Anything Goes is Light Fun

By Peter Rusland
News Leader Pictorial

8.5 cocktails out of 10

Chemainus Theatre director Todd Talbot tugs as much fun as possible from composer Cole Porter's musical romp Anything Goes.

It doesn't hurt that Talbot also choreographed the show's sensational dance steps made by his 13 multi-talented actors.

Anything Goes thankfully manages to walk the fine line between dumb farce and musical comedy while serving us a decadent slice of Porter's 1930s' America.

True, this ship of fools is loaded with enough bad jokes and deck antics to sink a barge, but we merrily took it all in stride during AG's recent opening night.

Like the well-oiled hinge on a trapdoor of pratfalls, singing actress Joëlle Rabu's spunky Reno Sweeney is the audience's agent on the cruise liner hauling mindless romantics across the Atlantic.

"It ain't easy being New York's most notorious evangelist," vamping Sweeney quips after realizing who's on the captain's (Richard McBride) passenger list.

Porter's plot is all style and little substance hence anything goes in this comical caper though he clearly slips in messages about class systems, organized crime and chasing true love at all costs.

Wall Street go-fer Billy (Leon Willey) dallies too long aboard ship before it sets sails carrying his pompous boss Eli Whitney (Hal Kerbes), soft gangster Moonface Martin (Don Costain), foppish British Lord Evelyn (Morgan McLeod) and his fiancée Hope (Krista Konkin).

Billy falls for Hope, Lord Evelyn falls seasick, Moonface lays low to avoid blowing his priestly cover, and Sweeney wryly watches it all go by.

She spends her time singing and dancing with other well-coordinated passengers and crew, some of whom take up instruments in the stage band that ably sets the mood with Porter's great period jazz.

Standout dance numbers include Sweeney's You're The Tops hat-and-cane routine with Billy; Sweeney and Moonface's Friendship number; and Lord Evelyn's comical The Gypsy In Me.

Lisa Waines added great footwork as Moonface's ditzy moll Erma during Buddy Beware, and The Heaven Hop.

Rabu needed more vocal volume during an energetic version of Blow Gabriel Blow during her sensational turn as Sweeney.

Talbot's cast indeed did a splendid job filling the stage with pinpoint entrances and exits on Sam Wittingham's shipshape set.

Comic relief from McLeod's blowhard Lord Evelyn was hilarious, particularly when he's in his underwear shaving while wearing a huge sabre.

That scene was emblematic of the promised merriment that surfaces in Anything Goes.

Talbot's breezy summer play is light fare before the theatre's dark drama A Doll's House set for late September.

Anything Goes runs until Sept. 15.

High-energy Cole Porter musical worth the trip

By Adrian Chamberlain
Times Colonist staff

Rating: 3 ½ (out of five)

Who doesn't remember Anything Goes? Even if you've never seen the classic 1930s musical, you know the famous Cole Porter tunes: I Get a Kick Out of You, You're the Top, It's De-Lovely and, of course, the title song.

Chemainus Theatre is staging a plucky and enjoyable revival of this golden oldie all summer. Not everything worked perfectly the night I went: the band was wonky, and some leads have voices closer to adequate than outstanding. What makes this production a pleasure, however, is Todd Talbot's clever, brisk direction and choreography. That, paired with the cast's commendable energy, makes the drive to Chemainus worthwhile.

For those who don't know, Anything Goes is about Billy, a young stockbroker who stows away aboard the SS American in hopes of wooing the lovely Hope. Her engagement to a British fop complicates matters. What ensues is sheer froth - suffice to say the goofy shenanigans are livened up by gangsters, molls, social climbers and the ship's happily inept crew.

The primary challenge for Chemainus Theatre is shoe-horning a Broadway musical onto a pocket-sized stage. Because there is no pit, a jazz combo is stowed away on the top tier of a two-level stage. Even with doubling of speaking parts (some actors even take turns playing pianos, flutes and trumpets), the 13member cast is necessarily large. Yet somehow, Talbot and his team manage to make it look natural and fun - essential for any production of Anything Goes.

On Friday night, a pair of seasoned performers delivered the strongest performances. Danny Costain is a veteran song and dance man, and it absolutely shows in the power and precision of his performance as gangster Moonface Martin. His rendition of the spectacularly silly Be Like the Bluebird (with its "tweet tweet tra-la" refrain) was a high point.

Joelle Rabu, as world-weary Reno Sweeney, didn't quite match Costain's deft dance moves. She made up for it, however, with a confident stage presence and a fine voice. Her renditions of such favourites as You're the Top and Anything Goes were particularly strong - if everything had been of this calibre, we might be looking at a five-star production.

Unfortunately, the band's clumsy accompaniment marred some of the key tunes. During Rabu's Act I rendition of You're the Top, the drums and piano were out of synch. Elsewhere, horn flourishes sounded inept, even out of tune. Friendship - an otherwise fine number for Rabu and Costain - suffered when the band dragged. The most glaring blemish was the trumpeting of Hal Kerbes (also playing the roles of Eli Whitney and a minister); he too often flubbed notes in an amateurish manner. It's a cute idea to have actors playing instruments, but it's essential they know how to play them.

I suspect the core band will pull it together as the run progresses. With this in mind, I'd recommend seeing this show a month into the performance schedule.

Leon Willey and Krista J. Konkin are charming as the much-in-love Billy and Hope.

Both act well, particularly Willey, who exudes an appropriate charm that's almost oily, but not quite. Neither is an outstanding singer, which limits the production's wow factor. Other notables include Morgan McLeod, genuinely amusing as poncy Lord Evelyn, and Daniel Pitout who, as a purser, has only a small role, but shines big-time in tap dance sequences. Lisa Waines' Erma the good-time gal is also well played.

The choreography is witty and well executed. It is hard to resist Heaven Hop, in which four bathing beauties high-kick their way through a routine with red checked table-cloths. A nine-person tap sequence during Anything Goes was also performed sharply and enthusiastically.

The director has stuffed his production chock-full of diverting physical flourishes, whether it be the Orientals who sit on a bench by sliding down back to back, or a performer's coltish kick as he departs the stage. Such detail adds immensely to the show - it's the type of thing that spells the difference between a superior musical and a runof-the-mill effort.

The audience responded enthusiastically, rewarding the cast with a standing ovation.