Anything Goes...Lupone version

I'm starting rehearsals on a production next month. They're thinking of adding two numbers...HEAVEN HOP for Erma (which I think we're changing back to Bonnie) and LET'S MISBEHAVE for Evelyn (which I'm playing)...it's because they think we're both good singers and deserve more than one number.

If any of you are familiar with this version, can you tell me the best place both of these shows fit in? Our choreographer has been in 6 different productions of this version and he said they've added the same songs in some of them so he has suggestions.

What about yours?

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It's totally illegal, and people do it all the time. Tams-Witmark makes the stupid mistake of offering two different versions of the show, AND making full scores available for perusal.

What's really common is to do a "hybrid" version of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown - using the new script and the two new songs, but using the old score for the rest of the show because the arrangements are so much simpler (hardly any harmonies, etc.).

I've played Sir Evelyn and sang "Let's Misbehave" and the song is completely wrong for his character. He's an uppercrust Englishman and he's uttering comments about mammals and other such things. I had trouble making it sound convincing.

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I did the original version...a long long time ago. I played Reno Sweeney and after hearing Lupone's version, I love the original so much better. Reno's keys are lower (which is great for me) and the song "Let's Misbehave" is so much fun.

I did the older version and for Heaven Hop is a simple intro. I think someone tells Bonnie that she should be one of Reno Sweeney's Angels and she's like, oh can you imagine? And she just breaks into it. I really love that song.

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CORRECTION: The 1960s/Eileen Rogers version was not done at Lincoln Center. It was done off-Broadway in 1962 (2 years before Lincoln Center opened) The 1987/Patti Lupone version was done at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center.

As of 1988 Tams was still offering the original 1934 version for anyone wanting to do it but usually people who looked at it realized that it would not play for modern audiences without a lot of editing, and they would opt for the 1962 version instead. Now, I believe, the two choices are 1962 and 1987.

Despite its great score, the original ANTHING GOES was thrown together in a matter of weeks when the original book had to be discarded. The S.S.Morro Castle burned and sank off the coast of Jersey with a loss of 134 lives, so a musical comedy about a shipwreck just didn't seem funny. In her (first) autobiography, DON'T CALL ME MADAM, Ethel Merman recalls that the day of the dress rehearsal the authors emerged from the mens room with the final scene sketched out on paper towels!

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I just want the facts correct. Opinions are subjective, though is someone really loves or really hates a show I do wish they would explain why instead of falling back on teh lame reasons like "it sucks" or "its boring."

I can'r read every post here but when I see major errors cropping up I try and squelch them as best as possible. I'm afraid Tony thinks I dislike him or that I'm always picking on him..but he does get a lot of stuff wrong. I PM'd him a few times to explian but he never responede. Oh well..


To be honest, I was only 3 in 1962 when the revival of ANYTHING GOES played, so I didn't see it then (though I have seen productions of that version) but I have the recording along with all the others. I must say I do like John McGlinn's re-construction of the 1934 version (on EMI) even if some of the cast are not exactly ideal.

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Act 1 Scene 4 (After Moon/Billy/Bonnie in Moon's cabin/Whitney in his stateroom, Moon take's Whitney's glasses)
Sailor 1: Hey- Aren't you one of Reno Sweeney's angels?
Bonnie: Me? An Angel? Ha!
Sailor 2: But you'll never get into heaven if you're not an angel!
Bonnie: Well I happen to know a little shortcut. ["Heaven Hop"]

I just started realizing how there are different the versions of AG. That's the dialogue for the one I'm working on right now. That version also has "Let's Misbehave" for Evelyn during Act 2 Scene 1, after "Public Enemy Number One" and "Let's Step Out" and before "Blow, Gabriel, Blow."

Is is illegal to rearrange the order of songs/dialogue that already exist?

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Well, to let you all know, the theater where I'm performing isn't stupid. They know it's illegal to add songs and change things without permission. Wow, some people just don't have faith in how competent others are.

Anyway, I did the 60s version in high school and I thought it was horrid. I personally don't like Heaven Hop but if the director wants to add it, who am I to argue? As far as Let's Misbehave...yes, Evelyn is an English gentleman but he's also the COMEDIC character role. He falls in love with Reno and obviously doesn't want the upper crust marriage that he'll have with Hope. That is why he sings Gypsy in Me later in the show. It explains how he really is and feels towards the situation with Hope.

The reason they're adding songs isn't to change the show. They feel that the actor playing Erma/Bonnie and I are good enough singers that they would like us to have more than one number in the show.

Thanks for all the input.

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jboy1,

It doesn't matter what their intentions are. It is still HIGHLY illegal. If Tams-Witmark finds out, they could shut down your production, withhold the rights for ANY of their shows and slap a HEAVY fine on the theater group.

It sounds to me that the theater company is rather naive to think that they couldn't be caught.

It's not worth it, is it? They should pick one version or the other --- not a hybrid of both.

-JayJay

I really don't think I "get" Patti Lupone. I've never seen her on stage, but on all the recordings I've heard she pretty much just glides through songs without doing anything too interesting. I listened to her version of "I Dreamed a Dream" and thought, "Why am I wasting my time with this when I could be listening to Ruthie Henshall?"

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I disagree, dollypop!

LET'S MISBEHAVE works perfectly for Reno and Evelyn. I'm sure that Evelyn is not the first uppercrust Englishman to refer to mammals. It's Cole Porter for goodness sakes! Plus, the whole dynamic between Reno and Evelyn is key here. Because Evelyn has completely fallen for Reno, he ends up doing things that he (and the audience) would never have suspected. That's what makes LET"S MISBEHAVE work so well. On top of that, it's a much better number than the dreadful GYPSY number that Anthony Heald sang in the revival.

I've seen plenty of Evelyns make that number work flawlessly -- and if done right, it can steal the show.

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Updated On: 5/3/05 at 12:53 PM