Guys And Dolls, the classic Broadway musical that wowed critics and the public alike when it played at Chichester Festival Theatre, will transfer to London’s West End this Christmas.
Starring original cast members Jamie Parker and Sophie Thompson, the hit show will play a strictly limited 13-week season at the Savoy Theatre, starting on 10 December.
Set in prohibition-era New York, Guys And Dolls is the tale of Nathan Detroit, a local legend in desperate need of money to stage his illegal dice game, who makes a bet with notorious gambler Sky Masterson. The wager rests on Sky’s ability to romance straight-laced Salvation Army missionary Sarah Brown.
Original star of The History Boys, Parker, who can currently be seen in the BBC adaptation of Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell, plays Masterson, with Thompson, an Olivier Award winner for her performance in Into The Woods, as Detroit’s long-suffering fiancée Miss Adelaide.
In Chichester, where the show ran to great acclaim in the summer of 2014, Parker and Thompson were joined in the cast by Peter Polycarpou and Clare Foster as Nathan Detroit and Sarah Brown, though full casting for the West End run has yet to be confirmed.
The show, which boasts classic musical theatre tunes including My Time Of Day, Luck Be A Lady and Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat, also features choreography by Singin’ In The Rain’s Andrew Wright and Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta.
Guys And Dolls opens at the Savoy following the run of another Chichester production of a Broadway classic, Gypsy. The Imelda Staunton-led show, which also features Lara Pulver, runs until 28 November.