I love Guys and Dolls, it’s honestly, unironically one of my favorite movie musicals. I know people love to hate on Marlon Brando's singing, but honestly compared to some modern movie adaptations of Broadway musicals he really ain't even that bad! He embodies Sky Masterson and his suave, arrogant swagger just perfectly, he's having a great time doing it, and he acts the songs well and I respect it. I will die on the hill that Marlon Brando was a good Sky Masterson.
Guys and Dolls opened in London this year, and I really wanted to go see it as despite it being my favorite movie musical I'd never seen it on stage before. I guess because it's old producers assume it's outdated, and I had some numpties sat next to me who thought it was set in the 1920s and were moaning over how 'traditional' the story line is that sadly maybe proved that to be true? I hope not though! Just because something isn't relatable to current culture doesn't make it irrelevant. I feel like people are seeing less and less outside of their own personal experiences when it comes to art nowadays and if it isn't relatable to them personally then it's somehow not worth bothering with which is sad. Movies, theater, books, and art are supposed to expand your perspective, not limit it to what you already know.
I'd heard a lot of hype about how Guys and Dolls is staged because it's in the middle of the theatre, kind of like an amphitheatre? The stage is multiple cubes that rise and lower depending on where is actually being used by the actors, and they sell 'immersive tickets' so some audience members can stand around the stage. I did not like the sound of that as I knew I'd be on my feet all day around London and would need the rest (I did 25,000+ steps this day!), and having seen it I now know I'd like it even less as the stagehands were constantly herding the audience off of lowered bits of stage that were soon to be raised which was distracting enough for me in my seat and made it not immersive. Because it was in the center you could also obviously see the stagehands setting up and disassembling everything, and my attention span just Can Not. Even if I didn't want to watch them I just couldn't help myself, so I found it really difficult to just get lost in the show. I did like how the stagehands were dressed as the NYPD though, that was a fun touch! There was a lot of really fun details like that, I guess because the audience are so up close to everything so it makes it more difficult for them to cut any corners. I was front row and had the public telephone set piece right by my seat and I was tickled to see all of the period accurate business cards and flyers on it. Because the show is set in New York, before it started there were hot dog stands and pretzel carts and market stalls selling various hats and accessories that were really selling these items but they looked like set dressing, so I wasn't the only one who took a minute to realize you could actually buy it.
The show itself was good and I enjoyed it, but at the same time it gave me a bigger appreciation for the movie. I know the movie changes some things, but overall it's a pretty accurate adaptation. And because it's an old musical there were attempts to update it in small ways that felt kind of sloppy. Mostly the Havana scene - originally Sky takes Sarah to a bar and starts dancing with another woman, which makes Sarah jealous and a fight breaks out. But in this production all of the dancers at the bar were men so it seemed like Sky had taken Sarah to a gay bar, and there's no before or after insinuations that Sky is bi so when he starts dancing with a man and Sarah gets jealous and starts a fight it actually makes it really tonally off, especially when you consider Sarah's a strict Christian missionary beating up a gay man. Like, yikes. Representation is important, but sometimes it feels like it's wedged in for the sake of wedging it in where it doesn't always fit. This was absolutely one of those instances and the whole scene was just really uncomfortable and weird. Other than that one off-piste scene though it was really good - but I do prefer a traditional theatre experience without the "immersion" so I can just get lost in the story without all of the distractions.
No comments:
Post a Comment