Immersive London Night

The London immersive version of Guys and Dolls was fantastic. I entered the Bridge Theatre with low expectations mostly because when someone says “immersive” I think of shows like Tony and Tina’s Wedding. If I’m paying for a ticket, it’s because I’m the audience and don’t want to be a part of it.

The immersive part, turned out to be a pit area, where people could stand (you paid for a standing ticket) and dance with the music. In the center of this there was an area for the the actors to perform, platforms that would raise them over the pit. The rest of the house was in a square design. The performers played to each side; all the seats at different angles seemed to work out fine.

Kudos to director Nicholas Hunter and the players for this version of one of my favorite musicals. They nailed it. Mark Oxtoby•• had Nathan Detroit down. He talked the talk, walked the walk and great rapport with Marisha Wallace’s Adelaide. Wallace brought a soulful quality to the part, I hadn’t seen before.

Cedric Neals’ Nicely-Nicely Johnson brought the house down with his “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” number. The choreography played with each side of the house with the gamblers in unison moving the chairs to face each side of the house, per chorus of the song. Neal’s looked back at the conductor (above) after the thunderous ovation. He shrugged an “alright” and they repeated the chorus part of the song. We responded. 🙂

**Oxtoby normally plays another character but subs for lead Daniel Mays (who was also praised for this role)