Album Review: GUYS & DOLLS A MUSICAL FABLE OF BROADWAY A CD You Can Bet On

Broadway Records has released a cast recording of the latest revival of GUYS & DOLLS playing London’s West End at The Bridge Theatre, and if this recording and the breathtaking photos in the CD booklet are any indication of the quality of the production, then get on the phone with your travel agent and get two tickets - one to England, and one to Guys & Dolls.  This recording is musical theater nirvana.  And, going back to those photos, it LOOKS like musical theater nirvana, too.  I was completely swept away by the entire experience of GUYS & DOLLS A MUSICAL FABLE OF BROADWAY (that is the billing on the album cover and on the website HERE).  This ninety-minute cast recording is filled with a generous amount of music, including reprisals, ballets, and additional material that will leave fans of the famed musical happy, and newcomers to the score, fans.  Thank you, Broadway Records for putting out this kind of material (and this kind of quality) to keep the Broadway buffs up to their airpods in mink that doesn’t need taking back.

The musical play Guys & Dolls is a classic, one always welcome for a revival (even the lamentable 2009 Broadway revival had its merits) but by the look of these production shots, director Nicholas Hytner has done a real number on the legendary show, and by the sound of the album, musical supervisor/arranger Tom Brady and orchestrator Charlie Rosen have infused the decades-old score with new life, exciting and interesting.  The entire creative team should be looked into on the website because the sets, costumes, and frozen moments of choreography built into Robbie Rozelle’s gorgeous packaging make the whole production look like a huge platter of sumptuous colorful petit fours come to life.  It’s delicious, and so is this album.

The leads of the show are all wonderful singers, and these wonderful singers successfully layer in their acting choices from the stage just the right way for a recording.  Starting with one of Broadway’s greatest opening numbers, “Fuge For The Tinhorns,” you can hear how well cast the voices are - it’s just beautiful, and the harmonies are spot-on, but by the time you get to the first character-driven song, “I’ll Know,” you find yourself getting lost in the mixture of gorgeous singing, acting choices, and dialogue that take you on the full story arc journey.  In fact, the Sky Masterson (Andrew Richardson) and Miss Sarah Brown (Celinde Schoenmaker) have all the great numbers.  They are, maybe, the most exciting all-around, fully capable Sarah and Sky I have ever heard, and that’s saying a lot.  The section of Frank Loesser’s immortal score that runs from “Havana” through “I’ve Never Been In Love Before” is sublime perfection that reminds a person just how impeccable the whole score is, and not just the brassy, fun numbers like "Adelaide's Lament" and "Luck Be A Lady".  

As for the other couple in the show, Miss Adelaide and Nathan Detroit, the actors in the parts (Marisha Wallace and Daniel Mays) steer clear of the memory of the famous men and women who have played these parts before with powerful vocals and solid acting choices, and it works for both actors.  Sometimes some of the choices made by and for Marisha Wallace feel a little forced, as though they are deliberately trying to be bigger than the shadow of the earlier Miss Adelaides (the new take on “Take Back Your Mink” really takes some getting used to) but Wallace wins out in the end with an original performance and great vocals.  And Mr. Mays doesn't just roll an 11 with his songs, his spoken portions of the album hit it big, too.  The ensemble makes the most of their work on the recording, making the songs and the entire cast sound good.   This is just a really fine piece of cast recording work and album producers Michael J. Moritz Jr., Charlie Rosen, and Tom Brady (there is a long list of co-producers and executive producers) are to be congratulated, especially Michael J. Moritz Jr., who is also listed with three different mixing credits; Michael Fossenkemper is listed as the master and he deserves a shout out, too.  All the tech work is well-executed.  Other creatives who should be named are production photographer Manuel Harlan, whose photos really make the booklet, and package designer Robbie Rozelle, whose work with those photos and the abundance of liner notes give the CD the kind of presentation it deserves.  GUYS & DOLLS A MUSICAL FABLE OF BROADWAY is an album that all lovers of musical theater will enjoy, either streaming or in disc format - but with such a beautiful presentation, the CD is preferred - this is Broadway as it was meant to be, even in the West End where it would appear they really know how to do Broadway, New York, and great musical theater.

GUYS & DOLLS A MUSICAL FABLE OF BROADWAY is a 2023 release on Broadway Records.  It is available on all streaming platforms.

Visit the Broadway Records website HERE.

If in London, you can get tickets to Guys & Dolls HERE.
 

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