By BART GREENBERG****Last year, Mel Miller’s Musicals Tonight! took a giant step forward with its elaborate production of Anything Goes. Now, the show has returned as part of Miller’s spring season and it’s as thrilling as it was last time around. Much of that cast has returned, with a few additions adding to the fun.
As good as the cast is, and more about them later, the success of the evening is largely due to director/choreographer, Casey Colgan. His work keeps the show moving at a breakneck pace, only slowing down for a few beautifully rendered ballads that anchor the story to reality with their honest emotion. The rest of the time, characters race on and off stage, tossing off the dialogue that drives the chaos that serves for a musical comedy plot. There’s just enough context to link one fabulous Cole Porter song to another. And whenever possible, including during set changes, dancing of all sorts breaks out, from ballet to tap to old-fashion burlesque (not limited to the distaff side of the cast).
Meredith Inglesby is a wry, comic Reno Sweeney, the combination nightclub singer and revivalist at the center of the chaos and while she lacks the trumpet-like blast voice of Ethel Merman, she puts the lyrics across with clarity and confidence. Nick Walker Jones is a more boyish Billy Crocker than is often seen, which brings out a sweet innocence in the character’s machinations to be near the one he loves. He also offers excellent vocals in the proceedings. His object of affection, Hope Harcourt, is brought to life by Beth Stafford Laird, with far more depth and warmth than this underwritten role often receives, matching Jones’ fine singing.
Two of the brightest moments in the show come from the comics Carlos Lopez and Brian Ogilvie. Lopez portrays would-be gangster Moonface Martin with an explosive humor–––as if he had been propelled on stage from a nearby production of Guys and Dolls, while Ogilvie brings a surprising sexiness to the English twit Evelyn Oakley that actually makes Reno’s instant interest in him believable. Mention must also be made of ship’s Captain, Nic Thompson, and his Purser, Blake Spellacy, who both bring energy and dazzling footwork to these minor roles.
Music director/vocal arranger Christopher Stephens has ramped up the fun, also devising a beautiful medley of “Night and Day” and “All Through the Night” that is immensely touching. One further hero of the evening is Jack Maisenbach, who oversaw the dazzling costumes that capture the period and show off the attractive cast to their best.
Anything Goes continues through March 11 at the Lion Theatre, part of the Theatre Row Theatres, at 410 W. 42nd St. Tickets may be purchased via Ticketcharge at 212-560-2186 or at the box office.
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