Musicals Tonight! Stages Exuberant Revival of Cole Porter's ANYTHING GOES at Lion Theatre

L-R: David Visini (Ensemble); Jessica Moore (Erma); Beth Stafford Laird (Hope); Blake Spellacy (Purser); partially hidden - Cameron Lucas (Ensemble) and Cameron Benda (Ensemble); Nic Thompson (Captain); partially hidden - Kirsten Welsh (Ensemble); Brian Ogilvie (Evelyn Oakley); Jan Leigh Herndon (Evangeline); Daniel Scott Walton (Ensemble); and Spencer S. Lawson (Ensemble).

Musicals Tonight! was founded by Mel Miller in 1999 with the stated purpose of reviving early musicals that otherwise might have been lost to posterity.  Since then it has staged 99 shows – including Meet Me in St. Louis; Me and My Girl; Irma La Douce; Silk Stockings; Lady, be Good!; Paint Your Wagon; Milk and Honey; L’il Abner; Babes in Arms; Little Mary Sunshine; Carnival; Funny Face; Wonderful Town; and The Boys from Syracuse.  Its latest production, Anything Goes, is currently being staged at the Lion Theatre on Theatre Row on West 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan and it is absolutely terrific.

Anything Goes was originally produced in 1934, running for more than a year, and it has been revived on Broadway three times since then.  The original book was by the legendary team of Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse and was updated by the equally renowned Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse.  And what they all came up with was a typical rollicking 1930s musical with a preposterous plot and unbelievable characters which, on its own, might never have stood the test of time.

But that doesn’t allow for the fact that it was Cole Porter who composed the score and lyrics and it is that that has made all the difference.  What would otherwise have amounted to little more than another predictable theatrical entertainment became instead a wonderful musical delight featuring some of Porter’s most memorable works including “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’d Be So Easy to Love,” “You’re the Top,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Let’s Misbehave,” “Friendship,” “Blow Gabriel Blow,” “The Gypsy in Me,” and, of course, “Anything Goes.”

The musical is set on board the transatlantic liner S.S American where Reno Sweeney (Meredith Inglesby), an evangelist turned nightclub singer, is en route to London.  Also on board are the English Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Brian Ogilvie); his fiancée, Hope Harcourt (Beth Stafford Laird); and Hope’s mother, Evangeline Harcourt (Jan Leigh Herndon).  Reno’s pal, Billy Crocker (Nick Walker Jones) has also stowed away, in hopes of breaking up the relationship between Hope (the love of his life) and Evelyn, and spends much of his time on board stalking Hope or attempting to avoid his boss, Elisha Whitney (Mark Coffin) and the ship’s Captain (Nic Thompson). Rounding out the cast of principal characters on board are the gangster, Moonface Martin (Carlos Lopez), disguised as a minister, and his moll, Erma (Jessica Moore).  Plus the ship’s purser (Blake Spellacy); a couple of Chinese sinners, Luke (Jordan de Leon) and John (Albert Hsueh), thrown in for comic relief; and innumerable other sailors and showgirls.  It all makes for great silliness and lots of fun, and serves as a superb backdrop for Cole Porter’s songs.

Not to forget the fantastic choreography!  Indeed, if any one individual may be said to have stolen the show, it is Casey Colgan, the musical’s remarkable director and choreographer.  Colgan has performed a miracle on a small stage with a very talented cast and his dance numbers are as good, or better, than anything you’re likely to be seeing on Broadway or anywhere else.