Stanley Alliance Theatre
2750 Granville Street
May 22nd, 2024
Tickets from $46.00 to $162.00
May 16th to June 30 th , 2024
The Stanley Alliance Theatre is one of the most beautiful and memorable venues in all of Vancouver. This beautiful theatre has 620 seats in a stately art deco building. Before its conversion to a cinema, the Stanley opened in 1931 as a vaudeville house. In 1998, the Arts Club made the Stanley Alliance Theatre their official home after purchasing it from Famous Players for over 3 million dollars and has operated as their flagship theatre since. After a kind greeting and welcoming from the wonderful staff, a bar with snacks of several varieties will be found; beer, wine and other beverages await at the lobby bar for purchase.
Walking into the Stanley is always a special experience. Their designers and creative visionaries always offer a beautiful marvel to enjoy, and Guys and Dolls is certainly no exception. The house was filled with only a few vacant seats and the environment was abuzz. The excitement to enjoy one of Broadway’s absolute classics was amid the air. An excellent range in demographics came out for opening night, which is always wonderful to see younger faces in the audience-keeping the world of theatre alive and well. I could overhear fellow patrons discussing which numbers they were most excited to see and which returning actors to the Stanley stage they were pleased to see again. The audience was lively and ready for an absolute classic.
The set was breathtaking. The complexity of the lighting design and formation was immense and stunning. Each individual bulb lighting up the marquees, taverns, night clubs, shops, it was beautiful and astonishing. The dazzle of Manhattan knocks one out of their seat. With so much to look at, it is not overwhelming but copacetic in its design. It truly feels as if we are right on Broadway in New York with all the theatres, restaurants, bars and clubs in one sight. The colours are mesmerising. The neon lights dance with the individual bulbs lighting up the marquees. With such a complicated but organized set, it is amazing to watch all the separate lighting designs flow together so well.
The overture powerfully welcomes the audience into the show with a great selection of numbers to come, which always excites the house for what they are about to hear and see. The orchestra is brilliant and work together so well. At times, it feels prerecorded as it is nearly flawless. It brings a traditional Broadway sound with strength, energy and soothing melodies to both excite and ease the audience into the show. No time is wasted jumping into the action of the production. The audience is immediately met with convincing New York-accentsm (Adam Henderson, dialect coach) and the hustle and bustle of what it is like to live, work and breathe on Broadway. There are usually one or two actors whose accents are a tad over the top or not quite convincing. However, that is not the case with this show. The costumes by Christine Reimer are beautiful and take you right back into 1950’s Manhattan. The opening visual of the show after the overture was impactful and truly transformed the Stanley stage into the streets of Manhattan. Josh Epstein plays Nathan Detroit and truly transforms into a classic gangster of New York. Commanding numbers like “Guys and Dolls,” his voice is powerful, smooth and has a vibrato one would expect to hear in a Broadway or West End production. His tall presence and natural abilities on stage make the character believable but still animated enough to match the energy of the show- a strong leading man. Madeline Suddaby plays Miss Adelaide and proves a great match with Epstein. Her voice resonates across the theatre and leaves a beautiful sound in the ear. Their connection and chemistry are exactly where the characters need to be. A strong performance and a difficult one at that from Suddaby. The character Sarah Brown is played by Chelsea Rose, and she delivers it wonderfully. Her entrances are always theatrical and exciting. Sky Masterson (Jonathan Winsby) is the character we first see, and he brings the audience in with his excellent acting performance. With a strong and engaging rendition of “Luck be a Lady”, he does the signature number justice. He engages us immediately with excitement but once again, believability. Winsby has a beautiful baritone to match
his acting skills. Our leads are all terrific and have been cast in the right roles.
The choreography (Shelley Stewart Hunt) is immaculate. Every design is clearly well thought out and viewed up close and from afar. With some traditional moves and creative, unfamiliar sights, the design for the dances is beautiful. The costumes are incorporated into the movements and certainly hold the necessary dazzle for the big numbers. The intimate moments are also well designed and create a delicate atmosphere which pull the audience into the sense of romance. The use of boas, fedoras and at one point, balloons- yes, balloons! I’ll leave that to your imagination. Choreographing this show is a huge undertaking and is brilliantly done.
One of the most famous numbers on Broadway comes from this show. “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat” is always a highly anticipated number and it is important that it hits with power and great energy. Tenaj Williams as Nicely-Nicely Johnson absolutely nails it. This was a showstopper. I have not heard such a thunderous applause from an audience after a number as I have with this one. I saw several audience members give Williams and the ensemble a standing ovation which seldom happens mid-show. The energy, the boisterousness and the chemistry with everyone on stage was terrific. It is important that the audience walks away satisfied with this number and everyone
certainly was. The applause lasted for nearly a full minute before the show was able to commence. Brilliant! The ensemble is terrific. Of course, in classic Broadway-fashion, it is important that we have an ensemble which are just as engaging as the principal roles, and they certainly deliver that. This show does not have one weak performance- whether it be our leading actors or our ensemble, all are incredible and
make this show feel like a night on Broadway. The dancing, the harmonies and the ability to use the stage so well together was seamless.
This is one of the greatest productions I have ever seen at the Stanley. The scene changes were colourful and flawless and filled with dazzle. The direction of the show is clearly a deep work of passion for Corcoran. Ken Cormier is the conductor and musical director of the band; as well, the keyboardist and has spent an immense amount of time and effort to get the sound exactly where it needs to be. The musicians must be good friends as their sound flows together marvellously.
Frank Loesser is the writer of the music and lyrics for the show Guys and Dolls. The book is written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is originally based on the short stories by David Runyon, “The Idyll of Miss Brown” and “Blood Pressure.” GUYS and Dolls is a brilliant production and I strongly recommend coming to see it at the Stanley Alliance Theatre. The show runs from May 16th to June 30 th , 2024.
Well written and capturers the show in all its glory