"Guys n Dolls" by Burton Musical Theatre Company

The de Ferrers Academy, Burton upon Trent.

One of the greatest Noo Yoik based musicals of all time is back. The story of Nathan Detroit and his doll Adelaide and Sky Masterson and his newly discovered doll Sarah, who is in the process of saving souls. Will Sky's soul be one soul she can't save, or will Sky give up his gambling evil ways and succumb to the word of the Lord?

Based on the stories and characters written by Damon Runyon, the action starts in Runyonland where Nathan is looking for a place to hold his latest "crap game". The only way he can think of raising the funds to pay for a venue is to bet Sky $1000 that he can't take a "doll" of Nathan's choice to Havana for dinner, and Nathan chooses Sarah Brown from the mission.

In the background Adelaide, Nathan's fiancée for the last 12 years, wants to get married and they plan to elope, but all does not go to plan while Nathan is still planning the latest "crap game".

Like "Oklahoma" yesterday, this is one of those classic musicals which contain many songs that now make up the "Great American Songbook".

Unlike yesterday, this is my first visit to the De Ferrer Academy and my first show by the Burton Musical Theatre Company, and that always excites me as I'm seeing new and talented performers, and boy, was I spoiled on that level!

Nathan Detroit is played by Jonny Stewart. His energy levels on stage are through the roof, as are his vocal talents, and his vocal characterisation of Detroit is everything you'd expect from a crap-shooting wideboy. His chemistry with his long suffering, of 14 years, fiancée is great fun as he tries to wheedle his way out of getting married, and juggle his secret gambling groups. This chemistry really comes to life with their duet "Sue Me".

Miss Adelaide is played by Dani Harris, and I am really pleased that Dani did not the adopt the ultra squeaky Adelaide voice that I've heard in some, not all, versions of Adelaide. There's just enough high pitched voice to create the comedy without going over the top, although I would have liked a thicker accent. Dani's comic acting comes across as really natural, she does not have to force the comedy side of Adelaide, which makes this role so lovely and believable.

Sky Masterson is played by Lee Smith. Sky is a comfortably confident character and Lee brings that trait to the stage without effort. There are many big numbers in this musical and one of those just has to be, for me anyway, "Luck Be A Lady", which Lee belts out, showcasing a rich and powerful set of vocals.

Sarah Brown is played by Rachel Edwards. There are two sides to Sarah Brown, as you'll know from the Havana scenes. Rachel plays tipsy and naive in Havana just as well as she plays masterful and righteous at the Mission. The scenes where she realises just what she feels for Sky is lovely. Rachel's voice is really lovely and has that Hollywood feel and sound, especially in "If I Were A Bell".

Ollie Last plays Nicely Nicely. What a voice this man has! It is pure musical theatre. Just listen to "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat", one of my favourite scenes in this production. The rapid wordplay in "The Oldest Established" is performed, not just delivered.

Bradley Hambleton plays Benny Southstreet. This is the second musical that I've seen Brad in, the first being "Bonnie & Clyde" when I noted his very strong singing voice. As Benny, Bradley continues that great vocal ability, this time in a perfect New York twang. Great character actor and in this role shows that he can manage choreography just as well as he can deliver a song. Another classy performance.

Zac Lewis plays Rusty Charlie, the gambling sidekick of Nicely Nicely and Benny Southstreet. These three roles are so well cast because they all require actors who are naturally funny and can sing in three part harmony, as showcased in the opening "Fugue For Tin Horns".

Big Julie is played by Jon Salt. Now you would not want to get on the wrong side of this gambler who isn't a sore loser, he just likes to win. A nice, menacing performance.

Iain Wishlade plays Harry The Horse, who is entertaining Big Julie while he is upstate.

Alan Lowe plays Lieutenant Brannigan, the hapless B - Movie type cop who is always one step behind Nathan and his gang of gamblers.

Mike Starr plays Arvide Abernathy, Sarah's Uncle and fellow Mission worker. There's a lovely scene in the second act where Sarah confesses to him that she does love Sky, but she will not see him again. Arvide expresses his faith in Sky's inherent goodness and urges Sarah to follow her heart and sings "More I Cannot Wish You" with great sentiment. So much so that the lady sat behind me let out a sigh when Mike had finished singing. I also enjoyed the comic moment when he told Sky that if he didn't deliver the twelve sinners, he would tell everyone that Sky welches on his promise. What made this part even funnier is that Lee, who plays Sky is a lot taller than Mike.

Angela Wynne plays General Cartwright, and not even Matilda B Cartwright fails to not fall under the spell of the beguiling Sky Masterson.

The Gamblers/Guys are the well-dressed "comic glue" of the show, and are played by Joe Bromfield, Zac Lewis, Matthew Waite, Andy Last, Tom Berriman and Mark Hargreaves. Their costumes are so slick and colourful, it was like watching a United Colours Of Benneton commercial.

The Hot Box Girls work in the club and are in the act "A Bushel And A Peck" and "Take Back Your Mink" where Miss Adelaide is the headliner. The girls are played by Cat Budworth, Helena Stone, Catherine Moore, Alex Davison, Jules Lowe and Emma Jones. Again, wonderful costumes for these ladies.

The Salvation Army team are played by Rachel Cook, Sian Stewart, Niamh Brennan and Oly Wright.

Directed by Samantha Walker and Oly Wright. This production is paced so well that when the interval came, I had not realised that almost an hour and a half had passed. Probably because I was absolutely loving the show and as we all know, time flies when you're having fun.

Musical Director is David Blackwell. First off, there's been a lot of hard graft done with the vocals with all of these actors. That shows because of the quality in every vocal performance, and especially in the ensemble vocal pieces. The sixteen piece orchestra is an absolute powerhouse of sound, providing a rich backing to these incredible singers.

There are many memorable songs in this classic musical, "A Bushel & A Peck", "If I Were A Bell", "Luck Be A Lady", "I've Never Been In Love Before", the brilliantly comic "Take Back Your Mink" (with a wonderful choreography piece to this song), and a rocking gospel styled version of "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat".

Choreographed by Catherine Moore. There are some epic dance sections in this show, not least the Hot Box sections, the "Crapshooters Ballet" and "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" which was magical for a musical theatre fan such as I. And any dance scene with tap in is always going to be a winner with me. Stylish and classy. And it's not often that you see a show that is male heavy with a cast of excellent male dancers.

Sound Design is by Chris Hanlon, and with such a big cast, some of the mic cues were just missed, but I do know that this is not the easiest of jobs in a production of this size. On the whole though the sound was very clear and the mix between singer and orchestra was well balanced.

Lighting Design is by Oly Wright and James Ogden. This area slightly puzzled me because for a lot of the time most of the cast were in the shadows and I could not understand why the spotlights were used to highlight them. There were static spots on stage but when the actor moved away from the spot, they were then in shadow. Several times main actors were delivering lines and singing in the shade and I can't understand why because the ability to use follow spots were there, as shown at the end. The shade worked well though with the sewer crap game, but I would have liked to have had more light on the big scenes.

The costumes, as I have alluded to previously, are so colourful. All the main male characters have a different coloured suit and look as sharp as rapiers. The ladies' costumes are likewise glamorous and between both completely light up the stage. Molly Limpets is responsible for providing such stylish cast costumes.

This is a brilliant musical with plenty of diverse and fun characters, wonderfully portrayed by a very talented cast who made the time absolutely fly by. A classic soundtrack and some epic choreography, and those costumes; would I love to have that amount of colour in my wardrobe? You bet!

"Guys n Dolls" is at De Ferrer Academy in Burton upon Trent until Saturday 17 February.