The new company who took over in Sir Nicholas Hytner’s production of Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre in London this month are the perfect candidates to continue the brilliant work established by the original cast who opened the show a year ago at the same venue.

Guys & Dolls is often considered by critics, historians and scholars to be the quintessential Broadway musical comedy (indeed, its official subtitle is “A Musical Fable of Broadway”) and it is amongst the most revived shows in Broadway history – with four productions gracing the Great White Way since its premiere in 1950.

Despite these New York connections, the show has always been received rapturously in the UK where each decade brings a new hit revival. Indeed, it seems as if Guys & Dolls is the musical most attractive to “serious” directors, as big name creatives of each generation are drawn to it: first, there was Sir Laurence Olivier who had intended to stage it for the National Theatre at the Old Vic in the 1970’s (but eventually abandoned the project owing to ill health), Sir Richard Eyre who continued the legacy of this idea when he staged the show in the theatre named for Olivier at the National Theatre in 1982 (the company’s first musical, and a production which would return later in the 80’s and 90’s and receive a commercial run in the West End), Michael Grandage who directed a 2005 revival at the Piccadilly Theatre under the auspices of the Donmar Warehouse, then Gordon Greenberg whose hit production for the Chichester Festival Theatre received a run in the West End in 2016.

Now it’s the turn of Sir Nick, who invites the audience into the Runyonland of mid-20th century Times Square, and, with the help of Bunny Christie’s constantly inventive set design treats them to an evening of entertainment delight, through the pre-show milling about of actors to establish time and place, the show itself, interval entertainment courtesy again of cast members, and a post- curtain call dance party.

All of this is experienced first-hand by those patrons who have standing tickets and experience the show in the thick of the action in the pit. Here scenes bleed from one to the next in an ever-shifting set comprising of platforms raising and lowering from beneath, and oodles of neon flying in from above.

A seemingly never-ending cast of actors flood the space, populating the scenes with the gangster guys and their dolls of the title, cops and robbers, priests and missionaries, and other denizens of the area. These are led by Celinde Schoenmaker as Sarah Brown (leader of the failing Salvation Army mission), Timmika Ramsay as Miss Adelaide (dancer at the Hot Box night club), Owain Arthur as her fiancé-of fourteen-years Nathan Detroit (leader of “the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York”) and George Ioannides as king gambler Sky Masterson. All four are deserving of equal praise for their parts in bringing these characters to life, and extracting every ounce of humour, humanity and pathos out of Frank Loesser’s songs and Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows’s book.

Musically, the highest standards of performance are maintained by the band, the ensemble with their challenging jazz harmonies, and the principals with their marvellous singing. Schoenmaker possesses one of the West End’s very finest instruments and every part of it is used here – ranging from heady soprano to moments of tasteful belting colouring the characters’ frustration and awakening. Equally, the orchestra consist of some of the West End’s finest – playing new orchestrations from Charlie Rosen, arrangements from Tom Brady, under the baton of Lewis Bell. Rosen’s particular skill in big band work lends itself to the wonderful jazziness of Loesser’s score, particularly in the terrific sounds coming from the reed department.

Sound designer Paul Arditti and lighting designer Paule Constable continue Hytner’s A-team, and work incredibly hard to make sure every scene is heard and lit beautifully in an ever-changing stage environment. The work of both of these creatives is instrumental in whipping the audience into a frenzy in the musical numbers, expertly choreographed by James Cousins with the legendary Arlene Phillips.

This production turns Guys & Dolls from a musical into an experience, inviting you to be part of a revival like no other. Yes, it produces highlight after highlight with numbers such as A Bushel and a Peck, Luck Be A Lady and Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat; but it’s the detailed direction, musicality and performances brought to the smaller more intimate moments which sets this production apart.

In times of social, political and economic hardship, people frequently turn to theatre to be entertained. Nowhere in the capital will give you that feeling more than Guys & Dolls.

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