Cody Simpson leads the charge as 'Guys & Dolls' readies Sydney return

Cody Simpson will make his Australian stage debut in the lead role of ‘Guys & Dolls.’
The long-running musical has been confirmed as 2025’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.
Stage legends Bobby Fox and Jason Arrow have also joined the cast in major roles.

Pop star and prodigious swimmer Cody Simpson is set to make his return to the stage as he slinks into the lead role at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour’s Guys & Dolls.

With a brand-new production of the whimsical classic locked into one of the world’s most picturesque outdoor stages, Cody Simpson will tackle one of his biggest roles to date, slipping into the character of Sky Masterton. The lead role has the 27-year-old multi-hyphenate following in the footsteps of Marlon Brando, who made the role famous in 1995 when he starred in the original Guys & Dolls alongside Frank Sinatra.

This will be Cody’s first major musical endeavour since retiring from competitive swimming earlier this year.

“The role of Sky has always been one of my dream stage roles ever since I was first introduced to the story and the soundtrack of Guys & Dolls,” said Simpson when asked about the illustrious appointment.

“I fell in love with the film as a teenager when I first developed a passion for musical theatre prior to my debut on Broadway. I was drawn to the 1940’s-50’s era, the music, the style, the fashion.”

Cody Simpson has already had a long and fascinating career beyond the local Australian scene. As a singer-songwriter, he rose to global fame after being chosen as the opening act for Justin Bieber in the early 2010s, and before that the Gold Coast local held close ties with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner.

Since 2019, Simpson has been focused squarely on swimming, leaving the entertainment industry on the sidelines while he participated in the Commonwealth Games and the Australian Swimming Championships, both in 2022.

Now he’ll be flirting with water, but in a much different way. The spectacular Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour stage floats in Mrs Macquarie Point from late March to late April each year, squeezing both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House in its iconic vista.

It’s one of the most coveted platforms for actors in Australia.

Simpson will be leading the charge with support from two of Australia’s favourite leading men, Bobby Fox (as Nathan Detroit), who joins after his acclaimed performance in a local production of Hamilton, and Jason Arrow (as Nicely-Nicely Johnson). Also joining the cast will be Annie Aitken (as Sarah Brown), who is the object of Sky’s perpetual scheming.

With music by Frank Loesser and book by Joe Swerling and Abe Burrons, Guys & Dolls is a five-time Tony award-winning musical that has become one of the best known musicals of our time. Award-winning director Shaun Rennie has put together a new production of the story, which uses Brian Thomson’s New York-inspired set and Jennifer Irwin’s lavish costume design to tell the story of Manhattan’s criminal underworld in the 1920s and 1930s.

Guys & Dolls will play at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour from March 21, 2025 to April 20, 2025.