ANYTHING GOES Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 2:49am

Today is Thursday, April 7, marking the official opening night performance of the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Anything Goes, the Cole Porter musical about the lovers, liars and clowns on a transatlantic cruise, starring Sutton Foster, Joel Grey, Laura Osnes and Colin Donnell. With previews that began on March 10 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, under the direction of Tony winner Kathleen Marshall.

Foster plays Reno, whose love interest is Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, played by British star Adam Godley. Tony winner Joel Grey plays a low-grade, charming public enemy named Moonface Martin. Laura Osnes plays Hope Harcourt, the ingenue sought by Billy Crocker (played by Colin Donnell). John McMartin plays Elisha Whitney, who is smitten with Hope's mother, Evangeline, played by Jessica Walter.

The company also features Walter Charles as the Captain, Jessica Stone as man-trap Erma, Robert Creighton as Purser, Andrew Cao as Luke, Raymond J. Lee as John, with Clyde Alves, Ward Billeisen, Joyce Chittick, Nikki Renée Daniels, Margot De La Barre, Kimberly Fauré, Josh Franklin, Justin Greer, Daniel J. Edwards, Tari Kelly, Shina Ann Morris, Linda Mugleston, Kevin Munhall, Adam Perry, William Ryall, Jennifer Savelli, Anthony Wayne and Kristen Beth Williams.

According to Roundabout's production notes: "When the S.S. American heads out to sea, etiquette and convention head out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love… proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail."

My best to all involved!

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 5:03am

too bad "your best" couldn't include a serious dramaturgical look at the mess of a libretto, mainly cobbled from the ill-thought Lincoln Center revival version "for" La LuPone. It wasn't working as a freestanding piece of literature then (apart from giving showcase to outstanding performances) and now twenty-odd years later it still doesn't. Defying traditions like your leading lady from above the title having the "eleven o'clock" as opposed to an otherwise unsinging unfunny dated soubrette getting it....that is murky water for one libretto originally written about a cruiseliner shipwreck.

Apparently for the Roundabout dramaturg, "Anything Goes" is "Not Quite Anything Went."

[HBP]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 6:44am

Loved the show when I saw it two weeks ago and looking forward to reading the reviews!

[justafan2]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:59am

I saw this show yesterday and really enjoyed it. It is a light, musical comedy and it succeeded. I hope the critics enjoyed it as much as the audience and I did. Yes, there were a few flaws and a couple of overly long numbers, but overall I had a very good time.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 10:48am

You can't really expect much more from this type of musical than seeing and hearing some of the best theater music ever written performed by a prime Broadway cast. Before Oklahoma and Show Boat, this is what musicals were and they were very popular in their time.

These days how often do you get to see a small army of talented tappers giving it everything they've got to the classic "Anything Goes," which must be among the top ten most recorded theater songs.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 11:06am

the current libretto and its descendants do NOT date from before the Golden Age. It dates more accurately from the off-Broadway version in the 60's starring Hal Linden. If you don't think a "new" book can serve a catalog of existing classic songs, you must have missed that little phenom called CRAZY FOR YOU. i loved La Marshall's tap number and her BLOW GABRIEL BLOW OUT, but the libretto is still an odd animal no one seems to want to try and corral back into usefulness.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 11:21am

I didn't miss Crazy for You. I thought the book was just as lame as the book for Anything Goes. They dusted off the old disguised identity chestnut.

Just my opinion.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 11:40am

Boy, you guys turned this thread sour in a hurry.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 12:01pm

Back to the positive...I loved this and hope it gets great reviews, especially for Laura Osnes, Jessica Walter, Colin Donnell and, of course, Sutton!

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 12:17pm

Well, since we have about 12 hours to kill before the reviews start coming in, we have to talk about something.

Pal Joey. That was a post-Show Boat, pre-Oklahoma (1930) musical that did have developed characters and a pretty good story.

Of course it was also pretty much of a commercial flop in its first run.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 1:08pm

It doesn't have a pulitzer winning book, but can't we appreciate it for what it is? It isn't trying to dig deep into human emotions. It is fun, entertaining, energetic piece of theatre. I thought it did exactly what it set out to do. I had a fantastic time, smiling the good majority of the time. Plus, you really can't beat the score.

I hope it gets great reviews.

[broadwayjim42]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 1:11pm

The one thing I thought AG lacked, other than the justly admired "Anything Goes" and "Blow Gabriel Blow" numbers, was energy. I admired several performances (Foster, Godley, Osnes), but I found the majority of it listless.

[justafan2]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 1:32pm

I have only seen it once (yesterday), but the energy level was very high---which definitely led to my enjoyment of the show. (And the audience was very vocal----they seemed to enjoy it as much as I did). Of course, Sutton, Jessica Walter, etc. were great, but a nice surprise for me was Jessica Stone as Erma. Very funny and again, high energy.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 1:59pm

i just think writing librettos is one of the hardest things to do (and one of the most unappreciated)...and this one does not advance the field at all. If you don't like Ludwig's take on the Gershwins, fine...the Gershwin estate loved it, the show continues to make money, and they've asked him back for more. i'm not sour at all. i'm just pointing out my view on the book itself. Many of the performances are great in preview, including force of nature Sutton. There are VERY talented folks covering and sweating in the sing ensemble. i lauded the choreo moments. But as a whole, La Marshall did not do with this what she did with PAJAMA GAME. i may have been expecting too much after that tantalizing feat. i adore this score (but i DO prefer "Friendship" as a trio, not a duet). i don't wish this particular production any ill will. i'd just like to see a crack playwright given license with that libretto to improve it. Sue me, sue me, what can you do me...

[RyToast1]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:09pm

Wall Street Journal is up...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304576241223565148298.html

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:36pm

OlBlueEyes, get yours examined.

Anything Goes was a big hit in 1934 - the height of the Depression. It ran for 420 performances in an era when theaverage run was 120 perf. The show was turned into a crappy movie and made Porter a fortune in royalties. It was far, far from a commercial flop.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:47pm

OlBlueEyes, get yours examined.

Ironic, no? I think so... considering he was referring to the show Pal Joey and not Anything Goes.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 7:53pm

AMNY gives it 3 stars and is mixed to positive:

"Kathleen Marshall’s lavish production occasionally feels labored. But for the most part, to quote one of the musical’s most famous lyrics, “it’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely.” Her choreography manages to turn almost every production number into a showstopper.

Foster lacks the rough-and-tough sex appeal to credibly portray Reno, but she handles the belting, dancing and comedy bits with such perfection that you hardly care. In “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” she all but blows the roof off the joint."

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/theater-review-anything-goes-3-stars-1.2806588

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:01pm

Bjh, well I can be just as blind. However, "Pal Joey" had, for the time, a long run and a successful tour (I have several programs from the tour, first with Kelly, then with Georgie Tapps, who too over the end of the Broadway run).

Somewhere out there, we have a member on the board who was one of the chorus girls in the original run. She has posted some great comments about the show and Kelly. If she's reading this, she may be able to chime in.

Now back to "Anything Goes" which looks, from the extended clip, to be pretty good....

[laurienotlaurey]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:07pm

Pal Joey opened on X-mas day in 1940 (not 1930), still pre-Oklahoma, but six years after Anything Goes.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:12pm

How come some reviews are up already? When were they written...are the critics actually attending opening night?

[BwayTday]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:16pm

Reviewers usually see a late preview, write the review, and it is posted the day of, If I am not mistaken.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:22pm

The critics are "invited" by the producers before opening night. Usually the reviews start popping up once the curtain rises on the official opening.

[scott68]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:29pm

Newsday is up, but it's not available to non-subscribers. Looks mixed-to-positive from what you can see...

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/anything-goes-at-roundabout-theatre-1.2804594

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 4/7/11 at 9:37pm

Ah, I see. Kinda takes the pressure off opening night. Has it always been so?