how is the new cast of GUYS & DOLLS? | ☆☆☆☆☆ review of west end revival at the Bridge Theatre

[@erinbannister9842]

I saw it last Friday with a group of girls from drama school and we fell in love! We had the rush tickets for standing and fell in love with the cast, staging and overall vibe of the atmosphere in the theatre. Everyone was amazing and the little party at the end with opportunity to dance in the circle was unreal. We fell in love so hard we saw it the Saturday night too but paid full price for the standing. Coming from someone who rarely sees a london production and treats every show like a treasured experience, it really caught something in me that was infatuated with the whole production. Also side note: skipping across tower bridge after and singing a bushel and a peck with my girls just tops it off!! Love watching your videos mickey

[@Kanders01]

Went on a Monday night and loved it! The standing crowd size was small enough that it didn’t feel too crowded, but big enough that there was a great atmosphere. The staging and comedy was excellent. I didn’t find the standing for 3 hours long as you are constantly moving around and immersed in the show. Agree with standing further back, you get a great view. Richard Kind was in the standing audience and it was great to see the cast interact with him!

[@jlasf]

I am a true Broadway buff and an encyclopedia of Broadway trivia. So, when I say this is the 'funnest' show I have ever seen, please believe me. And I have seen it twice! Very rare of for me. More than "Here Lies Love", this is truly immersive. You are brought INTO the show. As the mission members enter, they hand out fliers. When they go to Havana, you get sparkly twirlers to make the whole room shimmer. And the actors will sometimes turn and play right to the audience with a little smile. It makes sitting in a proscenium seat boring. On the second viewing, I knew to grab a seat for the beginning of the second act when you then rise up to the stage level for "Take Back Your Mink." Adelaide came over to me and threw her glove in my face! One of the most memorable moments of any theater experience. If you choose to sit, it's still a very good show with great performances and staging. But, for God's sake, go for standing! Don't worry about standing for so long - just lean against the stage or against the back wall. (And it's cheaper to stand.) I felt completely comfortable wandering around. That's why I went a second time - I was in very different places. I have sent all my friends to see it. Definitely go! It feels so fresh and new. What MickeyJo didn't mention is that the ushers/actors are dressed as 1950's Police. So, it feels very natural that they would be getting you out of the way. I never felt pressured or distracted. It just felt like a part of the show. I also think this must be a dream show for the actors. They get to see the audience. They aren't just "people out there in the dark." It contributes to the energy of the show, I suspect. MickeyJo didn't dwell on the end of the show. After the curtain call, the stage descends and it turns into a dance party. The Hot Box dancers are still there, so you can dance with them - and the stars stay on for a while. When I saw it, audience members did little spontaneous dances, egged on by the crowd. So much fun!! (Note: the seated audience is not allowed to join the party, which seems unfair.)

[@BroadwayGuy]

I think the 2023 London Cast Recording of "GUYS & DOLLS" is absolutely EXCELLENT!!!

[@emhu2594]

Marisha is incredible, I hope she does Moulin Rouge next (that said the current cast is absolutely fantastic)

[@alicebarlow4761]

Loved Guys and Dolls at the Bridge! Got given a party streamer thing and a prayer Merton invite wgich I kept! They took the streamers back, props to all the stage crew, what a feat! They are so slick bringing things on and off and moving the stage and the audience! The cast, amazing! Marisha Wallace and Celinde doing marry the man today! What a masterclass! Amazing!

[@francescasmilgin-box3734]

Finally made it to this production last week and absolutely LOVED it!!! What an assault on the senses!! It's not a show I particularly love, but this production was fantastic!!!

[@williammckay5914]

went March 12th for the 3rd time, just loved it. your review is spot on

[@dylansmith1833]

I got to see George as Sky when I went last year and he did a really good job. Comparing him to Andrew in the cast album, I was not expecting to hear him sound like Frank Sinatra. It’s great to hear that the new cast is just as great as the original. That being said, I just don’t know if anyone can beat Cedric Neal’s performance cause that was by far the best performance I saw last year! Still gives me chills thinking about it! As for this show coming to New York, the only venue that I think could stage this production is the new performing arts center at the World Trade Center in lower manhattan. I just don’t know how this could be staged on a boat but I’m sure they’ll make it happen!

[@wigman6079]

My best play and musical of last year for me but i didn't get to see sunset.

[@richardmccarthy9580]

“If you haven’t seen Guys and Dolls you need to go and see this production”. Saw it yesterday for the 1st time…..good grief go and see it before it closes…..yes one of the best productions in the West End…..unfortunately Celinde not performing yesterday matinee so now need to find an excuse to get down from Manchester in the next 2 months!

[@TheGadgetPanda]

Much as I love Guys and Dolls, best revival should have gone to Crazy for You. The utter madness of it not even being nominated is beyond my comprehension. But Guys and Dolls should win over Sunset Boulevard, which I hated. I certainly hope so.

[@emhu2594]

I thought crazy for you was better than guys and dolls, but it's yet another one that needs to be updated and stop using women as props.

[@johnnytheslider]

I saw the first cast five times - going for the first time to see the new lot tonight, though I did catch Owain in it when he covered for Daniel last year. I didn't warm to him then but I guess he will have bedded in now.

[@1MRHADOUKEN]

God I love someone else also acknowledges the insane levels of unfunny-ness that the holy rollers line is I’ve been screaming about it since I’ve done that show

[@RaymondNYC1]

Here's a question for ya: if this type of staging is so popular, why did 'Here Lies Love' flop on Bway (esp. since it such a hit off-Bway)? I go to a lot of theater & HLL is one of the best experiences I've ever had. I'm still tryin' to figure that out....

[@spencersher66]

HLL just cost too much money, they also had lost all of the hype from off broadway as it was 10 years later

[@mattk8460]

Doesnt have the hype of guys and dolls as a classic

[@jlasf]

I liked "Here Lies Love," but I LOVED "Guys and Dolls." Why? I think "Guys and Dolls" is a more fun and lighter show. "Here Lies Love" is more serious and might not take full advantage of the immersive atmosphere. I have told "Guys and Dolls" was the 'funnest" show I have ever seen. I went twice, which I never do.

[@nerdalmighty6241]

I love this show I even got the hat signed

[@andrewhemingway337]

I loved the show but the immersive tickets seem to take it out of the show being told to move every five minutes in the nicest possible way. But the cast was fantastic, and the women who played Sara brown was great.

[@christopherbutler1980]

Last I heard, this was going to be staged in NY on a ...boat? I don't know of a space in Manhattan that could mount this production . What have you heard?

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Aaaall sorts of rumours, but I have also heard that one! I still kind of wish it had gone to the Broadway post Here Lies Love somehow.

[@jlasf]

Why not use the theater from "Here Lies Love"? They already tore I apart.

[@rachi5212]

I've been too scared to see this as I'm 'socially awkward' and tend to see shows alone. What are the views like in the seats, and do these have any interactive elements?

[@emhu2594]

I went to see it alone twice. What exactly scares you?

[@lizb2978]

I can be anxious about 'immersive' stuff as well and it was fine. I watched it from the seats, if you get there right when doors open you may have to wait on the floor a few minutes to get up to your seat and there are front of house wandering round the floor a bit selling hotdogs etc. but not in the seats and they don't approach unprompted. Once it's started for the seated audience it's like a normal show but the staging and how they shift the floor people about is fun to watch. If you have any sensory issues with lighting the first layer of seats was fine but it felt like the second layer might be less good because of the lighting rig but that could just be a me thing!

[@katiechambers1319]

I saw it alone and had so much fun! Made friends with some of tje people around me

[@little_whisk]

I saw it last year, and hadn't seen guys and dolls before. I didn't like the story, found it old fashioned and I didn't connect with it. It relies on a lot of dated premises like taking someone abroad under false pretenses and spiking their drink is an acceptable way to start a relationship , and all women want from life is to be married regardless of how it's achieved 😬 I enjoyed the visuals, dancing and party scenes, the stage management was excellent but at 5ft 2 I basically couldn't see anything apart from the odd hand or top of head unless I stood at the back of the standing area, so not really part of the action for most of the show.

[@matthewplampton955]

I really am missing something with this guys and dolls revival praise it keeps getting. For me personally, It's just the same dated plot and book, a few catchy songs, but with a moving set. Doesn't feel like it's saying anything new, unlike what we saw with the Sunset Boulevard revival which was a complete contemporary evolution. It was fun when I went but I've seen many many better shows in the last 12 months.

[@Colourful-Monochrome]

This 👏 this 👏 this 👏 I struggled so hard with this show because it is sooooo dated and I didn’t care about pretty much anything or anyone other than wanting that damn craps game to happen and wanting Adelaide to do better for herself romantically. The production quality is great and the costumes and choreography is excellent and the “big numbers” are great but all the in between songs are just… boring 🤷‍♀️ Also I personally wasn’t vibing with the staging, like fair play to try something bold but I just found it too distracting and I was seated 😬 Ultimately I was hoping they would modernise the plot a bit but nope it’s still very toxic and dated which was sad to see.

[@jamesmcarthur6945]

I love the classics but honestly this should just be put to rest. I was recently in this play a year ago and no one enjoyed it. Audiences actors crew you name it. Its incredibly dated premise and book and jokes. And the songs are catchy but unmemorable. And the characters are so unlikable by today's standards. Nobody was truly hyped or excited.

[@MickeyJoTheatre]

Have you seen this production James?

[@jamesmcarthur6945]

@@MickeyJoTheatre I'm an American so no lol I've seen a Broadway revival in 2009 and thought the same thing I just typed

[@margaretholcombe6356]

Surely it is a "crap" game, not "craps" ? It used to be, perhaps they've changed it?

[@Makeji]

Nope. The game is called craps.

[@emhu2594]

The show was too long and boring, the plot was tired and old, skye and sarah were amateurishly performed in terms of acting and singing (sarah has a great voice but for me is miscast), adelaide and nathan should have been the leads (marisha is a star), and they rushed through luck be a lady ruining it, which i thought they should have taken more care to do justice to. The cold song was one of the worst things i have ever heard. So many people werent able to stand for the full 3 hours and they were forced to leave. Simply having it be immersive is not enough to update the things that are in painful need of updating or flesh out the characters and the plot (and remove the sexism.). Sunset Boulevard was by far the best of the year. Sunset Boulevard was an example of a great update. I thought all the turban nonsense and grand staircases were cheesy so the bare stage and costumes were an improvement for me over the original. rachel tucker should eligible for something for her performance, she killed it.

[@Makeji]

All four characters are leads. None are considered supporting as least to my recollection. As for Adelaide's Lament, if you didn't like it, the actor singing wasn't doing her job. I live in the US, so didn't see this production. Cannot imagine being immersed. I'm claustrophobic and old! 3 hours on your feet it entirely too much.

[@emhu2594]

@@Makeji lol you clearly don't know about Marisha Wallace. I feel sorry for you.

[@Makeji]

@@emhu2594 Even MickeyJo said the song wasn't presented well. It became a real lament instead of the comedy number it was written as. In the original Vivian Blaine played the dumb blonde Adelaide. If you can get a video of the film of Guys and Dolls, you will see what I mean. Other than that, I've never seen Marisha Wallace, so was only replying to a comment about that number in this show.