A lively and respectful interpretation of the classic Frank Loesser musical (based on characters by Damon Runyon) 'Guys And Dolls'. Anyone from anywhere who has even a slight interest in Musical Theatre will know , if not the whole score, then at least a coupe of the wonderful songs which have become stand-alones in their own right... 'Sit Down You're Rockin' The Boat', 'I've Never Been In Love Before' and 'I'll Know When My Love Comes Along' to name just three. The story tells of a gang of "no-good nicks" who are organising a crap game in prohibition NYC, and the unlikely romances and subsequent marriages of just two of these men.
NMAODS (North Manchester Amateur Operatic And Dramatic Society) performed this up-beat and comedic score at the NWTAC Theatre in Moston, and with a small but very proficient band to one side of the auditorium (under the competent baton of Jon Gibson), the stage was used to good effect throughout. The set design (Mark Beaumont) showed the hotel and Hotbox Club to one side and the Save-A-Soul Mission to the other, but sadly there was nothing on the set which gave a sense of place and time. An Art Deco entrance to the rear (where did it go to and why?) was the only hint of the time period. It gave no sense of a busy city, let alone New York, and could simply have been any small town in almost any country. Even less impressive was the change to Havana, where a single white backcloth sufficed while the company's costumes had to fill in the rest. This was disappointing. Sound levels were good throughout, despite some rather annoying mic issues, and sometimes the lighting was insufficient or slightly misleading, but nothing too distracting. The costuming however (Catherine King and The Boyz) was mostly excellent. These truly gave one a feel of the time, character and place, and I just loved Nicely's checkered suit!
A lively pace was set from the start and the stage was filled with characterful characters full of character, each easily identifiable and nicely nuanced. Nick Lowe's Nathan Detroit was the perfect easy-going sap and foil for Emily Fitzpatrick's feisty and tenacious Adelaide. Whilst Adrian Davison's suavity and laid-back confident charm was the perfect yin for the yang of Sasha Carrillo's uptight and pious Sarah Brown. Smaller cameos abounded and director Sophie Lord found much within this score to admire, with nice use of comedy whilst still allowing the characters to be believable and sympathetic. Not one of them ever became a caricature - a real danger with a show like this. And I enjoyed the idea of a drunken hobo (Roy Dowson). Davison had also a lovely singing voice which took me a bit by surprise, but all four were excellently chosen and their characters shone throughout. However, my favourite characters this evening were undoubtedly Elliott O'Brart's perfectly timed portrayal of Nicely Nicely Johnson, his timing and stage presence second-to-none whilst his singing articulate. precise and tuneful.; and Anthony Horricks's immaculate characterisation of Harry The Horse. It is almost as if Horricks was born to play this role, fitting into it like a glove. Special mention also to David Lawton as Arvide Abernathy, whose solo 'More I Cannot Wish You' was nicely placed and emotive. It's a song which often gets overlooked, but not here.. well done. There were a couple of points for further consideration within Lord's directing however. First, the physical hits / punches etc were extremely poor. They were neither comedic nor real, and just looked awkward and stilted sadly; whilst second, there were times when entrances and exits simply did not make any sense. We didn't know why the character came on from that point or where the character was going to. Accents / dialects were mostly authentic and secure, although two of the leads chose not to use American accents at all; this was a little odd, but once I became used to it, it did not affect my enjoyment of their presentation.
The chorus worked well and their singing sounded solid and harmonious, whilst the choreography (Jayde Rylance) worked very well indeed. None of it was particularly difficult, but Rylance made sure that all those tasked with executing it could do everything with ease and no-one was out of time or step, making it look professional and polished, and also pertinent to the style of the show.
All-in-all, a very enjoyable show, and one of the best shows I have seen NMAODS present for a long time. The standard and aspirations of this society are forever improving, and I look forward to whatever comes next..
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
On - 14/10/2025
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