Guys and Dolls

NODA
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LODS production of Guys and Dolls proved to be a high energy show with a cast that was full of character and charisma. We went straight from the recorded music to the overture in which each song was presented to us by a group of cast members. This was a great way to introduce us to the cast and the setting of the show. We were in with a bang and the energy didn’t stop there. Helen Sharpe, the Director, had us involved from square one by virtue of the work put in by her team and the cast. I love the way society members are nurtured into production roles and Declan Wright, as Assistant Director had obviously enjoyed the role.

The set was basic but creatively employed with great use of the LED strip lights and rectangles on the brick wall. The rest of the set consisted of one enormous revolving dice which had the mission hall, newsstand and the night club on its faces. This proved a bit cumbersome for the set team, I think, and finding marks, and anchoring this revolve under the dim light was valiantly attempted by the numerous crew. The smaller dice blocks were rearranged by a well drilled cast and used very effectively in a lot of situations especially in, ‘Sit down you’re rocking the boat’! The traffic lights and signposts helped to identify where we were along the way!

Music, played by a very talented live band, was fabulous. Rachel Plunkett, Musical Director, had coached the cast into some wonderful harmonies. James Green led the band on the night I was there superbly well. This music lends itself to big band sound and they certainly provided this.

Choreography, by Crystalle Cox, was fun, modern and used the casts talents to the maximum. Some of your cast members stood out by their fantastically rhymical movements and made the dances mesmerising to watch. Crystalle and her dance captains had obviously drilled the steps into the cast very thoroughly as the dances were full of movement and changes of direction filling the stage with colour and energy. The Crapshooters Dance and The Oldest Establishment dances were outstanding with men’s chorus supplemented by very talented female recruits.

Nicely Nicely Johnson, played by Matthew Wallace, and Benny Southstreet, played by Tom Nolan, and the rest of their betting fraternity led us in the great Fugue for Tinhorns, which has some intricate contrapuntal lines ably supported by the cast who were mirroring the beat in the background. This was a great way to introduce the principals in this show. Matthew and Tom both had great voices and strong stage personalities which made this partnership really good to watch. Their energy and humour in the roles persevered throughout the whole show. The whole crap-shooting cast played their parts beautifully from Big Julie, Peter Brown, to Lieutenant Brannigan, Simon Sharpe. They were all so confident in their roles that I was amazed to see such a wealth of talent amongst all the minor principal cast

Nadezhda Beaumont-Lockley as Miss Adelaide was superb. A gorgeous voice coupled with shed loads of personality brought this role to life and her delivery of the great one-liners was beautifully timed. Heather Syrett, as Sarah Brown, played this part to perfection. Her voice, especially in the duet, ’I’ve never been in love before’, was truly lovely. Well done, Heather, this was a lovely performance. The drunk scene was nicely underplayed and very funny! I did love the missionary band as well.

The Hot Box dancers were beautifully dressed in fluffy yellow outfits (which even produced and egg at one point) and had a great dance routine at the Hot Box club. And your whole routines, along with Adelaide, in  A Bushel and a Peck and later in Take Back your mink were great!

Nathan Detroit, played by Alex Abineri, was nicely intimidating and also possessed a good voice. You held your characterisation so well and delivered your wise cracks with great timing!

Sky (or should I call you Obadiah?) Masterson was played by James Cohen. This is always a bit of a difficult role to play as he goes from a jack-the-lad character to one who falls gradually in love with Sarah Brown. You took us all with you on this journey and had some spell binding moments and duets with Sarah (played by Heather Syrett). This was a great performance, James, well done.

There were really good American accents that were maintained throughout this very long show! The lighting was good but sometimes left the stage a bit dark. The follow spots filled in most of the gaps however I do love the moody tops lights especially in the garage crapshooter’s scene. Sound was good, only a few missed cues.

Costumes were lovely, especially the black and gold outfits and the yellow fluffy ones for the hot box dancers. The cast had great fedora hats, waistcoats and a lot of very shiny tie clips! Props were appropriate and completely innkeeping with the show.

This was a wonderful show and you all should be justly proud of the production that you put together. Thank you so much for inviting me, I enjoyed it enormously.

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SOUTHEND THEATRE SCENE
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Whilst attempting to stay under the radar of the local constabulary, as well as his long term fiancée, Miss Adelaide who just wants him to settle down, Nathan Detroit is looking for a venue to host a game of craps in order for him to make a few bucks amongst his gambling fraternity.   The build up to Detroit’s entrance is lead by his cohorts, Nicely Nicely Johnson, Benny Southstreet and Rusty Charlie played by Matthew Wallace, Tom Nolan and David Shipman as they sing Fugue for Tinhorns delivering some lovely harmonies.

Meanwhile, high-rolling gambler Sky Masterson takes on a bet with Detroit that leads him to strait-laced missionary, Sarah Brown, sparking an unexpected romance.

James Cohen leans into the Sky Masterson persona with ease as he attempts to woo the strait laced missionary, Sarah Brown, on a date in Havana.  Heather Syrett has been perfectly cast in this role as the pure but feisty missionary and shows off her singing range with some beautifully sung vocals, not least in the I’ll Know number which is just stunning.

It’s great to see different faces taking on the lead roles with LODS and Alex Abineri has landed himself a corker that he can really sink his theatrical teeth into as he takes on the role of wheeler dealer, Nathan Detroit, embracing every comedic nuance.  He is perfectly matched with the talents of Nadezhda Beaumont-Lockley who slots seamlessly into the part of the Hot Box Club showgirl, Miss Adelaide, Detroit’s long standing fiancée of 14 years who’s permanently fighting off a stress induced cold in an attempt to get Detroit to put a ring on her finger. Nadezhda not only commits 100% to maintaining that delightful New York drawl, she also gets to perform some of the show’s most popular numbers – A Bushel and a Peckwith the rest of the Hot Box dancers delightfully bedecked in bright yellow showgirl couture being one, Adelaide’s Lament (for the laughs) and Take Back Your Mink.  Kudos to the wardrobe department for producing some truly spectacular costumes in this show.

A mention for Lloyd Cast who provides a caring and measured portrayal of Arvide Abernathy, Sarah’s grandfather, and delivers a touching rendition of the ballad, More I Cannot Wish For.

As previously mentioned, the set is fairly minimalist but the use of boxes to look like dice have been re-imagined as chairs and various other furnishings throughout which works pretty well. The best use of the dice was during the Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat number with Matthew Wallace doing a fine job leading the action here with this show stopping song.

MD Rachael Plunkett has, as always, done a great job producing the overall vocal sound of the cast in the production; this is executed on the night by  James Green who took on baton waving duties, leading the band in situ beneath the stage who sounded tight on opening night.

Director, Helen Sharpe, has done a great job sticking to the traditional values of this production with the cast, which will be appreciated by loyal fans of the original film and musical.

Choreographer, Crystalle Cox, has ambitiously drilled the ensemble dancers with steely determination and the concentrated focus of each dancer is evident with such a high demand of nifty moves here. Luck Be A Lady Tonight is one such fabulously energetic number alongside the Havana number too.

A special mention has to go to Courtney Emery who has always been a constant within the LODS dance ensemble and chorus. This show has given her a more prominent position within the production and really allows her the opportunity to show off her fabulous dance moves and sassy attitude. She looks like she’s having a blast in this production and really drives the choreography when she’s on stage.