The hit musical Guys and Dolls recently transferred from the Chichester Festival Theatre up to London, as so many musicals have done in recent years. The theatre in Chichester appears to be a lucky charm for all productions that play there, seeing them all journey to London to play to and delight the capital’s audiences too. The hit production is also set to tour the UK, enabling audiences further afield to experience the show too.
The show will move from the Savoy Theatre – where it is currently playing – to the Phoenix Theatre in March with a UK tour running simultaneously. Having only opened at the Savoy in January, the confirmation of its transfer across London demonstrates the popularity of the show. The production will replace the musical Bend It Like Beckham which shuts on 5 March, with Guys and Dolls opening on 19 March, soon after closing at the Savoy on 12 March. The show is currently booking at the Phoenix Theatre until October 2016.
Directed at the Chichester Festival Theatre by Gordon Greenberg, the show will also tour from 16 March across the UK at the same time as the extended West End run. The UK tour will visit Liverpool Empire; Theatre Royal, Newcastle; His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen; The Edinburgh Playhouse; Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield; Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin; Theatre Royal, Norwich; Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; Grand Theatre, Leeds; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; King’s Theatre, Glasgow; Milton Keynes Theatre; Theatre Royal, Nottingham; The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; New Theatre, Cardiff; Bristol Hippodrome; Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton and New Victoria Theatre, Woking.
While full casting details are to be confirmed, the show tells the story of gangsters in New York and the love story between a gambling man and a Salvation Army woman. It features songs such as “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ The Boat”.