Jamie Parker in Guys and Dolls at Chichester Festival Theatre. Picture: Roy Tan
Guys and Dolls continues at the Chichester Festival Theatre until 21 September.
It looks very much as though Chichester has scored another mega-hit with Frank Loesser’s musical fable of Broadway (book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows). It’s big, brash and boasts a brilliant score that is stylish, witty and packed with tunes, many that have become classics.
Its Broadway success led of course to it being filmed in 1955, starring Marlon Brandon, Jean Simmons, Vivian Blaine and Frank Sinatra.
Based on one of the short stories written by Damon Runyon and set in and around New York’s Times Square with its colourful inhabitants, the show revolves around the antics of Nathan Detroit who, when not avoiding the wedding plans of long term fiancée Miss Adelaide, is desperately trying to find a venue to hold a crap game. It also tells of the unlikely love match between inveterate gambler Sky Masterson and Salvation Army Officer Sarah Brown.
American director Gordon Greenberg brings his Broadway experience to Chichester. It’s a lean, tight production which moves at a cracking pace with smooth transition of scenes. His staging has many innovative touches and he is well served by Peter McKintosh’s set and Paul Groothuis’ lighting. The musical is well cast and Greenberg extracts the best from all the performers.
The part of Masterson fits Jamie Parker comfortably and is nicely underplayed. He adds to the hard-bitten character a touching gaucheness that emerges during his wooing of Miss Sarah. His voice is well suited to the ballads – ‘I’ll Know’ and ‘My Time of Day’ – and he proves that he is no slouch when it comes to going up tempo when he launches into ‘Luck Be a Lady’.
Clare Foster, the object of his affection, moves deftly from primness to a softer, sensual demeanour. Her tipsy cavorting in the Havana nightclub and subsequent cat fight is finely executed. Foster has a sweet singing voice and her duet with Parker (‘I’ve Never Been in Love Before’) shows off well the chemistry developing between their characters. Occasionally, however, a slight shrillness creeps into her singing and one wonders if a drop in tone would help. She has great fun in the number ‘Marry the Man Today’.
There is excellent comedy from Peter Polycarpou as Nathan Detroit as he juggles avoiding matrimony with devising ways to get the readies to re-float the oldest established crap game. He is aided by sidekick Nicely-Nicely Johnson, played by Harry Morrison and looking very much like Sgt. Bilko. There is a streak of goofiness in his portrayal which brings freshness to his big number, ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’, with its jazz scat singing.
But the highlight of the show is Sophie Thompson as Miss Adelaide. She delivers a masterclass in comic playing and timing, giving a knock-out performance that squeezes every ounce of comedy from the part. Her vocal transitions are a hoot as her voice swoops into a lower register. Amidst the comedy she retains the pathos from her yearning for the settled life of marriage. Her delivery of ‘Adelaide’s Lament’ has a freshness that almost convinces that it is being heard for the first time.
If there is any disappointment in the production it is with Carlos Acosta’s choreography (Andrew Wright is co-choreographer). Apart from a couple of gymnastic and acrobatic routines, it lacks the sparkle and excitement of past Chichester productions.
Barrie Jerram
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