Anything Goes
You may not know the musical, but you'll certainly recognise the songs. Anything Goes, Cole Porter's tale of frothy sea-faring shenanigans comes to Bromley this month. Aliya Al Hassan finds it joyously silly
Mismatched lovers, evangelical nightclub performers, gangsters disguised as priests and English aristocrats performing the tango in their underwear. All this, with the combination of some of the most witty and sparking lyrics marks out a truly wonderful revival of the show directed by Daniel Evans.
The story is based around the various passengers on the transatlantic SS America and is a brilliant vehicle for the songs; I Get a Kick Out of You, You’re The Top, It’s De-Lovely and, of course, Anything Goes.
N ightclub diva Reno Sweeney is in love with Billy Harcourt. Predictably, he is in love with someone else. In turn, she is engaged to another. During the crossing, partners are swopped, destinies are fulfilled and mob villains show they have big hearts.
Debbie Kurup’s Reno Sweeney is undoubtedly the star of the show. Loud, brash and over the top in all the right ways, her wise-cracking drawl and powerful voice warms the audience immediately. In the bittersweet duet, You’re The Top, she manages to outshine Matt Rawle’s slightly vanilla Billy Crocker to an almost embarrassing extent.
Despite a few accent slips, Hugh Sachs’ Moonface Martin and Simon Rouse’s Elisha Whitney, both deliver cracking performances. Sachs takes on the role of slightly camp villain with aplomb and Rouse gets some of the best one-liners in the show.
Especially convincing is Stephen Williams who plays the pinched and formal English Lord Evelyn Harcourt. His realisation that he is in love with Reno is reflected in his remarkable transformation into wild lothario during Gypsy In Me. This metamorphosis is played with such hysterical abandon, it is surely one of the funniest things you will see on stage this year.
One drawback of some musicals is that the best songs are all in the first act. Not so here; the cast’s sparkle and vitality during Act Two’s Blow, Gabriel, Blow, almost brings the audience to its feet with joy.
Alistair David’s choreography has infectious energy full of enthusiasm and humour while set designer Richard Kent brings a very clever dual perspective of the deck of SS America, seen by the audience simultaneously from above and head on. Art Deco detailing is superb and wardrobe shines with outfits of period perfection.
The one low note is the retention of some remarkably ill-judged impersonations of Chinese characters. From a plot perspective, these characters remain necessary, but jokes based on how amusing Chinese pronunciation can be surely belong to the past.
In essence, this production of Anything Goes is a joyously silly experience, which rewards every audience member. To not leave the theatre smiling is impossible. It’s the top!
The Churchill Theatre, Bromley: Feb 23-28; atgtickets.com
New Victoria Theatre, Woking: Aug 31 - Sept 5; atgtickets.com