songs and sufficient dialogue to develop them. I loved the constant grazing of Nicely-Nicely, the hilarious relationship between Nathan and Adelaide and the consistency with which they maintained their bizarre engagement. All three were flawless in their delivery and timing.
The Broadway visitors, meaning Sarah Brown (Cassie Estall) and Skye Masterson (Ian Gilbert), represented a touch of theatrical sanity amidst the Broadway madness. Sarah was clearly portrayed as the beautiful yet untouchable ice queen but how quickly she thawed after a couple of Dulce de leches. Skye was atypical in some ways, not a classic high baritone and yet his character portrayal was spot on - smooth, quick-witted and charming. These two made a delightful couple that contrasted well with Mindy’s misfits.
The chorus was extremely strong and I have to praise the men in particular, for their dancing skills as much as their vocal strength. Both The Oldest Established and the Crapshooters scenes were especially good, the best I have seen a male chorus dance in a while. The Hot Box girls were great but I expected them to be. The biggest surprise was the riotous Havana number, which seemed to go on for a long time but was nevertheless entertaining throughout. The costumes were colourful and plentiful, providing variety and interest, while the attention to detail with accessories, such as shoes, flowers and smaller props was also very good. CAODS showed us why Guys & Dolls remains a musical theatre favorite.
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