Congratulations to all the cast and crew of Guys and Dolls who took part in three fantastic performances of the classic American musical “Guys and Dolls”. The show was a triumph from start to finish, with excellent performances from everyone. Mrs Bacon started the rehearsals in January and by 2nd February the talented team of 40 actors and dancers from Years 9 to 13, 20 pit-band musicians from Years 7 to 13 and 11 technical / back stage crew from Years 8 to 12 were ready. Mrs Hammond had choreographed the dancers, Mrs Nixon and Miss Warburton had rehearsed the band and Mrs Harvey had organised all the set and technical side.
The actors all mastered the American accents very well, and the dancing was typical of 1920’s America. It would be very hard to see a better production of Guys and Dolls with a cast so young. The four principal characters Dominie Smith-Scott (Sarah), Alex Woods (Sky Masterson), Elizabeth Wilson (Adelaide) and Jack Lawless (Nathan Detroit) acted, sang and danced wonderfully ably supported by Will Main, Aurooj Iltaf, Jake Gibbons, Chris Nixon, Emily Prophet, Megan Fielden and Lydia Makin. There was plenty of glamour on the stage but in the Havana scene national competition ballroom dancers Melissa Middleton and Rhys Boyce added even more in their spectacular dance routine.
The pit band was amazing, playing to a very high standard for 120 minutes almost continuously for all three evenings. A very demanding schedule which they coped with excellently.
The backstage and technical crew were spot on at all three performances and without them the show would not have been anywhere as good.
Many thanks go to all the pupils who put in a lot of time and effort in the rehearsals after school and at weekends and to all the staff who ensured the production was yet another success for the school.
Guys and Dolls follows on from a long sequence of musicals and plays at Crompton House including The Little Shop of Horrors 2016, Grease 2015, Bugsy Malone 2014, Romeo and Juliet 2013, Annie 2012 The Crucible 2011, Macbeth 2010 and Les Miserables 2009. Before then there were productions of The Wiz, Return to the Forbidden Planet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The school has also taken part in the annual School Shakespeare Festival since 2005. An enviable record of school drama.
