Fun and frolic

AUDIENCES to Guys and Dolls – the latest mighty musical to come under the spotlight of St Christopher’s School – were treated to a delightful display of light-hearted fun and musical merriment.

With the accolades of last year’s triumph of Les Mis still ringing in their ears, this time a group of young performers, assisted by a dynamic team of musicians, teachers, parents and friends took on a challenging Broadway favourite with gusto and style.

The programme notes admitted that from 19th Century Paris to the US of the 1950s was quite a leap but the cast took in it all in its stride. It was easy to like this bunch of young men, who refuse to grow up and at the same time resonate with the dilemmas of the leading ladies who want to settle down with the fellas they love.

The mood was set right at the start with the wisecracks of Nathan Detroit’s sidekicks – Nicely Nicely Johnson and Benny Southstreet, played by Byron Webb and Nikita Krahenbuhl. Their posture and straight-faced delivery was admirable. I just wish Nicely Nicely had been padded up a little more effectively ... it would have made his comical figure even more so.

Fixer Nathan Detroit was slickly played by Ellis Cowling, whose accent and delivery was believable and he admirably achieved his goal of getting as close to character as possible.

But, my favourite performer was Robyn Durnford, who starred as his ever-hopeful fiancé of 14-years. Her superb voice and natural display of eccentricities was commendable. She pouted and pleaded, danced and sang and won over every member of the opening night audience.

Adelaide’s Lament, where she consulted a medical book that tells her that the chronic cold she suffers is a psychosomatic reaction to her frustration with Nathan’s failure to marry her was, in my opinion, one of the highlights of the show.
 
Palmyra Mattner, acting as Sarah Brown also proved to be a budding talent. With Alexander Farrell, who played the slick gambler Sky Masterson ... the couple were a joy to watch. Alex’s best moments came as he sang the most memorable song of the show – Luck be a Lady Tonight as he made the biggest gamble of his life during a craps game in the sewer.

The gamblers at the subsequent prayer meeting genuinely seemed out of place and their antics left everyone holding their sides with laughter.

Despite all the joys, there is always room for improvement. At times the dancers looked a little stiff and there appeared to have been plenty of opportunities to increase the size of the cast with the range of dance numbers on offer … more kids means more fun, more bums on seats and more delighted friends and families in the audience.

There were times when I felt a little apprehensive about the display of drunkenness and the effect of Sarah Palmer’s inebriated behaviour, particularly in front of younger members of the audience and conservative adults.

I appreciate it was all part of the plot but that brings into question the choice of production. Good girls can have fun without behaving badly. However, you can only work on the material put in front of you, and in this case it was a great job, well done.

- Anasuya Kesavan