Anything Goes

For their 50th Anniversary show Easter Ross Musical Theatre decided to put on one of my favourites “Anything Goes” in what is the 90th year since it opened on Broadway. This show is jam-packed with great songs by Cole Porter with a delightfully witty libretto originally by Guy Bolton and P G Wodehouse and now with a revised book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman.

Kerry Russell gave a power-house performance as the nightclub evangelist Reno Sweeney with just the right mix of sass and sexiness as shown in her solo “I Get a Kick Out of You” and the duet “You’re the Top” with Billy and in the big company numbers “Anything Goes” and “Blow, Gabriel, Blow”. She also showed off her expertise with comedy in the “Friendship” number with Moonface and her part in Lord Evelyn’s “The Gypsy In Me”. Shaun Cowan was outstanding as the love-lorn Billy Crocker as he took on many comic disguises to win over debutante Hope Harcourt, elegantly played by Catriona Macrae, from her aristocratic fiance. Their duets “Easy To Love” and “It’s De-lovely” were a delight as was Catriona’s sensitive rendition of “Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye”.

Much of the laughter in the piece was delivered by Andy Hurst’s larger-than-life gangster Moonface Martin and the sexy gangster’s moll Erma beautifully played by Dawn Gregory. Andy’s rendition of “Be Like the Bluebird” had the audience in hoots of laughter as did Dawn’s “Buddy Beware” with the crew. William MacDonald was excellent as the aristocrat Lord Evelyn Oakleigh as he tried to come to terms with the Americanisms used by the other characters and his rendition of “The Gypsy In Me”, complete with tango with Reno, was a triumph.

Strong performances too were given by Iain McKenzie as Elisha Whitney, Billy’s Wall Street broker boss, and Allena MacLeod as Evangeline Harcourt, Hope’s social-climbing mother and a former flame of Elisha’s. Strong support was given by Tracy Robertson and Sheila Tomelty (as Christian converts Sam and Charlie), John Gunn (The Captain of the SS American), Steve Kelly (The Purser) and Lorna Baxter, Lisa Johnston, Kathryn Roper and Roslyn Oliver-Jones (Reno’s Showgirls). Special mention must be made of Alister Sutherland, who was a cast member of the group’s first ever show, as Rev. Henry T Dobson.

The ensemble of Ship’s Crew and Passengers sang and moved well in the big company numbers such as “Anything Goes” and “Blow, Gabriel Blow” and handled admirably the harmonies in “Public Enemy Number One” and “All Through The Night” which I know can be tricky. Good use was made of the split levels in the onboard ship set designed by Dave Smith and built by company members. The 5 piece band, with Musical Director Sharon Macleod at the piano, did full justice to the various styles of Cole Porter’s music in the show.

Congratulations to everyone involved for a delightful evening which I know was hugely enjoyed by the enthusiastic audience.

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