Theatre Review: Anything Goes by Kathleen Marshall
Rating: ★★★★★
In Summary
Genre: Musical
Running Dates: April 11th to April 16th
Where to see it: Bristol Hippodrome (UK Tour)
Duration: 2 hours 40 minutes (including 20 minute interval)
Keywords: musical, theatre & dance, 30s, witty
Content Warnings: male - female power dynamics, gender stereotypes
Review
Let’s all hop aboard this ocean liner from New York to London to be swept away by this mix of dance, witty lines and effortless singing!
My eye was firstly captured by the scenography and its design, as well as the costumes. It’s all very sparkly and neat - I could feel myself being transported to the 30s just by looking at the stage!
This musical has a very simple story, and this is not a critical point of view: a man and a woman fall in love, so he gets aboard the ship she is travelling on with the purpose of marrying her. You can probably guess how the story ends. On the side of this main plot are the story of a deceitful gangster, a bubbly nightclub performer, a British earl, and so many more characters as the cast counts about 50 artists!
The simple plot is not an issue at all when the show is full of amazing dancing moments (you will get your fair share of tap dancing!), effortless singing, and real talent all round! The music takes us back to the 30s, the jokes are just the right amount of lame (you will laugh at them, and then feel a bit of shame), and the cast is just amazing.
I couldn’t help but notice the parallelism between the 30s being the Depression era in history and our current post-Covid times - might I suggest that this kind of show was much needed then as it is now? I will leave you with that thought!
A trip to Broadway here at our doorsteps!
The Round Up
Standout Quote or Moment: the tap dance performance in the first act is not easily forgotten!
See If: you want to be swept away for 2 hours and 40 minutes and marvel at the talent of this cast.
Similar Plays: Grease (musical), Broadway musicals
Last Impressions: a light show to make you laugh and forget your troubles - more hints to the history of the 30s would have made it more realistic, but the show is already packed with a lot of action!
Written by Angela Massela
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