Performance: Guys and Dolls
Performed by: The Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Date: 7th July 2015
Location: The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Barbican, London, United Kingdom
Seat: G19
Rating: 5/5
I am incredibly lucky because my boyfriend and many of his friends attend The Guildhall School, so I get to see a lot of their productions for free and have seen a few now (which I will review later!) So thanks to Matty for the free tickets as he was Production Assistant (good production assisting indeed!)
The first thing to say is that even though the productions are marketed as 'amateur' they are anything but, everything from the singing to the set designs are amazing, and definitely West End worthy.
The productions are part of the students curricular, so they often have to work on the productions and they are just incredible!
Guys and Dolls is a classic piece of Broadway musical theatre written by Frank Loesser and is coming back to London's West End this Christmas I do believe (can't wait to get tickets!) and premiered in Broadway in 1950. It is based on two short stories by Damon Runyon, and basically follows the story of Nathan Detroit, his search for the perfect location for his scrap game, his fiancee Adelaide's desperation to get married as well as the enigmatic Sky Masterson and his 'commitment' to the mission, and more its band leader Sarah Brown, all stemming from a single bet.
The first comment to make about the production was the impressive New York accents!
The whole production was excellent. The dancing and singing made so very famous by Frank Sinatra in the film adaption was more than lived up to! I have to admit that I myself haven't actually seen the 1955 film adaption (Shame on me!) It was very entertaining and engrossing .
The songs were delivered very well, some making the audience laugh out loud (particularly Adelaide's Lament in which she sings of how her lack of marriage is giving her a persistent cold!) and some making us dance in our seats (Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat) and all of the actors had the choreography down to perfection.
The dancing scene which stuck out the most was the scene in Havana, in which Sky and Sarah are caught up in the lively atmosphere of the evening. For effectively the whole scene there are dancers in the centre stage, dancing together in sync with the two main actors joining later, and the scene came together so well, which had several laugh out loud moments! Both the dancing and the choreography by Bill Deamer was very impressive
The set design was very simple but both impressive and effective. It was representative of the hustle and bustle of New York City with flashing signs, which moved, setting the scene for the audience and several props were introduced to each scene, creating the scene image further. ]
All in all for what was marketed in as an amateur musical, Guys and Dolls by Guildhall was a very professional, engaging and fun musical to watch and enjoy and they did a brilliant job! When the official West End production comes to London at Christmas, definitely go and get tickets its fantastic!
