Maxwell Caulfield and Richard Fleeshman in Guys and Dolls at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool and Touring. Picture: Matt Crockett
Guys and Dolls continues at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool until 19 March and then tours until 30 July.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Chichester Festival Theatre has become the theatre to watch, with West End transfers and regional touring of at least one production per season coming out of the regional powerhouse. This revival of Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling’s musical was originally staged there in 2014 and now begins a UK tour with a sister company continuing the show’s residency in the West End.
Headlining this new UK touring company is Richard Fleeshman (Sky Masterson), Louise Dearman (Miss Adalaide), Maxwell Caulfield (Nathan Detroit) and Anna O’Byrne as (Sarah Brown). As a collective body they embrace the characters fittingly and the chemistry between the couples are electrifying.
Dearman delights as the constantly waiting bride-to-be Miss Adelaide, bringing a fresh perspective to the role and pulling out the comedy stops to make this a role to remember.
Caulfield, as ‘crap shoot’ organiser Nathan Detroit, takes a little while to find his stride, but when he does he flies on full tilt, giving the character a nice comic edge and exuding warmth.
Fleeshman is perfect casting as the charismatic gambler Sky Masterson. Not only does he make the role his own, but he brings real depth to the character, and sings the role with real understanding and gravitas.
O’Byrne completes the quartet, her playing of Sarah Brown is understated and beautifully portrayed.
Strong support also comes from Mark Sangster as Benny Southstreet and Jack Edwards as Nicely-Nicely Johnson. Edwards almost steals the whole show with a fierce delivery of ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ that deserves the three separate rounds of applause from the Liverpool audience.
Played out on Peter McKintosh’s simple yet visually striking set, director Gordon Greenberg keeps the show moving. The pace is fluid and tight and there are plenty of surprises to be found, especially during larger ensemble scenes and numbers.
Larry Blank’s musical arrangements are superb and never has Frank Loesser’s music sounded so rich and vibrant. But the stars of the show for this reviewer are Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright for their sensational choreography – vibrant, powerful, sexy, comic. The duo has pulled out all the stops to make this a show to remember – especially during the ‘Crapshooters Ballet’ and Havana nightclub scene.
Considering the cast had only two performances before critics were allowed in shows just how strong this production of Guys and Dolls is. Yes, some of the supporting actors could work on their accents, and pull up the energy to match that of the leads, but when a show is delivered with such vibrancy and panache it’s hard not to leave the theatre singing the songs and wanting to book to see the show again.
Kevin Byrnes
www.guysanddollsthemusical.co.uk
Readers may also be interested in:
Guys and Dolls extended run – Samantha Spiro, Richard Kind and Oliver Tompsett cast – News
Comments are closed.