Guys and Dolls- MS Society

Guys and Dolls Review- Long (as always!) On Saturday I went and saw the opening night of the MS Society’s offering for 2006. Following on from The King and I and Les Miserables, this production is probably their ‘shiniest’ yet! Noticeably improved production values, a great script, and good performances all round from a vibrant and committed cast contributed to a fun night for all. I have done G&D in the pit a few times now, becoming very familiar with the production over the years. I went to Saturday’s show only to support friends, and not expecting to enjoy myself that much. This is one of those few occasions I am glad to be wrong! John Milson’s direction has captured the energy of the show, and the comic timing, so critical to this show’s success, was in evidence for a large part of the night. Milson obviously loves this era of shows, and it showed throughout. Nitty-gritty- G&D follows the lives of Nathan Detroit- organiser of the oldest established rolling craps (sp?!) game in New York and commitmentphobe; his 14-year fiancée and showgirl Adelaide; master-gambler and all-round ‘cool guy’ Sky Masterson; and pure missionary Sarah Brown. These main characters are linked around the gamblers and show girls of Broadway, the cops trying to catch them all, the Salvos trying to save them all from the gambling and the booze. A basic old-fashioned bad guy falls in love with good girl, and all live happily ever after. Clare Moore was the stand-out star of this show. Miss Adelaide is a role that is deceptively easy to play. There is so much great material to work with; you’d be mistaken in thinking it was easy to pull off. I was left in no doubt throughout that Clare had her character mastered. Great comic timing, energy, vocal clarity, and a decent dancer to boot! Bravo. I hope we see much more of her here in Perth. Geoff Robinson was great as Nathan. Good comic timing, decent (if not spectacular) voice, and great chemistry with Adelaide. His and Adelaide’s scenes were the highlights of the night. Making their 14-year engagement believable is critical to the show, and these guys did it with style! Courtney Grieg was a little inconsistent in his portrayal of the high-roller and ladies-man Sky Masterson. Some moments worked, others not. ‘Luck Be a Lady Tonight’ was one of the ‘nots’ for me. Sky didn’t seem to have anything at stake, and some almost bizarre dance moments didn’t gel in this one. My Time of Day was beautiful, and his moment in the Salvo band at the end was priceless. Good signs for the future. Sharon Wisniewski as Sarah Brown put in a commendable performance. She is obviously a great actress, but I am not sure this role completely sat with her. I think maybe her voice was a little too ‘brassy’ for the sweet and pure Sarah (for me), and she struggled in this performance at the top end of her range. This character simply pales in the shadow of Adelaide, a major difficulty for anyone lucky (?) enough to play Sarah. I want to see Sharon in another role…soon! My biggest problem with the show was the love relationship between Sky and Sarah. I did not believe this at all. There was little to no chemistry between these two characters, and I just wasn’t able to reconcile how their relationship developed and blossomed. Conrad Crisafulli as Sarah’s grandpa Arvide Abernathy was the pick of the minor roles. He caught the warmth and love for his grand daughter, whilst having the worldliness of a man who has seen a long life of sinners. More I Cannot Wish You left me strangely moved- more than this number ever has before. David Nelson as Nicely Nicely Johnson put in a great performance, with special kudos for Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat. Vocally he was not quite there in this role, but he was still able to imbue the character with the right amount of lovability and humour. I hope that he is given a free weight watchers course or something after the amount of food he ate onstage. Charles McComb was a solid Benny Southstreet (though it would be good for the lighting blackout at the end of Guys and Dolls to wait for his final move, which he completed beautifully in the dark); Paul Williams a good Big Jules, but could have been a little more caricatured for my liking (yes more!); Shirley Welch was fine as the general, but her most successful moment for me was as the Cuban Carmen Miranda figure with the banana head dress and fantastic maraca moves! My god, I though I would split open I laughed that hard. All other minor leads were solid. The chorus was solid, but harmony in the male chorus was sometimes a bit fragile on the tuning. They maintained the energy of the show in their few moments on stage (it’s not a great show for chorus). Special mentions to the sleazy Hot Box compere Daniel Brando, the couple with the big shopping load, the dependable salvo band, and mostly to Bella Larkan Gueness (Miss Adelaide’s dog). The Hot Box girls dance troupe. Obviously good dancers, but I was left sometimes wondering if they were a classical dance group rather than showgirls. Moves were clean and well-choreographed, but they seemed to lack a bit of worldliness in their performance. I really liked seeing them walking off backstage out of character- very clever. The Havana girls dance number was appropriately hot, but the back couple was completely covered up for almost the entire number for me. Orchestra started very shakily, with some dodgy entries in the first few numbers in particular, which extended to some in the cast. However, a rich sound, and entries became cleaner as the show progressed. First night nerves? Massive kudos to the creative and technical teams. The sets were amazing throughout and other than a couple of lighting glitches, this was a much slicker show than previous MS Society efforts. I was always able to hear the characters on stage clearly, though the cast needs to sometimes allow more space for lines to register with the audience. Final issue- the program could have done with some sort of plot synopsis for those who don’t already know the show, but the performers’ bio’s hide some very amusing material. So overall, a well-directed and executed performance. They are playing until Saturday I think, so if you are in for a fun night with lots of laughs and a few very-hummable tunes, get yourself down there. Well done all involved. Neville