"Guys 'n' Dolls" by Beeston Musical Theatre Group

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton,

"Guys 'n' Dolls" involves the unlikeliest of pairings: a high-rolling gambler and a puritanical missionary, a showgirl dreaming of the straight-and-narrow and a crap game manager. Set in Manhattan, "Guys 'n' Dolls" tells the story of con-man Nathan Detroit’s efforts to find new place for his illegal, but notorious, crap game. When their trusty venue is found out by the police, Nathan has to find a new home for his crap game quickly - but he doesn’t have the dough to secure the one location he finds.

Enter Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler willing to take on any honest bet with a high enough reward attached. Nathan bets Sky that he can’t take the “doll” of Nathan’s choosing to Havana, Cuba, with him on a date. When Sky agrees to the bet, Nathan chooses Evangelist Sergeant Sarah Brown, head of Broadway’s Save-a-Soul Mission. Sky thinks he’s been duped, but he’s in for even more of a surprise when his efforts to woo Sarah are so successful that he falls in love with her himself!

"Guys 'n' Dolls" takes you from the bustle of Times Square to the dance clubs of Havana to the sewers of New York City as it demonstrates the great lengths to which a guy will go when he truly falls in love with a “doll.” "Guys 'n' Dolls" features a host of memorable tunes, including “Adelaide’s Lament”, “I’ve Never Been in Love Before”, “If I Were a Bell”, “Luck Be a Lady”, "Take Back Your Mink", "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" and many more.

I haven't seen this musical for a few years and had forgotten just what a brilliant comedy show this is, with sections that I had either forgotten were in it, or other productions had left out. The section with the "dream husband" sequence to Greig's "Morning" from Peer Gynt, many of the one-liners and just how much Nicely Nicely eats on stage; all of these seemed completely fresh to me. I was advised though that these are all in the script.

Maybe other productions had left them out to trim the length of the musical as the Beeston Musical theatre Group production did last just short of three hours with the interval; but it didn't seem to be that long at all, probably because I was enjoying the show that much! And here are several reasons why......

Nathan Detroit is played by Jake Gelernter, and what a wonderful debut leading man role for Jake for BMTG. He was funny, he was completely likeable, he can sing, he can dance, has great timing - just hear the duet "Sue Me", has wonderful chemistry with Adelaide, in fact there is nothing seemingly that he can't do on stage. Don't you just hate people with that amount of talent?

Rhodri Denton plays Sky Masterson, the part played by Marlon Brando in the film version. I wasn't sure if he was feeling a touch of nerves tonight but if he was, he soon got into his stride and became the performer I've grown to appreciate on stage. He absolutely smashed Masterson's big song "Luck Be A Lady"

Sarah Brown is played by Emily Owen. I loved the straight-laced Sarah Brown but thought that maybe Sarah could have had more fun in the drunken Havana scenes with Sky, and took advantage of the drunken section of the musical. That said Emily gave everything that I would have wanted from Sarah, and with that lovely soaring voice she has, it was like she had a direct line from Heaven itself.

Jodie Lakin is Adelaide. One of my favourite characters in this musical, and what I also appreciated was that Adelaide's voice was taken down an octave or two. None of that cartoonish squeaky voice, but a more palatable voice, which allowed us to hear the funny one-liners that Adelaide has in the script. Bringing the character's squeakiness down also meant that we appreciated what a lovely voice Jodie has.

Lucas Young is playing Nicely Nicely Johnson. Just when I thought Lucas could not get any better, I'm proved wrong. Their comic timing was immaculate, just listen to "The Oldest Established" for some rapid wordplay. Nicely Nicely was eating something every time the character appeared on stage, from a baguette, to cheesecake, to pizza, to celery, and that enhanced the comedy in the character. The irony is that Lucas has the body of a dancer, slim and well-toned. They are also a natural dancer, which anyone watching would see straight away. Their vocals are also pure musical theatre and when you combine all three of these talents in the one song "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat", you get a moment that makes you feel like jumping to your feet at the final note. I am not the only one who recognises their talent as the audience's applause at the end was raised by a couple of decibels.

Benny Southstreet is played by John Hand; Benny being one of those characters you would not want to meet down a dark alley, unless you were throwing dice of course!

Andy Bulmer plays Arvide Abernathy, and I am so pleased to see Andy back on stage, and in such a brilliant part. You get to hear Andy's singing solo here when he sings "More I Cannot Wish You" to Sarah.

Big Julie is played by Maisie Cutts, and it's really nice to see this part switched to a female character, and Maisie is wonderful in this part. You can imagine her playing one of the characters in "Bad Girls" with her deep, growling and menacing voice.

Gareth Morris plays Harry The Horse, and I think if anyone had asked which part would be the one for Gareth, this part would be the role that I'd have chosen - you can see what an eye for a character director George has for placing the right actor in the right part. Perfect casting.

Tim Yearsley plays Lieutenant Brannigan, and I really didn't recognise Tim as this B Movie cop character, could be because the police hat was pulled quite low over his face, but another fun and accurate piece of casting.

General Matilda B Cartwright is played by Maria Lawrence, and not even Matilda B Cartwright fails to fall under the spell of the beguiling Sky Masterson. I was sat in the balcony and even I could see Maria's eyes twinkling in the presence of Masterson. Another wonderful character filled performance.

Rusty Charlie is played by William Howarth.

Directed by George Lamb, who just got everything spot on. I like a pacey piece of theatre. This was not pacey, it was paced, and paced perfectly. I found lines and sections that I'd not remembered seeing in previous productions of this musical; I even asked George if he had added lines and parts in, but he denied it. Maybe it's because I have not seen such a brilliant production of this show for years, or maybe George just has that magic, along with the cast to add sparkle where I'd not seen sparkle before! George could have done no more to make me enjoy this show more than I already do.

Choreographed by Beth Yearsley, and again sheer perfection. I adored the foxtrot section in Act One, and I loved the sassy routine for the Havana section. Everything else in between, before and after these were also wonderful.

Musical Direction is by Chris Toon, assisted by Charlotte Howarth, and with such a brilliant and fun score, this thirteen piece orchestra had a wild old time with the various musical styles and lush arrangements. There was a couple of times that I had difficulty hearing the actors talking over the music, but that could be as I was in the balcony. But I was determined that not even that would mat my love for this show.

Sound Production is by Dave Dallard, and there were just a couple of mic sound glitches early on which were amended swiftly, apart from that a very comfortable aural experience.

Lighting Production is by Dave Martin with nothing negative worth mentioning. A wonderful colourful lighting design, especially in the Havana club sections.

The set was fairly static built on two levels, which allowed the main cast and the large ensemble to fill out the stage, especially in the main crap game itself, accentuating the importance of the game to the players; a draw to anyone who was anyone in the underground gambling circuit. The set was designed by George Lamb.

As you'd expect, the costumes for this show are gorgeous as well and are designed by Mina Holtom.

With such a large cast and ensemble, the Production and Stage Manager, Katie Bird did a cracking job making sure everyone was exactly where they needed to be to make this show run like clockwork.

Talking of the ensemble, here goes......

Cibele Alvarenga, Alice Cammell, Jennifer Chatten, Sacha Cornelius, Maisie Cutts, Emma Grey, Charlotte Howarth, Keli Wain (The Hot Box Girls - and boy were they HOT!!). Jane Cottee, Naomi Batley, Philippa Buchanan, Cheryl Camm, Charlotte Drewett, Daisy Forster, Christine Walton, Hannah Gorton, Ruth Maddison, Claire Farrand-Preston, Esther White and Amelia Delbridge.

As with "South Pacific" the other week, this show is an absolute classic and has the feel of family viewing on a Sunday on the box. It makes you feel warm and safe and you know that there is going to be a happy ending and everyone lived happily ever after, and that's exactly how I felt when I came out of the theatre. And that feeling can only be a joint venture between an already great show and an amazingly talented group of people, on and off stage.

Opening night was packed to the rafters, so make sure that you get a ticket or two pretty fast; follow the fold or it may not only be Adelaide who'll be lamenting! And I'll know you'll be havana great night of entertainment, and if you don't, sue me!

"Guys 'n' Dolls" is on at The Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 29 October.