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June 7, 2004 High energy, toe-tapping Anything Goes is fun for everyone By Laura Cudworth |
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Warning: If you see Anything Goes you may end up singing the title song for at least two hours after it's over.
The Cole Porter 1930s musical opened yesterday at the Stratford Festival and it's a blast. Director/choreographer Anne Allan makes her Stratford debut and quite a debut it is. This American play is in very capable British/Canadian hands. Average joe Billy Crocker falls in love with debutante Hope Harcourt. She's engaged to be married to a wealthy Englishman whom she doesn't love, but her mother Evangeline is adamant she marry for the money. She is to marry him on a ship bound for Europe, the same ship Billy's rich boss is to travel on. Billy stows away on the ship in an attempt to convince Hope to marry him instead. Also on board is a unique bunch of characters: Reno Sweeney a former evangelist turned nightclub singer; the 13th most wanted gangster Moonface Martin, who is disguised as a minister to evade the authorities, and his partner's man-loving girlfriend Erma. This mismatched bunch do their best to intervene on true love's behalf. A former dancer herself, Ms. Allan doesn't rush through the musical numbers. She has put together a wonderful dance-heavy production. Long dance sequences are exciting to watch, with plenty of lifts and lots of energy. Best of all, there’s time to savour them. They never seem too short, yet they don’t get tedious. A long and involved tap number during the title song is especially memorable and one of many highlights. Not enough can be said about the choreography, which suits the music and the characters. The variety is astounding, from the gospel-inspired number Blow, Gabriel, Blow to romantic numbers like Easy to Love. Ms. Allan clearly had high expectations of her cast and they deliver. The set is lovely and the costumes beautiful, but it’s the actors themselves that provide the eye candy. It’s hard to say who’s having more fun, the cast or the audience. Cynthia Dale as Reno Sweeney has just the right amount of attitude. She is a commanding presence on stage. Laird Mackintosh as the nerdy and proper Englishman, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, is a bit of a caricature, but comical nonetheless. He manages, ironically, to butcher American slang at every turn and when he unleashes his seductive prowess on Reno during Gypsy in Me he’s absolutely hilarious. Here the choreography captures his personality to a T and is very funny. The chemistry between Mr. Mackintosh and Ms. Dale during this number is wonderful. American import Michael Gruber has played the role of Billy several times before, but he’s so bright-eyed and fresh you’d never know it. He is also blessed with a lovely, melodic singing voice. Hope is the least interesting character of the bunch, but Elizabeth DeGrazia, too, has a lovely voice and makes an elegant debutante. Jimmy Spadola as Moonface Martin and Sheila McCarthy as Erma both turn in notable performances as likable shady characters and the two also have good chemistry. Douglas Chamberlain is charming and bumbling as Elisha Whitney, Billy’s boss, and Patricia Collins is mildly cunning yet oblivious to the hijinks around her as Evangeline Harcourt. Ms. Allen gives the ensemble the opportunity to step up and let loose and they take it. They are more than a mass of people in the background. Musical director Berthold Carriere’s orchestra does justice to Cole Porter’s lush score. Anything Goes is an all-round high-energy toe-tapping good time.
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