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Guys and Dolls opens at London’s Savoy Theatre – the first reviews are in

Guys and Dolls opened its doors to press last night, as the media flocked to see the new show at London’s Savoy Theatre.

It had seriously big boots to fill after following in the footsteps of fellow Chichester Festival Theatre production, Gypsy, that previous called the Savoy home.

After taking 17 months to reach to West End since its premiere in August 2014, The Stage say Chichester’s Guys and Dolls is ‘worth the wait’.

Guys and Dolls photo by Paul Coltas

Photo: Paul Coltas

“Guys and Dolls is one of the truly irresistible American musicals,” reports the Evening Standard, “A portrait of gamblers, romantics, fast-talking low-lifes and colourful misfits. Frank Loesser’s score and lyrics are delicious, and the characters, drawn from the hard-boiled stories of Damon Runyon, are blessed with witty dialogue and plenty to sing about.”

While The Guardian acknowledges, “London loves Guys and Dolls – maybe more so than New York.”

Guys and Dolls photo by Paul Coltas

Photo: Paul Coltas

The shows leading cast in Jamie Parker (set to play Harry Potter at the Palace Theatre later this year) as Sky Masterson, Sophie Thompson as Miss Adelaide, David Haig as Nathan Detroit and Siubhan Harrison as Sarah Brown shine in reviews.

But it’s the supporting stars who really caught the eye of The Stage‘s Mark Shenton:

“There’s also some sensational support from a scene-stealing Gavin Spokes as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, nicely-nicely stopping the show with Sit Down Your’e Rockin’ the Boat, and Ian Hughes as the harried Benny Southstreet. Nic Greenshields is a formidable Big Jule and Neil McCaul is a charmingly understated Scottish accented Arvide Abernathy, bringing tremendous warmth to More I Cannot Wish You.”

Guys and Dolls will enjoy 13 weeks at London’s Savoy Theatre, book now at Ticketmaster.co.uk.