Guys and Dolls defines a type of cool that's just not fashionable any more: the kind of cool that wears pin-stripes, and sees nothing wrong with slapping the secretary's bottom. For unapologetically unreformed males like myself, it's about the most comfortable one can be while watching men dance.

As one might expect from a show with Runyon origins, Guys and Dolls has the lot. Mildly raunchy, pretty funny, witty lyrics (could you get psychosomatic' and streptococci' into one song?) and, most importantly, great tunes - the best of which are always Luck Be a Lady and Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat. This particular production under-pins all that with excellent comic timing, and suitably-grating Noo Yoik accents.

The choreography is possibly the coolest part of the show, even when shamelessly over the top - and all choreography is over the top. On the whole, I'm with James Bond on this issue: men and dancing don't mix. But I was well convinced, especially in the Havana bar scene, which is - as it always has been - a cheeky excuse for some dirty dancing.

Musicals, more than any other form, can cruelly reveal a performer's specific weaknesses: he can't really dance, she can't really sing. But in this production everyone seems very much at ease with the whole package. Norman Bowman (as Sky Masterson) was so cool, in fact, that he began to look a little uninterested. But the moment everyone had been waiting for: Patrick Swayze, in the flesh, as Nathan Detroit. Wonderfully, he was not the clich I was expecting (even hoping for), and after the initial, lengthy frisson in the audience he blended very neatly with the rest of the cast. All credit to him for not trying to steal the show.

But I went to see Samantha Janus, whom I have lusted after since her appearance in the village-rugby comedy Up 'n' Under (I can't explain here, I'm afraid). So my inner adolescent was delighted to see that she has lost none of her, um, charms. As the flu-ridden, love-lorn stripper, Miss Adelaide, she is very amusing, very sexy, and held her own, in every sense. Hammy, corny, soppy, and with slightly rough singing: everything you expect from a good musical. To reference the reference from the (Orange) advert from the song from the film of Swayze's other hit . . . I had the time of my life. I've never felt this way before. Not since The Producers, anyway.

Guys and Dolls continues at the Picadilly Theatre, with seats bookable into January (box office 0870 060 0123). The show is at Milton Keynes Theatre from February 20 to March 10 (0870 060 6652) and the New Theatre, Oxford, from May 15 to 26 (0870 606 3500).