Reviews 2017
Reviews 2017
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music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows, directed by Donna Feore
Stratford Festival, Festival Theatre, Stratford
May 30-November 5, 2017
Nicely: “Can do, can do”
The Stratford Festival’s Guys and Dolls is the third since it first began mounting musicals on the Festival stage in 1986. For newcomers to the musical this will not be a problem and they will likely be blown away by this big, bright brassy production. But for frequent Stratford-goers comparisons with the better choreographed and designed production of 1990 and the better acted and directed production of 2004 will spring to mind. In addition, the Shaw Festival staged its own Guys and Dolls in 2013 which had the best singing of the three though not the best choreography.
The new Guys and Dolls still doesn’t hit all the bases. It is now probably the best sung of the four productions, but it still does not supersede Brian Macdonald’s fantastic choreography and Susan Benson’s witty design of 1990. In fact, except for a tremendously acrobatic “Crapshooters’ Dance” of Act 2, Feore’s choreography is not as imaginative as usual and doesn’t match the precision and vitality of A Chorus Line last year or fun and invention of Crazy for You in 2014. In terms of acting this production falls behind both the Shaw production of 2013 and the Stratford production of 2004. You can’t have everything, I suppose, but for a musical that for many is the perfect Broadway musical, it would be good finally to see a production where all the elements were on the same high level.
In acting the current Stratford production falls down in two areas. In his 15th season at Stratford Sean Arbuckle has shown on numerous occasions that he is both a fine actor and a fine singer. His makes good use of his strong, refined voice in the show, but unaccountably he seems to be working far too hard to pull off the character of Nathan Detroit. Maintaining Runyon’s “Noo Yawk” accent is one factor, but he resorts to mugging in attempts to make his lines funnier, something I’ve never seen him do before. The result is that her never feels inside the role.
In contrast Evan Buliung blazes confidence as Sky Masterson and owns the stage whenever he appears. His singing voice has never sounded better and his way with such hits as “I’ll Know” and “Luck Be a Lady” will remind older patrons of the crooners of the 1940s and ‘50s. The one failing is that his Masterson is so commanding that we can believe that Sky comes to respect Sarah Brown, but not that he falls in love with her.
A large part of the reason for this is that there is little tension between Buliung and Alexis Gordon as Sarah. Gordon has a lovely opera-like soprano, perfect for the female leads in Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Lowe, but her sound is so cultured it seems to clash with the lowly role she plays. As as actor Gordon appears much more comfortable as the free-wheeling Sarah of the Cuban scenes than as the prim, stern maiden of the Salvation Army.
The supporting is cast very strong. As Nicely-Nicely, Steve Ross, along with Wilson, perfectly captures the mixture of innocence and vice that makes Runyon’s characters so appealing. He gives a rousing performance of one of the show’s many hits “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat”. As Nicely’s companion Mark Uhre in round black glasses and pork pie hat looks and acts like Harold Lloyd come back to life. The giveaway that it’s Uhre is his strong tenor and lithe movements.
Beau Dixon is an imposing Big Jule from Chicago with a booming voice to match, and the ever-delightful Lisa Horner is luxury casting as General Cartwright who inspects Sarah Brown’s mission. Two dancers are especially outstanding. One is Bonnie Jordan, who plays the vivacious Carmen in the Havana scene. She is one of those dancers who can do the splits standing up and makes all her moves with an ideal blending of precision and ease. The other is Devon Michael Brown, who, though tall, accomplishes incredible acrobatic feats usually done by more compact dancers. Feore is obviously aware of his immense talent and showcases it in every one of the numbers for male chorus.
Feore’s choreography strangely does not match her best work even though the musical has several renowned dance-only sections. The “Runyonland” overview that opens the show is lively enough but not especially inventive. Most surprising is how tame the Havana scene is. Though dating from 1990, Macdonald’s version of this scene is still fresh in my mind, especially the way in which he shaped the scene as a gradual crescendo of movement and violence rising from a slap to a total all-consuming frenzy. Feore’s take on the same scene seems tame and disorganized by comparison. One wonders why the Cuban dancers are more occupied doing moves from Disco 101 than any local Latin dances – salsa, mambo or bolero. Feore seems to have saved all her creative energy for “The Crapshooters’ Dance” where the wild array of acrobatics are more her style.
Michael Gianfrancesco’s set is curiously staid and Dana Osborne’s costumes are typically loud for the men but surprisingly low-key for the Hot Box dancers. Michael Walton’s lighting draws the most attention to itself with colourful neon signs and marquee lights for Broadway and stage-mounted computerized concert lights that can throw mini-beams into the audience and even light up the Festival ceiling as stars.
Those new to the musical will be well entertained, but those who have seen it at Stratford or the Shaw Festival before will note that only two of the four leads are fully confident in their roles and that chemistry between the members of each couple of this double love story is strangely lacking which considerably undercuts the show’s drama. Yet, what shines in this version is how well sung the numbers are in this classic score and for many that will be pleasure enough.
©Christopher Hoile
Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.
Photos: (from top) Evan Buliung as Sky Masterson with members of the cast; Alexis Gordon as Sarah Brown and Evan Buliung; Sean Arbuckle as Nathan Detroit and Blythe Wilson as Miss Adelaide. ©2017 Cylla von Tiedemann.
For tickets, visit www.stratfordfestival.ca.
2017-06-29
Guys and Dolls