11 Oct 2025
Deborah Heath is at the Eric Morecambe Centre for the Harpenden Musical Theatre Company’s latest production…
As the song goes, ‘Luck Be a Lady Tonight’ – well I am certainly a lucky lady being able to see and review such a range of plays in the district. There is something about the weather getting colder that means a nice jolly musical is what we need to lift our spirits.
Last week I was lucky enough to see the fabulous ‘Sunday in The Park With George’ from EverAfter Productions which was a clever and somewhat niche piece. This week I
travelled as far as Harpenden and after battling with some parking issues (Harpenden really needs some more car parks) arrived at the Eric Morecambe Centre to see the ever-popular ‘Guys and Dolls’ from Harpenden Musical Theatre Company. It had been a busy day and this was just what I needed to lift my spirits.
Harpenden Musical Theatre Company (formerly Harpenden Light Operatic) are well known in the area for picking some crowd-pleasing shows and delivering them well.
‘Guys and Dolls’ was a great choice – it is a well-known Broadway hit with a successful film version (starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra) and I should think that most people in the audience would be at least familiar with a few of the catchy songs even if they hadn’t seen it before.
In a nutshell, this is a double love story with a bit of gambling thrown in. Nathan Detroit runs illegal craps games and Adelaide, his fiancé of 14 years and cabaret girl is waiting for him to finally make enough money, commit and walk her down the aisle. Nathan has a bet with wealthy associate Sky Masterston that he can’t win over straight-laced mission worker, Sarah. Their stories intertwine and love blossoms in the New York underworld, often with comic results.
The Eric Morecambe Centre (opened in 2021) still has a lovely new smell; it is well appointed with audience facilities and like the Alban Arena is a useful local space.
However, the large auditorium does have a rather municipal feel and means that the cast are always battling with acoustical challenges. With an echoey environment like
this, performers need to be particularly careful with their diction and on some occasions this was a bit of a problem.
As a musician myself, when I see a musical with a live band I am delighted and let me tell that that this band, lead by Keith Willis are outstanding. It was therefore very frustrating that they were hidden from view, connected by a live feed from another room. There is more and more and this going on, even in the West End and I am not very happy about it! It makes life very difficult for the band and the performers on stage and takes away a lot of the joy for the audience. So let’s take out the first few rows of seats, put the music back in a musical, and celebrate these hugely talented instrumentalists rather than banish them like naughty children.
I was impressed with the large and talented cast. There was always the buzz of energy that is necessary for a show like this to succeed. I must start by crediting the hardworking chorus because without them the atmosphere would be lacking. The dancing and singing were of a very high standard. Adam Beckman as Nicely-Nicely
and Howard Sallinger as Benny Southstreet hit the ground running with their strong, comedic character portrayals. They continued in this strong vein, bringing joy
whenever they were on stage and the song ‘Guys and Dolls’ was delivered brilliantly as was my favourite number ‘Sit Down; You’re Rockin’ The Boat’.
Our two leading ladies, Aly Morrell as Sarah and Jasmine Poulton as Adelaide had outstanding singing voices that were clear and powerful. They both brought the right
amount of humour to their roles which in Sarah’s case isn’t particularly easy; great work! Ben Fricke was a very convincing Nathan and I loved the interplay between him and Jasmine Poulton. Matt Fowler was a charming Sky and his ‘Luck Be a Lady Tonight’ was very well delivered. The highlight of the show for me was the Cuban section which kicked off with marvellous choreography and continued with some hilarious interplay for Sky and Sarah.
Costume design by Chris Cardy was spot on. From the outrageous cabaret outfits to the reserved mission uniform, each item was bold and fun. I must also commend the set
designer Rob Hemmin for his thoughtful work and stage managers and crew for managing a fast-moving show like this. The key is to keep the basic staging simple, which HMTC did with New York-style neon lights setting the scenes. Any additional set items were wheeled or carried on seamlessly. Scene changes were managed with slick finesse throughout and many companies could lean from such an example.
‘Guys and Dolls’ is a fun musical with some toe-tapping tunes and HMTC have realised it well. Well done to director Linda Dyne and the company. There are still some shows remaining at time of writing so if you want a fun night out I recommend buying a ticket.
Photos from rehearsals.
