AHOY BROADWAY FANS!! It is only 34 days till Broadway?s biggest night of the year?. The 72nd Annual Tony Awards. We are getting you into the spirit leading up to Broadway?s biggest night playing you the best performances from the previous telecasts on NEW YORK BROADWAY TOURS? TOP 40 TONY AWARDS COUNTDOWN.
At # 33, we board upon an ocean liner from New York to London. On this ship, we follow the madcap antics of a female preacher turned nightclub singer, a gangster disguised as a minister, and a stowaway broker in love with an heiress who is engaged to a British lord. This is of course?. ANYTHING GOES. The musical features a score by Cole Porter and a Book by Howard Lindsay, Guy Bolton and P.G. Woderhouse.
From the 1988 telecast, 2 time Tony winner Patti LuPone as the evangelist turned nightclub singer ?Reno Sweeney? and the company of the 1987 Lincoln Center Theater revival give a toe tapping performance of the show?s title song.
ANYTHING GOES was first conceived by producer Vinton Freedly. At the time, he left the US to avoid his creditors and was living on boat. He chose Guy Bolton and P.G. Woderhouse to co-write the book of the musical. The show was originally titled CRAZY WEEK and then HARD TO GET, before officially calling it ANYTHING GOES. In addition, the plot of the original storyline initially featured a bomb threat, a shipwreck, and hijinks on a desert island. However, a few weeks before the show even opened, news broke about a fire that broke out on the ocean liner SS Morro Castle which 138 passengers and crew members were killed. To not terrify the audience, Freedly wanted to have the entire script revamped. However Bolton and Woderhouse were unavailable living in England. From there, Freedly hired director Howard Lindsay who also redid the entire book. In addition, composer Cole Porter was staying at a guesthouse (part of the Rosecliff mansion) in Newport, Rhode Island, while writing the score. In addition, choreographer Robert Alton came on board.
ANYTHING GOES originally had a world premiere tryout in Boston at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. It officially opened on Broadway in 1934 at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) running for 420 performances. Even though at the time, Broadway was suffering from the Great Depression, the show initially became the 4th Longest Running Musical of the 1930?s. The cast consisted of?
Ethel Merman (later Benay Venuta) as ?Reno Sweeney?,
William Gaxton as ?Billy Crocker?,
Victor Moore as ?Moonface Martin?,
and Bettina Hall as ?Hope Harcourt?.
The show did not receive Tony Awards nominations or wins during its original Broadway run. The Tonys did not first happened till 1946. It went on to wow audiences in London?s West End.
ANYTHING GOES would later be revived 3 times here in New York City. In addition during each run of the show, the libretto kept getting revised. New dialogue was added in, several songs from cut or lost a verse of a song. In addition, songs from other Cole Porter musicals were recycled.
The first major New York revival happened in 1962. However, it was an Off Broadway revival. Under the direction of Lawrence Kasha and Choreography by Ronald Fields, this production played the Orpheum Theatre. It ran for 239 performances. This cast consisted of?
Eileen Rodgers as ?Reno Sweeney?,
Hal Linden Official as ?Billy Crocker?,
Mickey Deems as ?Moonface Martin?,
and Barbara Lang as ?Hope Harcourt?.
No major Awards for this Off Broadway run.
The 2nd revival (and first major On Broadway revival) happened in 1987 (as seen in this video) from Lincoln Center Theatre. Under the direction of Jerry Zaks and choreography by Michael Smuin, the production played the Vivian Beaumont Theatre for a total of 784 performances. This cast featured?
Patti LuPone (later Leslie Uggams and Linda Hart) as ?Reno Sweeney?,
Howard McGillin as ?Billy Crocker?,
Bill McCutcheon as ?Moonface Martin?,
and Kathleen Mahony-Bennett as ?Hope Harcourt?.
This revival was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 1988 winning 3 including Best Revival of a Musical.
In addition, the production was a very special moment for LuPone. On a dark night from the show, she married her longtime husband Matthew Johnston. The ceremony was held on the stage of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.
The most recent revival of ANYTHING GOES happened in 2011 from Roundabout Theatre Company. Under the direction and choreography by Kathleen Marshall, this production played the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The run was initially scheduled to run for 4 months. However due to an overwhelming response, the production was extended for an entire year. When it closed, the revival played a total of 553 performances. This cast included?.
2 time Tony winner Sutton Foster (later Stephanie J. Block) as ?Reno Sweeney?,
Colin Donnell (later Bill English) as ?Billy Crocker?,
Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey (later Robert Creighton) as ?Moonface Martin?,
and 2 time Tony nominee Laura Osnes (later Erin Mackey) as ?Hope Harcourt?,
That most recent revival was nominated for 9 Tony Awards that same year winning 3 including Best Revival of a Musical.
In addition to its success on stage, ANYTHING GOES was a hit musical on the big screen. The original film was released in 1936 from Paramount Pictures. It starred?
Ethel Merman (reprising her role) as ?Reno Sweeney?,
Bing Crosby as ?Billy Crocker?
Charles Ruggles as ?Moonface Martin?,
and Ida Lupino as ?Hope Harcourt?.
ANYTHING GOES today is a popular show still performed in schools, community, and regional theatres worldwide.
Doesn?t this musical make you want to tap?
Patti Lupone with the 1987 revival cast in Anything Goes on the Tony Awards. Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original bo…
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