What went wrong with the 1988 tour of ANYTHING GOES?

Leslie Uggams, Rex Smith, and Rip Taylor went out in a tour that was a replication of the Lincoln Center/Jerry Zaks Broadway production. It closed after 3 months on the road. What happened?

"I didn't know anything was wrong with it."

I was surprised to read that it toured for only 3 months. It makes me wonder what went wrong with the tour.

There was no problem with the show, the problem was with the set. It was a replica of what was seen at the Lincoln Centre, however what the producers hadn't given thought to was the logistics of moving the set every few weeks. I seem to recall hearing that the second date on the tour opened days late due to the time it took to bump the set in. It was at this point they realised that there was no way that they could move the show in the time frame they had allowed themselves.

A year later a tour went out with Mitzi Gaynor. The set for that tour was a light weight replica of the original, what they should have used in the first instance.

Otis33 - How was Mitzi Gaynor? ( I think her husband was largely respondsible for financing her tour) Who else was in that production?

Well at least you remembered Mitzi Gaynor. Is she still around?

Leslie Uggams went into the Broadway production, replacing the Magnificent PATTI LuPONE.

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I saw this tour in Boston after seeing the Vivian Beaumont version (LuPone, McGillin) twice.

What a disappointment! It was lousy in comparison. I really admire Leslie Uggams' talent. It's undeniable, but in that role it just didn't work. I think she might have it in her somewhere to play Reno, but her "star quality" persona was missing -- and it's completely essential to the role.

The main problem with the whole show was the miserable casting of Rex Smith as the leading man. Whose idea whas THAT?! He is a really lousy actor. (And no one can sing the role like Howard McGillin.)

The outstanding highlight of the production was (surprisingly) Rip Taylor as Moonface. He was a complete delight. (And much, much, much better than Tony winner Bill McCutcheon in the role.)

I'm not surprised this tour folded -- regardless of the set issues. It was a snorer -- except for when Rip Taylor was on stage.

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I saw the Patti LuPone production, and it was outstanding. I still remember laughing so hard I cried.

I also laughed at the Mitzi Gaynor production...but for entirely different reasons. Mitzi was too old to play Reno Sweeney yet she wore costumes usually reserved for 9-year-old baton twirlers. She was "busting out all over." It wasn't pretty.

The show paled miserably in comparison to the Vivian Beaumont production.

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"The outstanding highlight of the production was (surprisingly) Rip Taylor as Moonface."

Rip Taylor is indeed a fine actor. Terribly underrated by some. I'd love to see him do a one man show.

Check out his website. The songs and clips are a hoot!
www.riptaylor.com

Updated On: 8/14/06 at 08:58 PM

Didn't the same thing happen with the Guys and Dolls tour? It failed miserably on the road (with Lorna Luft no less).

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By the way, Rip did not throw his wig into the pit. There was no pit. He took it off, fanned himself with it, and then put it back on backwards. It just happened one day in rehearsal and it just stayed in. Rex was not the best, but he is truly a sweetheart.

scooter38432 called it perfectly. The music was great and show itself is fine, but the casting was totally off track. Rip Taylor, who I could never previously stand, was surprisingly terrific as Moonface Martin. Barring that, it was downhill. Leslie Uggams has a nice voice, but she is an underwhelming dancer (even for the minimal dancing her character had to do in this tour) and she never reached the pure dynamism required to capture the spirit of Reno Sweeney. She always seemed to be either slightly off or lacking. Rex Smith was a total wash-out. His voice was weak, his dancing atrocious and he had the charisma of a sponge. In this he was well-matched with the ingenue who played Hope Harcourt. Their numbers together were relatively excruciating. Even with all that, I have to admit that I was still surprised that the tour only ran for three months. Ironically, I enjoyed the show enough, despite these shortcomings, to want to see it again with Sally Ann Triplett and John Barrowman. Now that was an astounding show!

Updated On: 8/15/06 at 08:58 AM

I know it played in DC. That was where I saw it.