October 22, 2012
The SuburbanOctober 17th, 2012
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Try openly referring to a woman as a 'doll' today, un-ironically. At the very least, you'd probably get torn apart verbally. At worst, a hospital visit might be in order. The world of Guys and Dolls, however, just isn't bound by the same kind of politically-correct restraints as our present day society. A throwback to a truly bygone era, the Segal Centre's production of Damon Runyon's classic tale of immorality in the Big Apple offers a gloriously stylized glimpse of fast-talking hoods and flashy dames, cranking the nostalgia meter up to 11.
Beyond the surface of slick choreography, catchy show tunes and light-hearted sexism (which really runs both ways), however, is a universal story of romance which breaks the battle of the sexes down to its most bare essentials. And, in this production at least, this is as much to the credit of the original story, lyrics and score as much as it is to the knock-out performances of this massive ensemble cast.
In the iconic roles of Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit (the two principal 'guys') are, respectively, Scott Wentworth and Frank Moore. The man behind the most notorious floating craps game in New York, Detroit now finds himself getting squeezed on all sides with both Lt. Brannigan (Glen Bowser) and Detroit's long-time and long-suffering fiancée, Miss Adelaide (Susan Henley), giving him sufficient reason to shut down the operation for good. It's all happening at the worst possible time because some of the biggest gamblers are heading into town and they're hungry for a game — perhaps none more so than Chicago's Big Jule (Massimo).
Forced to find a location for the game in a pinch, Detroit must rustle up some quick cash to pay off the owner of a garage for the use of his back room. To raise the cash, Detroit makes a 'sure bet' with Masterson that he can't persuade Sarah Brown (Tracy Michailidis) of the local Christian mission to accompany him to Havana on a date. Mad-cap shenanigans ensue.
Every character, both primary and secondary, gets their moment to shine in the production. As Nicely-Nicely Johnson (one of Detroit's minions), local stand-up Mike Paterson makes his return to the Segal stage, showing off his acting and singing chops, particularly in the “You're Rockin' the Boat” number in the play's second act, but also alongside stage vet Marcel Jeannin (in the role of fellow Detroit minion Benny) in the “Guys and Dolls” number. While fellow stand-up Massimo doesn't get a number of his own, he exudes true menace as 'Big Jule,' reminding all that beyond the singing and dancing, these 'guys' are in fact still criminals.
The two and a half hours of this intricately-crafted musical is all tied together under the expert direction of Diana Leblanc, the choreography of Jim White and musical direction of Nick Burgess who, along with the entirety of the cast and crew, deserve kudos for bringing the true feel of Broadway to the Segal.
Guys and Dolls runs until Oct. 31. For more information, visit www.segalcentre.org