Anything Goes [THEATER REVIEW]
Erich Bergen as Billy Crocker and Rachel York as Reno Sweeney. Photo by Joan Marcus. This is the other splashy musical that takes place aboard an ocean liner – the one that doesn’t strike an iceberg. In case a reminder is needed as to why Cole Porter was one of the great 20th century songwriters, we don’t need to wait long once the lights go down and the band strikes up: “I Get A Kick Out Of You” and “You’re The Top” wash over us within the first few minutes. “Anything Goes” premiered in 1934, and the story seems to take place in the same year. The cast is on a transatlantic cruise to London via the SS American, the moneyed class decked out in their elegance, and we’re right there with them on their sister ship, the SS Ahmanson. And for a couple of hours it will certainly feel that way. Directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, “Anything Goes” stays afloat and doesn’t stray off course. In fact, it landed the 2011 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. Back then, however, it had Sutton Foster in the role of showgirl Reno Sweeney and Joel Grey as the small-town gangster Moonface Martin. The touring company doesn’t seem to have lost any sleep over its replacements – the saloon…
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