Guys & Dolls

Guys & Dolls runs at the Aberdeen Arts Centre from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 November, put on by Phoenix Youth Theatre. It's the Broadway musical based on the stories and characters of Damon Runyon, set in 'Runyonland' — a comic-book version of Times Square where cops, con men, gamblers, showgirls, tourists and Salvation Army types all cross paths in equal measure.

At the centre of it is Nathan Detroit, who runs a highly illegal dice game and needs to raise £1,000 to keep it afloat. To get there, he makes a bet with the dashing gambler Sky Masterson that he can take Sergeant Sarah Brown, of the Save-a-Soul Mission, all the way to Havana, Cuba. While that's unfolding, Nathan keeps jilting Miss Adelaide, the nightclub chanteuse he's been engaged to for fourteen years, leaving her with a fierce case of psychosomatic sniffles. After a series of comic complications, Nathan gets his game, Sky comes down to earth, Sarah saves a soul and Adelaide finally gets rid of her cold.

The score carries some of musical theatre's best-known numbers, including 'Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat', 'I've Never Been in Love Before', 'Luck Be a Lady' and the title song. It's a classic for a reason, and seeing it on a local stage is a good way to catch it.

Performances are at 7:30pm from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 November, with a matinee on Saturday 21 at 2:30pm. Tickets are £30.18 standard and £28.06 concession, both including the booking fee, at the Aberdeen Arts Centre, 33 King Street, AB24 5AA.