Anything Goes

After a two-year delay due to the pandemic, it must have been a relief for WLOS to bring this show to the stage. The director had worked with this large cast to develop great camaraderie which came over in their enjoyment on the stage. There were some excellent performances, but developing accents and characterisation with all of the cast would have improved the dialogue and the overall story-telling to another level. 

The MD who led a wonderful seven-piece band which sounded amazing in the Kenton auditorium, had certainly worked with the cast to learn the big numbers and the cast sang them with enthusiasm and good volume. Anything Goes is known for the iconic tap dance routine in its title song and it was good to see Reno and her Angels tapping and the whole cast joining in to dance to the routine. Blow Gabriel Blow is another big dance number, and the cast approached it with great gusto. Some of the smaller dances though, looked a little under rehearsed and not all the cast looked comfortable with the steps. The two-level set design on the interior of the SS American with a high deck complete with opening doors was very impressive and gave a good acting space with lots of opportunity for movement. Anything Goes is set in 1934 and the colourful costumes were authentic for that era.

This iconic musical is filled with an array of foot tapping numbers along with an hilarious story line full of marvellous comedy . It was clear that the cast were really enjoying the show and their enthusiasm shone through.

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