Hey, Anything Goes, “You’re the top!”

Sure, with a critical eye, one could find faults (and, for good measure, I’ll list a few), but this show was incredibly fun. And if you’re at all like me, you’ll be singing its songs for days — in a good way!

When I saw the show Opening Night, there were a few glitches. In the first scene, Reno’s mic had some trouble. Then, at intermission, we got a prolonged view of dancing feet frozen in place as the curtain wouldn’t go down. And finally, at the top of the second act, there was yet another sound glitch. But none were too onerous, and I’m sure they were all fixed by the second performance.

In the first scene, I was enchanted by “I Get A Kick Out of You,” hearing it in context for the first time.  But at the top of the second, I admit to getting a bit worried with “No Cure Like Travel.” It’s an ensemble number and, unlike the performance of “Follies” at the Ahmanson earlier this year, in which you could clearly hear every word that the chorus sung in unison (amazing!), in this show, when everyone sang together it was often hard to tell exactly what they were saying. This wasn’t overly problematic, just a little disappointing in a show with such fun lyrics.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other opportunities to enjoy the lyrics. The aforementioned “You’re the Top” was one of my favorites – it was my first time hearing the song, in or out of context. The song itself is brilliant in that with the repetition of a very simple lyric pattern, it really manages to advance the story. When Reno and Billy start singing it, they’re still a little bit on the outs from their previous day’s encounter at the smoky Manhattan bar, but seeing Billy needs it, Reno starts singing and builds up Billy’s confidence. Then, Billy joins in, thanking her, returning the compliment and, in a way, apologizing for dissing her the day before. By the end, Reno and Billy are singing together, best buds once again. All this in so few words! It should also be noted that the actors and director did an excellent job with this song. Towards the end of it, I believed that these characters were indeed desperate to come up with yet another rhyme, and that belief sold me on such every day items as broccoli and Ovaltine being “top,” like the Colosseum.

“You’re the Top” was just one example of how this production managed to mine a lot of comedy from the songs through their performance. Another successful example was in “De-lovely.” However, the success of their comedic attempts in “Friendship” is debatable… as in, I literally debated them with my date after the show. What happened was that, during the song “Friendship,” Reno gets annoyed at Moonface, seemingly because he missed a step in their choreographed dance. I question this, because for her attitude toward him to change as a result of him missing a step, it means that in their “real lives” they are dancing and have a choreographed routine that they’ve done together before – it’s not just a musical conceit. To me, that seemed a strange acknowledgement of the 4^th wall (Is this a trend?). Also, she gets rather pissed off at him, and even if he did miss a step, I’m not sure it quite merits all her frustration. On the one hand, I appreciated the thought behind adding an emotional arc to the song, in an attempt to keep the audience engaged in a song that otherwise doesn’t really move the story forward. On the other hand, the emotional arc felt manufactured – because it was – and, whereas my date found himself more engaged and entertained, I found myself increasingly confused and frustrated – “Did I miss something? Is all this fuss really over him just missing a dance step? It can’t be… can it?” But I think it was, because in another strange acknowledgement of the 4^th wall, in the end, Reno and Moonface are pulled off the stage with a giant shepherd’s crook as was done in the days of Vaudeville. I couldn’t help wonder where that Vaudeville audience was on the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night.

But returning to accolades, not surprisingly, the music and dance number “Anything Goes” was fabulous. And the costumes also deserve a nod. Reno’s were fantastic. And I enjoyed that Hope’s dresses, when dancing on the deck of the ship, had extra billowy fabric to remind us that the sea breeze was blowing about. It was a pleasure to watch the show on the large scale set, and I enjoyed the energy of the sizeable cast and number of dance numbers. Too many musicals get away with too few for my taste. Moreover, in this production, even the writer-wrought conveniences and cheesy humor comes off as charming. Among them, it should be mentioned that “Anything Goes” is one of the most fun “hang a lantern on it” moments I’ve seen in a show. Just as you’re wondering why the captain and crew would embrace a wanted criminal the way they do, this wholly absorbing song and dance number answers your question. And finally, Rachel York really embodies Reno in a way that makes me question how a fast-talking dame like that manages to get by in 2012 society without sticking out like a sore thumb.

Excerpt from “Anything Goes” lyrics:

…In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, God knows,
Anything Goes.

Good authors too who once knew better words,
Now only use four letter words
Writing prose, Anything Goes.

The world has gone mad today
And good’s bad today,
And black’s white today,
And day’s night today,
When most guys today
That women prize today
Are just silly gigolos
And though I’m not a great romancer
I know that you’re bound to answer
When I propose,
Anything goes…