In his director’s notes, Shaun Rennie writes: “Few musicals are as effortlessly joyful, witty and downright charming as Guys & Dolls.” I would have to agree. This tale of roguish gangsters, showgirls and do-good missionaries – set against the city landscape of 1920s New York – is the perfect choice for this now iconic Sydney Harbour event.
In recent years, the company has moved away from its earlier staging of opera classics for Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (Aida, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Turandot, La Traviata, La boheme), and staged its first musical in 2019, West Side Story. It was a good call.
The more popularist choice paid off with a record attendance of 65,000. The company returned the production last year, adding to the repertoire The Phantom of the Opera (2022), and now Guys & Dolls – which won five Tony Awards when it premiered on Broadway in November 1950.
It’s a guaranteed success and, if Friday’s opening night performance (21 March) was the litmus, the standing ovation by an energised crowd confirmed the punt.
The production team and the cast could be considered the crème of musical theatre, and that capacity to deliver is evident with this new production. Many artists are returning to the Harbour stage, adding a seamless, polished vibe.
This starts with Rennie himself, having directed The Phantom of the Opera production, and he gives us a bold, colourful version of Guys and Dolls with supersized energy and sets.
While the simple tale is typically sinner cast against saint, more so it is a mindscape of the difference of the male and female psyche when it comes to love and commitment. With dating apps de rigueur, and reality TV programs like Married at First Sight miraculously rating high, romance is as current a topic today as it was in the 1920s when Damon Runyon penned his short stories – the foundation for Guys & Dolls.
Also returning to the Harbour is celebrated set designer Brian Thomson (he did the designs for that very first Opera on the Harbour, La Traviata, with its massive, memorable chandelier) and again plays with scale and colour to create an impact. He’s placed a classic New York taxi in steroid-proportions centre stage, which cleverly opens up to create more intimate, alternative staging scenarios, such as the Hot Box cabaret bar.
Overall, the set transitions are pretty good, from the Salvos’ community hall to the gritty streets of NYC with its steaming pipes and round street sewer covers. The only thing missing is the smell of roasting chestnuts and hotdogs.
A fun addition is an inflated tube-sock (usually reserved for car yards and cheap mall advertising) that dances in fiesta spirit, setting the tone for the suave Sky Masterson (Cody Simpson) and Sister Sarah Brown’s (Annie Aitken) visit to Cuba.
A boon for this production is a Skydeck for the orchestra – a first in Handa Opera’s 14-year history. Via a massive One Way sign with a translucent scrim, the audience is witness to the energy and moment of the orchestra and gestures from conductor Guy Simpson.
Jennifer Irwin’s costumes complete the vision for this production, in a cacophony of colour and pattern, full skirts, flounces and diamontes. A great scene is the ‘dolls’ from the Hot Box night club stripping off their Marilyn-esqe pink satin dresses, pearls, gloves and minks, for the song, ‘Take Back Your Mink’.
A feature of the event has always been its steeply raked stage, but the challenge isn’t an impediment to the cast who deliver the fast-paced choreography of Helpmann Award-winning Kelley Abbey (Happy Feet, Strictly Ballroom, The Boy from Oz). It is all Broadway panache with sky-high kicks and impeccable timing.
While the sound is great for the orchestra (often criticised in the past as muffled or mic-ed), some performers feel a little soft in the sound mix, in particular Simpson as Sky, whose voice perhaps does not have the strength of some of the other lead artists.
That said, Simpson does deliver an incredible, charismatic performance for his Australian Opera debut, and has a magnetic rapport with Aitken as Sarah. He certainly pulls off his character’s bit hit, ‘Luck be a Lady Tonight’, while Aitken gives the top-drawer performance she is known for, with incredible vocal control and stage presence. I loved her portrayal of the mission doll cum party girl, as the Bacardi kicks in on her Cuban interlude with Sky.
Just as Aitken and Simpson are well paired, Bobby Fox (Nathan Detroit) and Angelina Thomson (Miss Adelaide) also have great chemistry on stage. You may remember Fox as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys? He is so consistent across this production, and with a vocal zeal matched to his lovable, roguish character.
Thomson also makes a return to the Harbour stage, having previously performed in West Side Story, and she delivers a magnanimous version of Adelaide. In many ways, she is the star of this Guys & Dolls production and the glue that pulls it together.
The ‘dolls’, Aitken and Thomson, are also pitted well against each other; their classic ‘Marry the Man Today’ is another high point. Revisiting this production, we are reminded constantly just how fabulous the libretto is.
Perhaps the biggest hit of the production, however, is reserved for Jason Arrow (Nicely Nicely) – who you may remember from his role of Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton. He delivers a show-stopping rendition of ‘Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ – and it is indeed a stopper, with two encores, and an audience unable to remain seated on opening night.
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Overall, the ‘guys’ chorus both move and harmonise perfectly together, as do the ‘dolls’ making for an truly entertaining performance.
Their high-voltage energy is delivered from the first moment, as a dynamic array of characters spill onto the stage – the same scene repeated with the close of the production – bookends on a timeless tale of love, compromise and expectation. A perfect night on the Harbour.
Guys & Dolls, Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour
Based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon
Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser
Book: Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows
Director: Shaun Rennie
Musical Director: Guy Simpson
Choreographer: Kelley Abbey
Set Design: Brian Thomson
Costume Design: Jennifer Irwin
Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet
Sound Designer: Jim Atkins
Cast: Cody Simpson, Annie Aitken, Bobby Fox, Angelina Thomson, Jason Arrow, Kieran McGrath, John Xintavelonis, Doron Chester, Tony McGill, Thomas Campbell, Naomi Livingston, Sarah Bourke, Rachel Breeze, Olivia Carniato, Nic Collins, Zac de Gersigny, Lachlan Dearing, Matt Douglass, Sienna Embrey, Emma Feliciano, Matthew Hearne, Scarlet Lindsay, Arabelle Meleo, Maddie Owen, Bronson Pfeiler, Rania Potaka-Osborne, Isabella Roberts, Julian Seguna, Paul Whiteley, Billy Wilson, Sophie Zidar, Clayton Church, Ewan Herdman, Michelle Leung
Tickets: From $79
Guys & Dolls will be performed at Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie’s Point from 21 March – 20 April (excluding Mondays and Good Friday on 18 April).
