The Great White Way’s new revival of the Cole Porter classic “Anything Goes” opened last night, April 7, at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The musical’s latest Broadway incarnation is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.
“Anything Goes” is a slapstick comedy set on a transatlantic ocean liner in the 1930s. Passengers and stowaways intermingle, as song-and-dance routines galore string together a plot filled with cases of mistaken identity and mismatched love.
Sutton Foster stars as brassy nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, alongside Joel Grey as the bumbling gangster-on-the-lam, Moonface Martin (a.k.a. Public Enemy #13). Colin Donnell is the sailor-impersonating stockbroker Billy Crocker, and Laura Osnes plays his love interest, the engaged debutante Hope Harcourt.
Among others, the ensemble includes Jessica Stone (as gangster moll Erma), John McMartin (Billy’s boss, Elisha Whitney), Adam Godley (Hope’s aristocratic fiancé, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh), and Jessica Walter (Hope’s money chasing mother, Evangeline).
“Anything Goes” began its 29-preview run March 10. Since then, the 1,026-seat Sondheim has been steady at 98 or 99 percent capacity. Over the past four weeks, the show has grossed a total of $1,994,368, according to the Broadway League’s reports.
Tickets are currently on sale through July 31 and are priced from $87 to $137 for regular performances on Telecharge.com. However, over the Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends, theater-goers will see those face values spike to the $97-to-$142 range.
Performances are staged Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., with matinees at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. From April 26 through May 6, Tuesday evening curtains will be bumped up to 7 p.m. “Anything Goes” runs two hours and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
Stephen Sondheim Theatre is located at 124 West 43rd Street in New York, NY. More details about the production schedule and ticketing can be found on the “Anything Goes” official Web site.
Opening Night: “Anything Goes”
| Publication | Critic | Review |
| Variety | Steve Suskin | “This new ‘Anything Goes’ is a daffy, shipshape romp.” |
| New York Times | Ben Brantley | “There’s a reason this musical is called ‘Anything Goes.’ It’s a farrago of zinger-stocked dialogue, vaudeville-style antics and musical numbers only pretending to co-exist as a coherent plot.” |
| USA Today | Elysa Gardner | “Despite a leading lady who isn’t a natural fit — and to some extent, because of her joyful commitment — ‘Anything Goes’ offers its share of delightful, de-lovely moments.” |
| TheaterMania | David Finkle | “Foster outdoes herself here as a no-holds-barred show-biz triple-threat personality.” |
| Hollywood Reporter | David Rooney | “The discovery here is Donnell. Confined to small roles or replacement parts up to now, he has the looks, the poise, the singing and dancing skills and the leading-man charisma.” |
| The Wall Street Journal | Terry Teachout | “[Foster’s] performance is so full of zowie as to overcome all possible objections. If she weren’t already a star, this ‘Anything Goes’ would make her one.” |
