Theatre review: Guys & Dolls glitters amid bedazzled cabarets and Broadway marquees
A “musical fable” look, plus a few strong performances and dance numbers help freshen up song-and-dance classic
Guys & Dolls. Photo by Moonrider Productions
The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Guys & Dolls at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage to June 30
THE ARTS CLUB Theatre Company’s highly anticipated production of Guys & Dolls brings the classic Broadway musical to life with gorgeous style and some fresh, inventive ideas that breathe new life into the iconic show. Under the direction of Ashlie Corcoran, there’s a dusting of magic throughout the show, which really comes alive near the end.
Set in 1950s New York, this rom com tells the parallel stories of two couples—high-rolling gambler Sky Masterson (Jonathan Winsby) and evangelist Sergeant Sarah Brown (Chelsea Rose); and less successful gambler Nathan Detroit (Josh Epstein) and his girlfriend of 14 years, showgirl Adelaide (Madeleine Suddaby). Nathan bets Sky that he won’t be able to take straight-laced Sarah on a date. Meanwhile, poor Adelaide is left on the sidelines lamenting her persistent unmarried status as Nathan runs around town tending to his illegal gambling ring.
Winsby brings great bravado to Sky, complete with rich vocals, and Rose matches him with an equally confident Sarah and soaring soprano voice. Hearing the pair sing Frank Loesser’s beloved score is a treat, but the pacing of some of these songs seem rushed in this production, perhaps in an effort to keep the action moving briskly. The speedy tempo of songs like “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” and “I’ll Know” doesn’t allow Rose and Winsby to fully share the beauty of their vocals, especially during sustained notes, nor allow the songs to fully achieve the intended emotional effects.
Epstein’s Nathan is sly, mischievous, and wonderfully flawed in all the right ways, and one can’t help but root for him as he tries to balance his underhanded dealings with his relationship with Adelaide. Suddaby delivers a standout performance here, oozing with playful attitude alongside nuanced emotional shading and sometimes touching vulnerability. Fortunately, she’s able to take the time she needs to do justice to songs such as the gem “Adelaide’s Lament”, where she masterfully combines comedic timing, character movement, and first-rate singing. Other strong numbers include the duet “Sue Me”, with the hilarious Epstein, and “Marry the Man Today” with Rose, which roars with girl power.
Another star of the show is the visuals, courtesy of Scott Penner’s set and Gerald King’s lighting designs. Perhaps inspired by the original Broadway production’s tagline, “A musical fable of Broadway”, Penner and King’s work creates a fantasy-like, Broadway-flavoured utopia. The stage sparkles with a seemingly endless number of lights, Times Square and Broadway-inspired marquees, and brightly lit, life-sized letters of the alphabet that are reconfigured around the stage to serve as set pieces for the actors to use.
Within this concept, the club that Adelaide performs at, The Hot Box, is elevated to a bedazzled cabaret, and the opening visual of the Havana club that Sky and Sarah visit is breathtaking, with performers positioned on and around the giant letters, under the glow of King’s lighting. Christine Reimer’s costume designs also offer ample eye candy, notably with the Hot Box girl dancers’ costumes, which include glittery tights, luxurious-looking mink coats, and shape-shifting outfits in “Bushel and a Peck” that turn from fruits and vegetables into glitzy showgirl wear.
While the look of the show is beautiful, Corcoran at times relies a bit too much on the conceptual scenery, opting out of using a literal set for Adelaide’s dressing-room scenes. This causes some confusion, as the actors appear to be in some type of mysterious abyss, albeit a dazzling one. Audiences may recognize this idea from, say, Chicago, where they’re called upon to use their imagination to fill in the space onstage, but it’s a concept that feels inconsistent with the rest of this more traditionally staged Guys & Dolls.
Shelley Stewart Hunt’s choreography lights up the show with classic Broadway pizzazz, and the Hot Box club numbers “A Bushel and a Peck” and “Take Back Your Mink”, as well as the Havana dance sequence sparkle. High-kicking Shannon Hanbury leads the show’s dancers, and her sultry Latin-themed dance duet with Paul Almeida in the Havana section is fun to watch.
While the show has strong features, it’s not until “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”, near the end, that everything truly comes together, and the show takes flight. Choreography, lighting effects, and strong vocals and energy from the cast combine to produce a show-stopping number, under the leadership of the charismatic Tenaj Williams as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, equipped with powerhouse vocals. It’s then that the show finally soars with the full-on Broadway magic teased throughout the show.
From that point on, this production is elevated to a terrific new level, but it would have been nice to have turned that full-powered switch on a bit earlier. Still, this production of Guys & Dolls unquestionably glitters, and it’s fabulous to see the Arts Club keeping classical musical theatre alive and fresh. 
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