By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

TRACKLIST: Runyonland; Fugue For Tinhorns; Follow The Fold; Oldest established; I’ll Know; A Bushel And A Peck; Adelaide’s Lament; Guys And Dolls; Havana; If I Were A Bell; My Time Of Day; I’ve Never Been In Love Before; Entr’acte; Take Back Your Mink; Adelaide’s Second Lament; Crapshooter’s Ballet; Luck Be A Lady; Sue Me; Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat; the Guys Follow The Fold; Adelaide Meets Sarah; Mary The Man Today; Runyonland; Happy Ending

There can be few revivals we’ve enjoyed more this year than Guys And Dolls at the Bridge Theatre which has extended its run at least twice and is now booking until 31 August 2024.

• Read on for reasons including why this album is worth a punt but is no substitute for seeing the show

The Bridge recently celebrated its 6th birthday and it is the versatility of the venue which is this production’s genius and it’s well deserving of its recent 5-strong monstas longlisting – Best Theatre Actress, Best Revival, Best Performance Of A Song and Best Supporting Actor as well as Best Venue – as we announce our shortlists from November.

This album then is shorn of the production’s innovative immersion but what remains is a supremely talented cast revelling in some of the best material written for musical theatre.

We’ve seen the show twice including on its 1st preview on 3 March 2023 and said: ‘Marisha Wallace is scene-stealingly sensational in this revival of a musical theatre classic as nightclub singer Miss Adelaide, a role often played for laughs rather than deploying the killer voice Wallace has.

‘The actress, currently Olivier-nominated for Oklahoma! (Young Vic) which has just transferred to the West End without her, opens Act 2 with the sizzling Take Back Your Mink and when she and Celinde Schoenmaker’s Sarah duet Marry The Man Today it’s so funny yet true it’s the song of the show.’

Wallace didn’t win that Olivier but we would imagine she would be well placed to do so in 2024 if the venue is eligible to be considered.

Guys And Dolls has music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on 2 short stories by Damon Runyon and premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony for Best Musical. Its 1955 film adaptation starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra and Vivian Blaine.

It’s the story of Nathan Detroit (played with humour by Daniel Mays (The Caretaker, Old Vic) who won’t marry his long-term girlfriend Miss Adelaide and bets friend Sky Masterson (a charismatic Andrew Richardson) that he can’t persuade Celinde Schoenmaker’s Salvation Army-employed Sarah to go on a date with him to Havana.

This is also the most gay-friendly production of Guys and Dolls we can ever remember with a sexy same-sex recreation of dancing in Havana and Katy Secombe’s (Les Miserables: the Staged Concert) crossdressing nightclub host being most memorable.

We think the song of the show is Marry The Man Today where Wallace’s Miss Adelaide and Schoenmaker’s Sarah discuss the relative merits of their men in a drunken bar duet.

We think part of the appeal of Guys And Dolls is that it is a musical which can speak to straight men about their fear of women who want to marry them trying to change them as it’s a theme which is mused upon by many of the cast here.

Wallace’s stand-out performance is the reason to see the show along with its staging and her nightclub number Take Back Your Mink is hugely entertaining.

The 2nd time we saw the show we found ourselves warming to the secondary romance of Sarah and Sky Masterson and their If I Were A Bell and My Time Of Day/I’ve Never Been In Love Before are both moving and enchanting.

The show’s best known songs are arguably Luck Be A Lady and the gospel showstopper Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat which are both well performed here.

We’d advise you see the show before settling for this album but, as a souvenir of it, it’s definitely worth a punt.

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Bridge Theatre Tickets
• Have you seen Guys and Dolls before or been to the Bridge Theatre? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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