Evangelist and chanteuse, Reno Sweeney is sweet on Billy Crocker (and while he’s fond of her) he’s got goo-goo eyes for Hope Harcourt. Memories of a midnight rendezvous have him revving on all cylinders. However! Hope is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, an extremely charming guy. Hope’s Mother, Evangeline Oakley, is relieved Hope is marrying up. Moonface Martin (Public Enemy Number 13) is a fugitive from justice, accompanied by his kewpie-doll girlfriend, Erma. Billy’s stowed away on an ocean liner (bound for London) with this assortment of lovable kooks.
Anything Goes premiered on Broadway in 1934, with music and lyrics by the preeminent pop composer Cole Porter, and book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse. The musical has gone through a few revisions over time, handing off the torch to Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. With splendidly ridiculous scenarios and eccentric behavior, you just know that nothing truly bad is going to happen, and several couples will be getting hitched in the end. Porter, Bolton and Wodehouse have fashioned a bang-up plot for this smart, preposterous, thoroughly boisterous comedy.
Bearing in mind the salient cultural quirks of the day, we find Reno, the earthy, savvy lady with a wry smile, and gumption for days. Perhaps a nod to Mae West? From the same time (roughly) as Chicago, there’s much public enthusiasm for gangsters, hoodlums, and sketchy dames. Aboard the S.S. American, daring criminals are celebrities. There are the stock market crash and rough and ready sailors. You’re the Top is a litany of timely topics: Mahatma Gandhi, Mickey Mouse, Mona Lisa, Tower of Pisa, The Louvre Museum…
Then of course, there are the tunes and dance numbers. Porter has this astonishing knack for blending cleverness with cool panache. His romantic songs are suffused with gentle, vivid imagery; wistfulness with longing. The smooth, nuanced tap numbers or extravagant (yet deferential) and the ballroom pieces, seem to spontaneously spark a lightness, a gladness to our step. Anything Goes certainly turns on the antics of flawed human beings, but there’s nothing cynical or deprecating. There’s a definite warmth, a tireless cheer that comes through the nonstop shenanigans and cross purposes. When Reno sees how smitten Billy is with Hope, she doesn’t storm off, she helps him. When Lord Evelyn realizes Hope (who loves him) feels something stronger for Billy, he doesn’t stand in the way.
Doug Miller should win Intrepid Director of the Year for this mind-boggling production of Anything Goes. 20 (count them!) 20 actors coming and going and changing costumes, hitting their spots and remembering their cues and (near as I can tell) never a miss. What a fearless, poised, acrobatic bunch of madcap rib-ticklers. I don’t think it’s a reach to say (in our current situation) it’s not easy to tell despondency to amscray and chase them naughty blues way. Firehouse Theatre is offering a tonic, a giddy, playful path to the salvation of intoxicating romance and shameless lunacy.
Don’t let this one pass you by.
The Firehouse Theatre presents Anything Goes, playing April 9th-17th, 2022. 2535 Valley View Lane, Farmer’s Branch, TX 75234. 972-620-3747. www.thefirehousetheatre.com