REVIEW: Guys and Dolls at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (Tuesday, July 19)

AFTER taking the West End by storm, the sizzling tale of New York gamblers, gangsters and nightclub singers has finally returned to the Black Country, writes Dan Sharp.

It is one of the golden generation of 50s musicals making stage revivals in recent years and although nowhere near the same league as the brilliant Top Hat, Guys and Dolls is still an enjoyable comedy romp.

Fans will be pleased to know the show-stopping tunes of ‘Luck Be a Lady’ and ‘Guys and Dolls’ are performed with gusto, but standing out is the toe-tapping ‘Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat’ which brought much needed life to a performance that was a ‘game of two halves’.

A lacklustre first act which felt rather messy and unorganised burst into life after the interval.

Keeping with the football analogies, it was like a team going in to the dressing room 3-0 down, receiving a rollicking from the manager and coming out to win the game 4-3.

The building of a contrived love story did the show no favours, but with the second act featuring a bigger dose of the outstanding comedic talents of Louise Dearman as Miss Adelaide, whose effortless stage experience comes to the forefront, it more than made up for the first half showing.

Suave leading man Richard Fleeshman showed confidence of one much older in the role of Sky Masterson, Maxwell Caulfield turned the hapless Nathan Detroit into a loveable rogue, while Jack Edwards as Nicely-Nicely Johnson showed a true comic turn which would not be out of place as the lead in One Man, Two Guvnors.

The core cast, bar Bethany Lindsell as Sarah who struggled vocally alongside her co-stars, came into their own throughout the show, and added to the quality big-budget staging, lighting and music, you are left with a smile on your face.

If you can make it through a first act which had this reviewer peering towards the theatre doors, your perseverance is paid off with a very enjoyable finale – 3 ½ out of 5.

Guys and Dolls runs at the Grand Theatre until Saturday (July 23), with tickets, costing between £26.50 and £45.50, on sale from www.grandtheatre.co.uk or by calling the box office on 01902 429212.