A Touring Broadway Production of ANYTHING GOES

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marcussenter.org

I looked it up. Skylight did Anything Goes something like ten years ago. It’s hard to believe it was quite that long ago. Something like a decade later, it’s still remarkably vivid in my memory. It’s one of the more pristine and graceful musical productions I can ever remember seeing. I checked into this when I was reminded of the fact that there’s a touring Broadway production of the musical that will soon be sailing through town on its way somewhere else.

Granted, the big stage at the Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall and its relatively massive seating arrangement makes the whole thing seem so...distant. It’s not exactly the spacious intimacy of the big stage that the Skylight is working with, but it’s not without its charm and a live production of Anything Goes can be a lot of fun even if you have to watch it from a very long way away.

The 1930s musical by Cole Porter is such utter American Musical perfection that it’s hard not to like it even if one does hate the American Musical format. Everything about it seems to fit perfectly. The nautical theme of a ship bound from New York to London is a lot of fun, particularly in big productions like the one coming to town. The cast of characters mixes suspense with romance in a big, fun and flashy musical comedy. Granted, we probably won’t be lucky enough to see another production of the show by the Skylight any time soon, but a big budget touring production from elsewhere might suffice for those who hadn’t seen the Skylight’s or just want to revisit an old classic of the American stage.

Broadway at the Marcus Center welcomes Anything Goes runs Jan. 6-11 at the Marcus Center’s Uihlein Hall. For more information, visit the click here.