Guys & Dolls: Bobby Fox On This ‘Spectacular’ Show Right On Sydney Harbour
Image: Source: Opera Australia
The sights and sounds of 50s New York City are set to arrive on Sydney Harbour! Opera Australia’s Guys & Dolls is a new staging of one of the greatest musicals ever at the unique harbour-side Handa Opera, which has been host to iconic works like La Traviata and West Side Story.
Irish-Australian multi-hyphenate talent Bobby Fox is playing the smooth-talking craps game organiser Nathan Detroit in this production, notably played by Frank Sinatra in the 1955 film adaptation of the musical. But for anyone who’s seen Guys & Dolls before, Bobby promises quite a different take on the handler.
“I’ve added all these extra elements myself which Nathan doesn’t usually have,” Bobby tells City Hub. “Usually he’s an actor and comedian first with some live singing and zero dance. But I’ve given myself a lot of dance – I put my hand up for them to give it to me.”
It’s not the first time that Bobby has been in Guys & Dolls; when he appeared in a Melbourne production in 2014, he played the much smaller role of Nicely Nicely Johnson. Stepping into Nathan’s shoes this time around has been a much more special experience, Bobby says.
“It’s such a classic piece. The more I read the script and perform it, the more you see how perfect everything is in it. Nothing needs to be invented in order for it to be alive. It’s fabulous, it’s so good!”
Bobby Fox on the role of Nathan Detroit
At the beginning of the musical, the character of Nathan is on quite an unlucky streak. He hopes to source money for an illegal craps game from Sky Masterson (Cody Simpson), a gambler who’ll bet on just about anything, by betting he can’t take devout missionary Sarah Brown (Annie Aitken) to dinner in Havana, Cuba. Meanwhile, Nathan’s fiancee of 15 years Adelaide (Angelina Thomson) wants Nathan to put the craps behind him and get married to him.
“He’s a guy that’s down on his luck, but he doesn’t necessarily understand that he’s responsible for all his own luck,” says Bobby of Nathan. “He’s so blindly in love with Adelaide, so he’s in a lot of conflicts at all times. He’s been pulled in two very different directions; he thinks the money is what he needs in order to be the husband that Adelaide deserves, but he’s going about it all the wrong way.”
Bobby promises a more contemporary reimagining of some of the material in this reimagining of Guys & Dolls, courtesy of a delightful partnership with actress Angelina Thomson. “It’s a very unique interpretation of the relationship between Adelaide and Nathan, as opposed to stereotypically 1950s male-female dynamics.”
“I was immediately blown away by Angelina on day one of rehearsals, I was immediately drawn to her physical power and prowess. She’s so dominant when she performs, and so we wanted to play on that dynamic and their relationship. They’re still so passionate for each other after 15 years, all while he’s still resistant to that final tying of the knot and how that plays out.”
Bobby Fox promises “one of the best productions of Guys & Dolls ever seen”
It’s all set to take place on the Handa Opera stage with a gorgeous view of Sydney Harbour in the background, marking a first time appearance on the stage for Bobby. He comments: “This will be one of the most unique experiences that I’ll ever do, and I’ve been performing as a professional since I was 15.
“It’s a unique take on the presentation of Guys & Dolls, where instead of all the New York street signs, they wanted to find a central piece that could be used for different settings, and it’s all gonna be a based around a huge taxi cab that’ll come down, rotate and turn into different things. I don’t know what I can say – I know they want to keep it as a surprise – but it’s going to feel very true to New York… as much as it can be with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in the background!”
Bobby gives his final recommendation for the show: “This is so unique, so special and done by one of the best theatre companies on the planet. You have a bunch of people who are the best in the game with a young, exciting cast. I’ve been doing it for a long time and I’m confident in saying it’s going to be absolutely electric and, without a doubt, one of the best productions of Guys & Dolls that anyone’s ever seen.”
Guys & Dolls plays at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour from March 21st until April 20th. Book tickets on the Opera Australia website.
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