"you can get away with anything"

"You Can Get Away With Anything" is the showstopper number of the deceptively charming but actually villainous Italian, Count Fosco, in the show.

Count Fosco is a huge man ( the actor has to wear a fat suit for this role) with a continental manner full of roguish charm who comes to the Limmeridge estate to assist his friend, Sir Percival Glyde, in securing the wealth and estate of heiress Laura Fairlie. He and Percival had initial success ( including committing Laura to a mental institution) but were eventually foiled by Laura's sister, Marian. Count Fosco has a tendresse for Marian and when she visits him in his lodgings ( from where he was planning to depart soon), he thought he had been able to seduce her ( the seduction scene is worth quite a few laughs itself)...but she had actually been able to turn the tables on him.

He shrugs that off as one of his rare failures with women..and then sings "You Can Get Away With Anything" together with his pet, a white mouse, who scampers up and down his arm and back of the neck. It is hilarious onstage and brings the house down every time.

Sorry for the long preliminary explanation - but that properly sets the scene in which "You Can..." is sung in the show.

Michael Crawford gave the initial Fosco impersonation and had drawn the laughter that you hear on the London OCR...but he was replaced by Michael Ball when the former had protracted health problems. Some critics were very impressed with Michael Ball's seemingly more menacing interpretation of the role and better command of the operatic singing requirements.

I'm sure that portion of the show will be one of the highlights of the Broadway production.

Actually, just a small correction...it's a white rat (Missy with two understudies) and she's quite large.

The scene gives plenty of room for ad-libbing as well, since the rat does not always perform on cue or as expected. The first time I saw it (with Michael Ball as Fosco), the rat ran up his arm, around his neck and then down the back of his jacket where she got wedged between the costume and the fat suit. Michael struggled a bit trying to reach her and then...never missing a note (Fosco is singing an operatic aria at this point) turned his back to the audience and hauled her out by her tail (as she proceeded to pee on him). It was hilarious, even the conductor was laughing out loud.

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Updated On: 7/23/05 at 08:23 AM

I was lucky enough to see Maria and Michael Ball in WIW in London, and Michael Ball was absolutely perfect in the part; not only was his voice wonderful, he had the audience in absolute hysterics during this song. If he comes to NY with this production, his performance is definitely worth going back to see.

One more tiny correction ... The song is sung prior to Marion's entrance, as Fosco is preparing to leave for the Continent. Missy makes her appearance when Fosco "steals" an encore, just before is announced. The song is sung again after Marion leaves.

Blaxx, I agree with you. Although I have heard Michael sing a bit of opera prior to this role (the Pappageno duet with Lesley Garrett), Michael floored me with his singing in this song, and with his overall performance.

I would love if more shows got recorded the way WIW is. The sound is great, and the energy comes through of a live performance without the sounds of the audience. The ONLY time I could tell it was live even was that there's a slight echo at the end of "Evermore Without You" -- and I only caught that because I've listened to the song so many times.

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Jo, I think I remember hearing/reading somewhere that there is a recording studio in the Palace theatre -- probably put in during those renovations.

And yes, Jo, we all need to see Michael Ball as Fosco again..