©South County Journal Dec. 8, 2000 Dashing songs keep "Anything Goes" afloat by Mary Martin
In 1934, when the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes opened on Broadway, Robert Garland in the New York World Telegram wrote, "Mr. Porter is the bold, bad ... words-and-music man of America". He still is. In the 64 years since, only Stephen Sondheim has been able to match Porter's genius. So it is still an unparalleled treat to hear Porter's dashing, naughty-and-nice songs in Anything Goes. In the current production at 5th Avenue, the music shines, as do most of the performances. But don't expect any surprises. Director David Armstrong sticks to the traditional in dance and moves the show at a pace that may be a little too sedate for today's audiences. Anything Goes is a farcical shipboard romance. Billy Crocker, cute but broke, falls in love with Hope Harcourt (already engaged to stuffy Englishman Sir Evelyn Oakleigh). Their flirtation gets off to a de-lovely start as Michael Gruber, playing Billy, and Donna English, playing Hope, sing and dance "It's De-Lovely". Both are effortless dancers and fine vocalists, and they look great together. Billy, just fired from his job, stows away on the luxury liner that Hope and her fiancé are taking to London. Billy's girl pal Reno, a fallen evangelist, is sailing on the same ship. Billy and Reno express their mutual admiration in "You're the Top", another of Porter's cleverest hits. Dee Hoty, a veteran of stage musicals and TV soaps, plays Reno, originally Ethel Merman's role, with talent and grace but not much of the oomph that Merman had. The real show stealer is Bronson Pinchot as Sir Evelyn, Hope's fiancé. Pinchot played memorable roles in the movie 'Beverly Hills Cop III' and the TV sitcom 'Perfect Strangers', but has only more recently revealed that he is a bang-up song-and-dance man and even funnier on stage than on screen. He's the tops in "Let's Not Talk About Love" and "Let's Misbehave". Local performers get to grab some of the limelight too. Allen Galli as Moonface Martin, a stowaway mobster, and Peter Silbert as Wall Street tycoon Elisha J. Whitney are delightful. Several local dancers often seen at Village Theatre in Issaquah burn up the stage with their tap dancing in the show's title number, "Anything Goes". A simple but workable set by Michael Anania is a stylish, art deco ship that rotates on stage to reveal various decks and cabins. Costumes by Patrick M. Stovall, especially the women's opulent, post-Depression gowns, underscore the anything-goes gaiety of the times. Typical of Broadway musicals, this show's plot is slim at best. Its biggest challenge is to stay waterborne between music and dance numbers. Because of director Armstrong's sedate pacing, the ship is especially prone to founder at times. Luckily, a corps of able performers is there to bail out the luxury liner and keep it proudly afloat. main Anything Goes 2000 page

©South County Journal
Dec. 8, 2000

Dashing songs keep "Anything Goes" afloat
by Mary Martin

In 1934, when the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes opened on Broadway, Robert Garland in the New York World Telegram wrote, "Mr. Porter is the bold, bad ... words-and-music man of America".

He still is. In the 64 years since, only Stephen Sondheim has been able to match Porter's genius. So it is still an unparalleled treat to hear Porter's dashing, naughty-and-nice songs in Anything Goes.

In the current production at 5th Avenue, the music shines, as do most of the performances. But don't expect any surprises. Director David Armstrong sticks to the traditional in dance and moves the show at a pace that may be a little too sedate for today's audiences.

Anything Goes is a farcical shipboard romance. Billy Crocker, cute but broke, falls in love with Hope Harcourt (already engaged to stuffy Englishman Sir Evelyn Oakleigh). Their flirtation gets off to a de-lovely start as Michael Gruber, playing Billy, and Donna English, playing Hope, sing and dance "It's De-Lovely". Both are effortless dancers and fine vocalists, and they look great together.

Billy, just fired from his job, stows away on the luxury liner that Hope and her fiancé are taking to London. Billy's girl pal Reno, a fallen evangelist, is sailing on the same ship. Billy and Reno express their mutual admiration in "You're the Top", another of Porter's cleverest hits. Dee Hoty, a veteran of stage musicals and TV soaps, plays Reno, originally Ethel Merman's role, with talent and grace but not much of the oomph that Merman had.

The real show stealer is Bronson Pinchot as Sir Evelyn, Hope's fiancé. Pinchot played memorable roles in the movie 'Beverly Hills Cop III' and the TV sitcom 'Perfect Strangers', but has only more recently revealed that he is a bang-up song-and-dance man and even funnier on stage than on screen. He's the tops in "Let's Not Talk About Love" and "Let's Misbehave".

Local performers get to grab some of the limelight too. Allen Galli as Moonface Martin, a stowaway mobster, and Peter Silbert as Wall Street tycoon Elisha J. Whitney are delightful. Several local dancers often seen at Village Theatre in Issaquah burn up the stage with their tap dancing in the show's title number, "Anything Goes".

A simple but workable set by Michael Anania is a stylish, art deco ship that rotates on stage to reveal various decks and cabins. Costumes by Patrick M. Stovall, especially the women's opulent, post-Depression gowns, underscore the anything-goes gaiety of the times.

Typical of Broadway musicals, this show's plot is slim at best. Its biggest challenge is to stay waterborne between music and dance numbers.

Because of director Armstrong's sedate pacing, the ship is especially prone to founder at times. Luckily, a corps of able performers is there to bail out the luxury liner and keep it proudly afloat.

main Anything Goes 2000 page