Based on characters created by Damon Runyon, Guys and Dolls is set in New York in the post World War 11 period and tells the story of two gamblers, Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson. Detroit has been engaged for fourteen years without any signs of proceeding to marriage and he bets Masterson the challenge of winning over a Salvation Army missionary in the expectation of winning money to finance his moveable gambling dens.
Guys and Dolls is very much a musical set in its time and this production, like the show itself, must seem very old fashioned if not alien to current generations. I think for its slim storyline the show is far too long and up to forty-five minutes could have been trimmed from its length.
The gimmick of Magda Szubanski playing a male, which worked brilliantly in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is a dud in Guys and Dolls. Otherwise, the Australian cast performs very strongly with the visit to Havana scene and Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat number standouts.
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