The CSUN Production of Anything Goes on Friday, April 24, 2009, proved to be a hit as far as the audience was concerned. It is a musical by Cole Porter with smashing hits like “I Get A Kick Out Of You” and “It’s De-Lovely” that anyone would be singing along to in their seats. There was an 11 member pit band to provide underground music to the actor’s singing and I am very pleased to say that the entire cast had a decent singing voice.
There were lots of comedic elements that made it very appealing to watch, yet no one at least not entirely stole the show. The entire cast was fairly balanced and only those who were supposed to stole specific parts.
The only downside to seeing this play is that I saw it right after I saw a professional production and so a lot of my criticism comes from judging professional against nonprofessional, which is why I will try to hold down some of my criticism.
Anything Goes is the work of the great Cole Porter who is also responsible for many other great plays Like Kiss Me Kate, which by coincidence is a modern day musical based on Shakespeare’s Taming of The Shrew.
For the CSUN Production of Anything Goes the casting director made a good effort of matching each character to their professional alter egos. Reno Sweeney played by Mary Lynn Deagon had the spotlight for most of the play and definitely worked for her spot with lots of laughs and gorgeous singing and dance numbers. Deagon portrayed what she thought Reno was supposed to be as an evangelical night club singer and there were very very few parts where I thought it was unbelievable.
Looking back at when the original production of Anything Goes was put on, it was first in November of 1934. That having been said for this recent production, the director had an easier time, especially with the reference of the shipwreck. I think, people in 1934 would have been more sensitive to this reference especially since a major sea disaster had just happened right around this same time. Society today for the most knows that references in plays are just that so there isn’t as much of a panic. In fact in CSUN’s production people took that as comedy which I think was much different than what the playwright had in mind for the intension of the play.
One other thing that I found appealing and I would say has to be the director’s call is the portrayal of Billy and Moonface. Maybe it is just me and my fetish for comparing movies but it seemed to me that they resembled Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. I’m not saying just appearance but their mannerisms as well, especially in the jail, which by the way the setting was genius with the raising and lowering of set piece so that the audience saw the transitions. But Billy Crocker, played by Addison Goss really had the same mannerisms as Broderick did in the producers. He was that simple guy that had to have everything a certain way and didn’t like to break any rules. When Moonface Martin played by George A.V. Ackles met him, he started changing him and in some ways creating a new “Snake Eyes” out of Billy. There was a really camaraderie displayed between these two characters which I think also made the play very entertaining to watch.
Overall, Anything Goes is a play on life and how being on an ocean liner, anything can happen and to steal the title anything goes. When Billy is discovered as holding the ticket of one of the crooks known as Enemy Number 1, instead of being courted of to jail, there is a big celebration and it is only when they realize that he is not Snake Eyes that he along with Moonface is put in the ocean liner’s jail. It is a comedy about things that happen that shouldn’t be happening and the reactions add to the comedy of the play because they are just not what normal society would do.
For the last play of the theater department’s and the last play of this class, it is definitely one that all should see because it’s a play with no real deep meaning and is one that is just meant for people to have a good time watching it. I certain did enjoy it and I think anyone will. It’s one that not too many people would be disappointed with. The music alone is worth going to in order to see just how the actors respond too in singing and dancing.