Tag Archives: Dominic Lamb

GUYS & DOLLS

★★★★★

Bridge Theatre

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GUYS & DOLLS at the Bridge Theatre

★★★★★

“a captivating, energetic show that you’d bet on to run and run.”

The Bridge Theatre’s production of Guys and Dolls opened a year ago to rave reviews and now a new cast continues the party. This show really does feel like a knees up: my cheeks were aching by the interval and even I was persuaded to join in with a celebratory wiggle during the finale. Even if you have never seen this 1950 musical before, the immersive experience draws you into a world of gamblers, showgirls and fervent missionaries, and you will leave humming the excellent songs.

Part of what draws the audience in is the Bridge Theatre set (Bunny Christie), which includes seating on four sides of an immersive area which you can roam around with a standing ticket. Before the start of the show, the central area is laid out like a street map, vendors sell real hot dogs and pretzels from stands to the audience, and the ensemble circulate puffing on stage cigarettes. Bright neon and coloured bulbs (lighting design Paule Constable) decorate hanging signs that transport you to a busy Broadway, New York with the attention to detail on the road markings and sewer covers apparent up close. The immersive audience is encouraged to sit at diner tables and interact with the ensemble as the bustle increases. Given the geography of the room, the orchestra is not in a pit: it is elevated to the gallery, and flanked with more of the garish bulbs which shows off the pink glittery music stands and snazzy audience jackets. This is a show that’s not afraid to show how it operates, but that only adds to the magic.

 

 

And what magic. Especially when standing, the action is happening literally centimetres away. The acting therefore must be – and is – flawless. Emotions have to be portrayed both small and large for the audiences closer and those further away. Dancing (Arlene Phillips with James Cousins) from the talented supporting actors is super sharp. I loved the rowdy carrot routine from the showgirls in the Hot Box club. The gamblers in the crap game routines are totally committed even on narrow stage blocks, and the hat-ography is impressive.

Guys and Dolls is known for being the epitome of the comic musical, and the jokes here are mined expertly by the able cast. There is great physicality throughout from all characters, especially the anchor of the piece, Owain Arthur as Nathan Detroit. Timmika Ramsay also has perfect comic timing as Miss Adelaide, the aspiring wife and showgirl, intent on reforming her fiance. Ramsay is wonderful in the role; her voice is powerful and rich, even when singing sitting down, and with a cold!

“This refreshed cast does their material justice, and then some”

As a foil to this couple, Celinde Schoenmaker is excellent as the uptight Sarah, leader of the Mission for Lost Souls. She has an incredibly easy high register, and is able to inject character into her songs as well as excellent vocals. Watching her lose all abandon in Havana is a sight to behold – very reminiscent of having one too many drinks at a wedding. George Ioannides completes the quad at the centre of the story, again excellent vocally. He embodies the smoothness of a professional gambler, but with enough heart that his love story makes sense.

The supporting cast were also excellent, especially Jonathan Andrew Hume as Nicely Nicely Johnson. He leads the rollicking number Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat which is the biggest song and rightly gets multiple reprises.

 

 

As in previous immersive shows at the Bridge, blocks rise and fall through different scenes and all these potential hazards are well shepherded by stage hands dressed as cops. They get a well-deserved ovation for calmly co-ordinating the standing audience through the piece, as well as managing props and creating runways to the stage blocks for actors. Even watching the stage hands’ work up close doesn’t break the focus: it’s not often that you get to feel like you’re standing in the wings.

Nicholas Hytner’s strong direction combined with the amazing set and choreography bring out the very best of Damon Runyon’s characters and Frank Loesser’s much-loved music and lyrics. This refreshed cast does their material justice, and then some. In fact, Guys and Dolls could only be improved by serving up every audience member a mid-show dulce de leche, but in every other way, this is a captivating, energetic show that you’d bet on to run and run.


GUYS & DOLLS at the Bridge Theatre

Reviewed on 11th March 2024

by Rosie Thomas

Photography by Manuel Harlan

 

 

 

 

More five-star reviews:

LUCY AND FRIENDS | ★★★★★ | Soho Theatre | February 2024
STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE | ★★★★★ | Gillian Lynne Theatre | February 2024
THE BIG LIFE | ★★★★★ | Theatre Royal Stratford East | February 2024
HADESTOWN | ★★★★★ | Lyric Theatre | February 2024
NELKEN | ★★★★★ | Sadler’s Wells Theatre | February 2024
WHEN YOU PASS OVER MY TOMB | ★★★★★ | Arcola Theatre | February 2024
HILLS OF CALIFORNIA | ★★★★★ | Harold Pinter Theatre | February 2024
SELF-RAISING | ★★★★★ | Soho Theatre | February 2024
JEFFREY BERNARD IS UNWELL | ★★★★★ | The Coach & Horses | February 2024
COWBOIS | ★★★★★ | Royal Court Theatre | January 2024

GUYS & DOLLS

GUYS & DOLLS

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Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde

★★★

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

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Legally Blonde

Legally Blonde

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Reviewed – 24th May 2022

★★★

 

“It is a joy ride, although it does sometimes feel like you’re riding on a bus full of teenagers”

 

So where exactly did the stereotype originate? The Blonde Stereotype that is. Negative (‘dumb blonde’) or otherwise (‘blonde bombshell’), the perception of blonde-haired women has ignored the lack of evidence that suggests that blondes are less intelligent than other people. The first recorded ‘dumb blonde’ appeared in a French play in 1775; “Les Curiosités de la Foire’. She was dumb in the literal sense in that she didn’t talk much. Since then, blondes have had more fun, gentlemen have preferred them, and Hitchcock has fetishized them.

In 2001, writer Amanda Brown wrote about her experience as a blonde at Stanford Law School in various letters to friends which later became a novel and the box office success that was “Legally Blonde”. The musical, with music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin and book by Heather Hach, opened on Broadway in 2007 to mixed reviews. It’s West End run, starring Sheridan Smith, won three Olivier Awards, including Best Actress in a Musical for Smith.

The temptation is strong to focus on the possible relevance the story might have in today’s society. It is a cliché to state that times have certainly changed since the narrative themes burst forth into our consciousness. But it is safe to say that Lucy Moss’ staging is as self-aware as it can possibly be. Moss, riding on the global success “Six”, brilliantly uses the opportunity to satirise pretty much every stereotype possible. Nobody is safe. But what is extraordinary under her direction is the sheer sense of fun she brings to the production.

“Six” alumni Courtney Bowman commands the stage as the central character, Elle. Heartbroken after being dumped by her boyfriend Warner (Alistair Toovey) for not being serious enough, she decides she can win him back by showing she can achieve the same ambitions in the legal profession as him. In a plot line that loses touch with any form of credibility, she is accepted into the law school, rises high against odds and prejudices and eventually surpasses Warner. Along the way, everybody is put in their place, including misogynist law professors, jealous perjurers, closet gays. In fact, the characters who come out on top are the underdogs. The seemingly vacuous who ultimately reveal more depth than those who mock them.

Despite being hindered by a predominantly unmemorable score, the show still wins us over with its anergy and infectious comedy. And a couple of musical delights. The wit of O’Keefe and Benjamin’s lyrics shine through in particular during “Serious”, “Blood in the Water” and “Gay or European” which is surely the highlight of the night. It is miraculous how the words are sung so clearly with tongues so firmly set in the cheek. Homophobia, jingoism, and a whole host of other ‘isms’ are shot to the ground in a joyous few minutes of musical theatre snap, crackle and pop. Act Two opener, “Whipped Into Shape” showcases Ellen Kane’s slick choreography, pushing the all singing, all dancing ensemble to the limit.

“Legally Blonde” retains its comedy and loses none of its subversiveness in this brash and thoroughly camp production at Regents Open Air Theatre. It is a joy ride, although it does sometimes feel like you’re riding on a bus full of teenagers. Whilst there is little room for subtlety against the backbeat and spectacle, the current MT trend to introduce a Disney, cartoon-like, nasal shrillness to the delivery does grate over a couple of hours. But it’s worth it to reach the happy ending, buoyed up by the feel-good sensations that bounce the evening along.

 

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

 


Legally Blonde

Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre until 2nd July

 

Last show reviewed at this venue:
Romeo and Juliet | ★★★★ | June 2021

 

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