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music & lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows, directed by Donna Feore

Stratford Festival, Festival Theatre, Stratford

May 26–November 1, 2026

Sky Masterson: “Yet before this evening is over you might give me the brush”

Anyone attending Stratford’s Guys and Dolls this season is likely to feel a strong sense of dejà vu. The 2026 production has the same director and choreographer and the same set and costume designers the Stratford production in 2017. The show is essentially a remount. Indeed, it is clear from comparing photos of the two productions, that Feore and her designers have intentionally set out to recreate the 2017 production for 2026. What is different is that the four main roles are played by new actors who, generally, are improvements over those of 2017.

Stage Door has review of three previous productions of Guys and Dolls — at Stratford in 2004 and in 2017 and at the Shaw Festival in 2013 — so readers in need of a plot summary can seek out those reviews. One might wonder what the point is of recreating a production nine years after it first appeared. It would seem to indicate that Feore has a “been there, done that” attitude toward the material and has no new insights to add.

The 2026 production starts with the same tricks as those in 2017. Before the action Lt. Brannigan hears a payphone ringing and shoots it to silence it, waving her gun to at us to get us to silence our devices. Immediately after, Feore gives us a photographer takes photo of the ensemble of “Runyonland” all clad in greyscale costumes. The lights go out with her flash and when she takes another photo the same ensemble is wearing brightly coloured iterations of the same costumes.

Feore’s depiction of a typical day in “Runyonland” (i.e., the Broadway of the 1920s as described by author Damon Runyon) is the height of Feore’s choreography. We see groups of people passing over the stage and interacting in various ways, providing a whole series on mini-stories that intersect.

Though Guys and Dolls is a musical from 1950, it still follows the typical operetta structure of a serious couple contrasted with a comic couple. The serious couple is Sky Masterson, a professional gambler, and Sarah Brown, a sergeant in the Salvation Army. The comic couple is Nathan Detroit, runner of an illegal floating crap game, and nightclub performer Miss Adelaide. Nathan Detroit has bet Sky that he won’t be able to take Sarah on a trip to Havana and back. Sky not only proves Nathan wrong, but Sky and Sarah fall in love despite the enormous difference in their backgrounds.

Dan Chameroy is an ideal Sky Masterson. Chameroy can exude both suavity and swagger with both hands tied behind his back. He also has the gift of revealing, as he did in Stratford’s Billy Elliot, a kind heart beneath a hardened façade. These qualities are essential for making Sky’s transformation from gambler to missionary believable. This transformation is signalled in Sky’s literally changing his tune from “My Time of Day” praising the early morning hours to “I’ve Never Been in Love Before”. Chameroy’s voice is solid and has grown darker. He is still capable of putting the emotions of a song across like nobody else.

As Sarah Brown, Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane has a strong, bright voice. She is able to produce a rounded tone for her high notes, but too often opts for a piercing nasal head voice. In terms of acting, Sinclair-Brisbane may be one of the best Sarah Browns of Stratford’s four productions. She shows a perkiness and spunk as Sergeant Brown that makes us see that her switch to fighting in the Havana scene is just another side of her nature. She gives a lovely account of “If I Were a Bell” and shows a talent for comedy in her duet with Adelaide “Marry the Man Today”.

Mark Uhre, who played the small role Benny Southstreet in 2017, this go around has been promoted to Nathan Detroit. Both Nathan and Adelaide sport cartoonish “Noo Yawk” accents that distinguish them from Sky and Sarah. Uhre has given numerous subtle performances over the years, but here he is given to mugging and spluttering that make Nathan look as cartoonish as he sounds. Luckily, Uhre has a fine voice best shown in his duet with Adelaide “Sue Me” which he finishes with a long held note that reveals his real vocal power.

Jennifer Rider-Shaw is an utter delight as Miss Adelaide. The accent plus the squeaky voice associated with the character easily dominate most portrayals of the role, but here Rider-Shaw manages to use them to win over the audience’s sympathy. Her Miss Adelaide may work in a cheap nightclub, but she is essentially an innocent who wants the best for Nathan, just as Sarah wants the best for Sky. Much of what Adelaide says may be comic, but Rider-Shaw shows us that there is a real, vulnerable person inside her Betty Boopish exterior. Rider-Shaw gives an ideal account of “A Bushel and a Peck” and especially of “Adelaide’s Lament”.

In other roles, Steve Ross has the chance to reprise his Nicely-Nicely Johnson from 2017. He was hoot then in “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” and is a hoot now. Sweet-voiced Gabriel Antonacci is a fine Benny Southstreet and starts off the show well with the trio “Fuge for Tinhorns”. Stephen Patterson plays Arvide Abernathy as Sarah’s father, not grandfather as in the original and sings a heartfelt “More I Cannot Wish You”, a rare non-comic song in the score.

In the two main speaking roles, Juan Chioran is a threatening, gravelly-voiced Big Jule while Nehassaiu deGannes does what she can to be a threatening Lt. Brannigan although she really doesn’t have the physical presence for the role.

Feore’s choreography appears to be identical to that in 2017. The dances for the Hot Box Girls have lots of high kicks but are much more sedate than were Brian Macdonald’s for the show’s first production at Stratford in 1990. Feore’s choreography for the men is much more athletic making much use of barrel rolls, triple spins and grande pirouettes. When she has exhausted these, she turns to pure acrobatics with cartwheels, flips, somersaults, tumbling passes and straddle jumps. Devon Michael Brown, who was so outstanding at these in 2017, is back to amaze us in 2026.

The one factor which prevented me from fully enjoying the show was its loudness. The show was loud in 2017 but tolerable. It is loud in 2026 but intolerable. The amplification of any treble sounds, whether sung, spoken or played pierced my ears until they hurt. Pain in my ears continued throughout the interval and was renewed in Act 2. This is a musical, not a rock concert. Louder is not better.

All in all, Stratford’s latest Guys and Dolls is its best yet. Just be sure to bring your earplugs.

Christopher Hoile

Photo: Dan Chameroy as Sky Masterson with male ensemble; Steve Ross as Nicely Nicely, Mark Uhre as Nathan Detroit and Gabriel Antonacci as Benny Southstreet with male ensemble; Jennifer Rider-Shaw as Miss Adelaide (centre) with the Hot Box Girls, © 2026 David Hou. Scene from “The Crapshooters’ Dance” featuring Devon Michael Brown (airborne), © 2026 Ann Baggley. 

For tickets visit: www.stratfordfestival.ca