Presented by Opera Australia. Directed by Shaune Rennie.
Handa Opera delivers another knockout evening of spectacle, glossing over an outdated book, in a feat of physicality and engineering
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie’s Point
Until 20th April, 2025
Tickets: https://opera.org.au/productions/guys-dolls-on-sydney-harbour/
Type: Musical Fable, Outdoor Spectacle
If you liked: West Side Story on Sydney Harbour, The Music Man, Singing in the Rain
The Tony Award-Winning Guys and Dolls, based on a story and characters by Damon Runyon gets the outdoor spectacular treatment in a production that indulges in the binary with enough glamour and razzamatazz that is befitting of its stunning harbour backdrop.
Presented by Opera Australia’s Handa Opera extension, the outdoor, on the harbour floating stage has become expected to be a spectacle of an evening, and they never fail to disappoint. Fireworks, gorgeous sunsets, gravity defying breathlessness on a raked stage all tick the boxes of the evening set against reverberating music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, adapted by Jack Earle and Guy Simpson.
Guys and Dolls is a Broadway flashback to the growing category of outdated musicals that are difficult to transpose out of its time setting. Bringing a story about 50’s New York gamblers betting on anything from cheesecakes to women, and conversations between its female characters that definitely don’t pass the litmus test can be a gamble for a growing contemporary audience. It’s not without its success stories though, with London’s Bridge Street Theatre adapting the immersive theatrical experience to stage with depth imbued in its thinly written female characters, and a heft of romantic chemistry with it.
Director Shaun Rennie, gives us the fable rendition of Guys and Dolls, leaning into the quirky characterisation and absurdity of some of its less than exemplary male characters, but in doing so doesn’t allow the women much depth to counteract Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows‘ book. Bobby Fox’s Nathan Detroit is a gambling addict looking to feed his gambling crowd with illegal craps games, meanwhile Cody Simpson’s Sky Masterson is an untouchable better who never loses and refuses to see women as anything less than a “dame” to win.
Meanwhile, whilst these men are gambling on Mars, the women on Venus are gorgeously toned in their seductive dance moves, thanks to Kelley Abbey’s choreography. Angelina Thomson’s Miss Adelaides’ infuriated 14-year engagement to Fox’s Detroit leaves her without much depth or ability to control their relationship, and Annie Aitken’s missionary Sarah Brown is the classical romantic interest needing to bend her morals to the less than holy ways of men. Beneath all the glitz and glamour, no amount of fireworks can make up for lines like “I can’t wait to be in the kitchen”.
But we’re not here for a lesson in evaluating the changes of gender roles in the world, we’re here for the most unique theatrical experience in Sydney, and this is where Rennie, set designer Brian Thomson, and the creative team deliver in abundance. Not only are Handa Opera’s outdoor shows a feat in cardio for its performers who dance up and down a raked stage, it’s also a technical feat of choreography for its backstage crew and technicians.
Cranes lift in neon lit Havana signs and larger than life playing dice, meanwhile a classic New York taxi twice the size of any of the performers rolls on and off the stage, opening to reveal set changes such as the Hot Box cabaret performances of Miss Adelaide. A trumpet accidentally left on stage from a set change is swiftly taken off by a heroic stage hand who sprints to grab it and escape the stage in time for the taxi to land. It’s a feat of theatrical engineering behind the electrifying dance numbers.
Guys and Dolls is this year’s most unique theatrical experience
Returning to the musical theatre world, Simpson doesn’t quite so much as make a splash as he does drift through the water as the alluring Sky Masterson. Playing opposite, Aitken shines in her vocal scales from soprano to deep belts as the pair struggle to form believable chemistry in the void of the gargantuan staging.
Instead, Fox and Thomson are the real love interest of the piece as we root for Nathan who is quite literally forced to finally marry the psychologically love-lorn Miss Adelaide. Fox is a staunch performer on stage, rooting his presence throughout. Meanwhile, Thomson is charming, albeit ditzy, as Adelaide with belting vocals and captivating swiftness in the large ensemble numbers.
Jason Arrow’s Nicely Nicely Johnson receives the best number of the show, ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’ and in his first role post-Hamilton, Arrow shows that he’s got more vocal range in him than the lyrical marathons of a Miranda score. With the crowd begging for more, Arrow leans into the reprise with more gusto each time. Backed by the ensemble standing together on energized dice, the applause was more than deserving.
Guys and Dolls is this year’s most unique theatrical experience that is more than just a simple classical musical. Outdated the book may be, but the team at Handa Opera do everything in their power to give you enough (quite literal) bang for your buck.
Theatre Thought: I wonder when Handa Opera will spend big and incorporate a drone show into their outdoor spectaculars? Surely that’s the next big step.
Artist Information
CREATIVES
Director Shaun Rennie
Musical Director Guy Simpson
Choreographer Kelley Abbey
Set Designer Brian Thomson
Costume Designer Jennifer Irwin
CAST
Cody Simpson Sky Masterson
Annie Aitken Sarah Brown
Bobby Fox Nathan Detroit
Angelina Thomson Miss Adelaide
Jason Arrow Nicely Nicely Johnson
Joel Granger Benny Southstreet
Kieran McGrath Rusty Charlie
John Xintavelonis Harry the Horse
Doron Chester Big Jule
Tony McGill Arvide Abernathy
Thomas Campbell Lt Brannigan
Naomi Livingston General Matilda B. Cartwright
