Crockett? Johnson is more Tubs as main Guy

Casting Don Johnson, best remembered as smoothie detective Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice, as Nathan Detroit in spiv musical Guys And Dolls was always going to be a high-risk gamble.

When the chips are down, Johnson's effort is less Detroit, more Des Moines, Iowa: provincial, bland and totally devoid of the dangerous edge or seedy glamour demanded by characters drawn from Damon Runyon's sharp dissection of Forties New York's dark underbelly.

Mr Johnson's belly seems somewhat less taut these days and instead of any real fire we are treated to a flabby performance that seems to rely on wafting his arms about like a comedy Italian in a pizza ad.

His limitations are ultimately exposed in a key scene, when the illegal floating crap-game that is central to the plot plays out in Manhattan's sewers.

A strong cast, that includes a camp Al Capone parody by Nick Cavaliere as Big Jule, flushes Johnson out, leaving him high and dry. Comparisons with Frank Sinatra's multi-layered Detroit in the 1955 film version are both inevitable and unfavourable.

No matter! Johnson's avuncular charms worked for my neighbours, a gaggle of knicker-wetting matronly Miami Vice fans. Nor should it deter you from seeing Michael Grandage's hugely enjoyable revival of this classic musical.

There is much to savour, not least Rob Ashford's tight choreography that ups a gear when the action moves to Havana.

Here, prim Salvation Army sergeant Sarah Brown - Emmerdale escapee Amy Nuttall, a revelation - turns feisty doll, in an amusing Bacardi-fuelled romp with future beau Sky Masterson, played, at times a little too sweetly, by Norman Bowman.

Frank Loesser's music and lyrics could survive anything chucked at them. The snappy Luck Be A Lady Tonight, wistful ballad I've Never Been In Love Before and a rumbustious rendition of Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat are undoubted highlights.

A limber Samantha Janus, as hypochondriac hoofer Miss Adelaide, Detroit's long-time fiancée, is good value, despite a Noo Yawk accent and delivery that drifts between Seventies TV cop Mary Beth Lacey and Olive Oyl.

Low-key sets and occasionally dowdy costumes could use an injection of pizzaz, as at times it feels more Second Avenue than Broadway, but otherwise this gangster chic love story is well worth a flutter and mostly comes up trumps.

Booking until 14 April (0870 060 0123). Denman St W1C, Mon-Sat 7.30pm, mats Weds and Sat 2.30pm, £20-£55. Tube: Piccadilly Circus

Guys And Dolls
Piccadilly Theatre
Denman Street, W1D 7DY