REVIEW: Guys and Dolls Sheffield Lyceum April 19 - April 23

The comic book characters, predictable plots, campy melodrama and unforgettable tunes have classic Broadway written all over them.

And if you can forget how dated it is — it did premiere in 1950, to be fair — then it's a really riotous laugh.

Nathan Detroit (Maxwell Caulfield) needs a venue for his infamous, illegal dice game — somewhere the NYPD and nagging fiancee Miss Adelaide (Louise Dearman) can’t find it.

A friend offers him the use of his garage if Nathan can pony up $1,000 in advance, but Nathan is broke.

So he bets old pal Sky Masterson (Richard Fleeshman) that Sky can’t take the pious missionary Sgt Sarah Brown (Anna O’Byrne) for dinner in Havana.

This national spin-off tour from Guys and Dolls’ latest West End revival oozes star quality.

Any of the lead actors could been trained in Hollywood’s heyday.

The vocal performances are top class, the dancing is acrobatic and the choreography breathtaking.

The dazzling set design gives the flavour of Broadway without actually showing it to you.

Signs and fairy lights pulse in time with the orchestra as little glimpses of the setting — chairs, tables, news stands and streetlights — are whisked smoothly on and off.

Guys and Dolls is still touring around the UK, a well as playing in London.

Visit www.guysanddollsthemusical.co.uk for information on where you can catch it.

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