At RWCMD |
| Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama- Guys and Dolls , Sherman Theatre , April 8, 2004 |
| This review first appeared in the Western Mail Musicals in showbiz lore are sure-fire winners – as far as the box-office is concerned, but not necessarily so critically. I only need mention Carrie, perhaps, an inglorious moment on the chequered cv of Terry Hands as one of the great floperoos of all time. That was a musical. Critics hated it - and it bombed at the box-office too. Guys and Dolls, though, can’t lose and still wins over any audience despite its age (it was premiered over half-a-century ago) and its Americanisms. Vivid figures drawn from Damon Runyan’s sketches of low-life New York, tidied up and humanised so we can more easily accept the daft idea of the original hoods, killers, exploiters, drug-dealers and ruthless Mafioso gangsters, all united by an addiction to gambling, having to pretend to fall in love, find God or dance while shooting crap. Eminently hummable songs (you just forget how many hits there are in Frank Loesser’s score), great routines, lots of humour and a good storyline – the point’s often made that the book would make a good play even without the music. Which is maybe why Dave Bond, head of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and just not the sort of man you’d expect to direct a musical, has taken on this student showpiece. Because, after all, box-office success isn’t what our national conservatoire is supposed to be about, even in these market-driven times. Nice for the students to have a smash hit on their hands before getting out there into the tough world of professional theatre, though. For a success in any terms is what this thoroughly enjoyable production is. And the cast look like they know they’re onto a winner as much as Harry the Horse – you can tell when a cast, especially a student one, is enjoying the confidence of a show that just purrs along. What makes Guys and Dolls an important musical, as opposed to simply a very good one, is that it is, unusually for the time, full of characters – when it was filmed it was Marlon Brando, a method actor who couldn’t sing, who took on the romantic lead role of Sky Masterson while Frank Sinatra, a singer who could also act well, got the comedy part of Nathan Detroit., with Jean Simmons as Sarah Brown, the Sally Army’s evangelist virgin. This production exploits that defining characteristic but is a bit more sensible than Sam Goldwyn’s movie by having Stuart McLoughlin, who has proved his acting talent in a range of plays from the dark Mr Kolpert to Joe Orton’s black farce Loot, as Nathan and Catherine Ayers, a fine singer, as Sarah - although McLoughlin can also sing OK and Ayers acts well. Elin Llwyd as Miss Adelaide, Nathan-s long-suffering girlfriend, seems ideal musical material as someone who can act and sing and dance, Gareth Richards reveals a good voice but maybe less presence and Michael Anders grabs the chance to make a mark as Nicely Nicely, the character who leads the show-stopper Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat. It is not, of course, a professional production - the failure of the programme to list scenes and musical numbers (a basic requirement of a professional show), for example, is irksome and amateurish. We shouldn’t expect immaculate performances, dancing or chorus work. But the cast is all good, with some little gems (Katy Owen as the pint-sized evangelist having to carry a drum as big as herself gets real extra mileage, for example), with an orchestra under John O’Hara that really swings and some dancing that choreographer Fran Newman should be proud of. And any reservations have to be offset by something that too many commercial shows lack – an enthusiasm and an energy that is worth a lot more than slickness. The production positively bursts with excitement and the cast look like they’re having as good a time as the audience. That’s entertainment |
Reviewed by: David Adams |
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