Nicholas Hytner’s multi-award winning immersive production, Guys & Dolls is delighted to announce that Gina Beck (Matilda; The Sound of Music; Show Boat; Wicked; Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables) and Michael Simkins (John Gabriel Borkman; Backstairs Billy; The Unfriend; Fracked!; Yes, Prime Minister; MAMMA MIA!) will be joining the cast from 2nd September.
Gina will play Sarah Brown, taking over the role from Celinde Schoenmaker (Howard Goodall’s Love Story; Les Misérables; The Phantom of the Opera) and Michael will be taking over the role of Arvide Abernathy from Niall Buggy (To Kill A Mockingbird; Juno and The Paycock; Rough Crossing).
Gina Beck said: “I’ve dreamt of playing this role and singing this beautiful score for so long I can’t actually believe I’m going to get to do it, and in such an incredible production. I hope I can at least half fill the shoes of the sensational Celinde Schoenmaker who created the role in this beautiful revival. “If I were a gate I’d be swiiiingiiing!!!””
Michael Simkins said: “I am thrilled to bits to be working at the Bridge Theatre again, and even more thrilled to be joining this sensational show, having seen it in January and been utterly blown away by it. The words I used afterwards to describe it to my friends and family (all of whom I insisted must see the production without delay) was ‘transformative’ – fresh as paint, wonderfully uplifting, and utterly irresistible.”
They are joining Owain Arthur (The History Boys; One Man, Two Guvnors; The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) playing Nathan Detroit, George Ioannides (An Officer and a Gentleman; Annie; MAMMA MIA!) playing Sky Masterson, Timmika Ramsay (Moulin Rouge!; Cinderella) playing Miss Adelaide, and Jonathan Andrew Hume (Come From Away; nominated for Best British Actor in a Musical at the Black British Theatre Awards) playing Nicely-Nicely Johnson.
The Bridge’s production of Guys & Dolls, which runs until 4 January 2025, immerses audiences in one of the greatest musicals of all time. In this production the seating is wrapped around the action, while the immersive tickets transport audiences to the streets of Manhattan and the bars of Havana. This unlikeliest of love stories is packed with hit songs, including the showstopping Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat, Luck Be a Lady and Take Back Your Mink.
Since opening, Guys & Dolls has won multiple prestigious awards including the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Arlene Phillips with James Cousins, Best Musical at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, three WhatsOnStage Awards including Best Musical Revival, and the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Musical (the Peter Hepple Award).
Guys & Dolls features an incredible supporting cast including Cornelius Clarke as Lieutenant Brannigan, Cameron Johnson as Big Jule, TJ Lloyd as Rusty Charlie, Ryan Pidgen as Benny Southstreet, Tori Scott as General Cartwright, and Dashaun Vegas as Harry the Horse.
They are joined by Iroy Abesamis, Katie Bradley, Tanisha-Mae Brown, Filippo Coffano, Eamonn Cox, Kamilla Fernandes, Alex Given, Lucie Horsfall, Dominic Lamb, Siân Nathaniel-James, Saffi Needham, Sophie Pourret, James Revell, Nathan Rigg, Pierce Rogan, Samuel Routley, Charlotte Scott (Co-Dance Captain), Hollie Jane Stephens and Dale White (Dance Captain, Fight Captain).
Guys & Dolls – a musical fable of Broadway, based on the story and characters of Damon Runyon – has music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, with – choreography by Arlene Phillips with James Cousins, musical supervision and arrangements by Tom Brady, set by Bunny Christie, costumes by Bunny Christie and Deborah Andrews, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Arditti, orchestrations by Charlie Rosen, associate direction by James Cousins and Lily Dyble, casting by Charlotte Sutton, fight direction by Kate Waters and wigs, hair and make-up by Campbell Young Associates.
Celinde Schoenmaker and Niall Buggy’s final performance will be 31 August.
