Guys And Dolls

Theatre is constantly changing, and yet remaining the same with musicals we know and love. For people living in the outer suburbs, amateur theatre is imperative to keep theatre alive; and when the company is the award winning Windmill (their 2013 award winning production of The Phantom Of The Opera is still talked about) then you know that theatre is in good hands. It doesn’t hurt either that they have access to Dandenong’s Drum Theatre as their performance venue. It’s a beautiful theatre, well equipped and comfortable. Windmill and Drum is definitely a winning combination.

Frank Loesser’s musical based on Damon Runyan’s iconic characters seems timeless and yet strangely dated, set in immediate post war New York. There’s little of Runyan left in the flavour and ambience, but that doesn’t stop the score from being one of the most successful ever, with every song a winner. …and the story of Gamblers looking for a place to hold a crap game, while feeling dated, still drives the major stories….of a gambler afraid to marry his fiancé of 14 years…and another who doesn’t believe in love …and stops them from feeling too clichéd.

There are several exceptional performances in a cast which overall is already a step up from being merely “Good”. Sean Van Geyzel is superb as Nathan Detroit, possibly the best I have ever seen. With an easy (and totally at ease) stage presence, a great sense of comic timing, a terrific voice and an excellent natural “mover” rather than dancer, he makes Nathan an adorable larrikin and wins the audience instantly. Look for his name when awards season comes around. Lizzie Matjacic is all one could ever hope for in Miss Adelaide. I was a little concerned that this marvellous performer would perhaps be too genteel for the part (I’ve seen her play Diana in Next to Normal and reduce an audience to tears). I needn’t have worried. Lizzie has a fabulous voice along with great acting skills and she showed she’s also a great comedian. She and Van Geyzel have great chemistry together and the pair are largely responsible for the success of the production.

Lauren McCormack has a beautiful soprano voice and is perfect and endearing as the stitched up Salvo Sarah Brown. The pairing of Adam Kirk (Nicely Nicely Johnson) and Xavier Goring (Benny Southstreet) is inspired. They work perfectly together, have the same level of audience appeal, and the stage is definitely brighter when they are on it. Scott Reid was clearly suffering first night nerves. He fluffed several lines and seemed somewhat stodgy in the role of Sky Masterson, a character whose middle name has to be “Charisma” in order for him to woo Sergeant Brown. However, his voice is lovely and no doubt he will settle in as the season progresses. The supporting cast give their all.

Alberto Salvato’s set is very impressive, though perhaps something could be used to break up the huge bank of red velvet curtains in the Hot Box club. Peter Amesbury is one of our most interesting lighting designers and I’ve admired his work in the past. At first I found the device of bringing the stage lighting down to almost a blackout and then lighting certain numbers with overhead spots a little disconcerting and perhaps over theatrical. But it IS very right for that period of theatre and it neatly focuses on just the artists, and I ended up loving it. The amazing Vicki Quinn uses her expertise and command to get the very best from the band and Cassie Kirk does a marvellous job on the choreography, especially with the men, very few of whom are actually dancers.

Peter Roberts has to take the responsibility for the lack of pace on opening night. Even allowing for nerves, this is a show that should run 2hrs 30mins to 2hrs 40 mins with an interval. The fact that this ran 3 minutes shy of 3 hours, is telling – and some cues took ages, with actors crossing to their marks and then standing still to say a line. Some rehearsal on small things like that will lift the energy levels and move the show along. The same with the jokes. I’m not sure some of the cast members actually understood what they meant, and you can’t make a line funny and get a laugh from an audience, if you don’t know what it means.

But criticism is minimal. This is quality amateur theatre and an absolute gift to those in the area.

Coral Drouyn

Photographer: Gavin D Andrew