Anything Goes starring Sutton Foster and Robert Lindsay – review round-up

Anything Goes – Full steam ahead

The book for Anything Goes was penned by Guy Bolton and PG Wodehouse, but heavily revised by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse before the original show opened, then altered again in 1987, then again in 2011. The resultant plot is hardly watertight, but that hardly matters here, according to the critics.

“The genius of Anything Goes lies in the combination of seriously good music with a plot so gloriously inconsequential that a state of blithe, uncomplicated bliss is reached,” writes Lyndsey Winship (Guardian, ★★★★★). “This 1934 show is Depression-era escapism fit for post-Covid times. If you want to remove yourself from the world for a few hours, this is the place to do it.”

That’s right, says Andrzej Lukowski (TimeOut, ★★★★). Anything Goes is essentially a “gloriously daft romcom about some horny people on a boat”, he observes. “It doesn’t really go anywhere, but the journey is utterly ravishing.”

Everyone agrees. Anything Goes is “a pandemic-clearing tsunami of joy” according to Matt Wolf (The Arts Desk, ★★★★★), “a heavenly experience” according to William J Connolly (Broadway World, ★★★★★), and “the de-loveliest show in town” according to Suzy Evans (London Theatre, ★★★★★). For Clive Davis (The Times, ★★★★★), “it’s the musical equivalent of sipping one glass of champagne after another.”

“When it comes to the Golden Era musicals, Anything Goes is le grand fromage, with gargantuan numbers, epic choreography and farcical tales worth of a Shakespearean comedy,” says Alex Wood (WhatsOnStage, ★★★★★). It reminds you, adds Sarah Hemming (Financial Times, ★★★★★), of “the sheer joy Anything Goes at the Barbican – review | WhatsOnStageof a big musical in full sail and of a stage bursting with life and song”.

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Anything Goes – Fabulous Foster

Forty-six-year-old Sutton Foster is one of the biggest names on Broadway, thanks to award-showered appearances in Thoroughly Modern Mille, Little Women, Shrek the Musical, Sweet Charity and the original staging of this production of Anything Goes. This is the first time she has stepped on stage in London. She is reprising her role as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, and the British critics can’t get enough of her.

“Foster effortlessly steals every scene with a devastating mix of raw talent and sheer, gutbusting effort,” writes Lukowski. “The precision, the talent, the sheer *effort* is just jaw-dropping, even as Reno remains a relentlessly breezy character. It’s a veritably Olympian performance.”

“It’s a sheer pleasure to witness the skill and charisma she brings to ridiculous song-and-dance routines,” echoes Tim Bano (The Stage, ★★★★★). “As Marshall’s limb-flinging choreography slips into furious tap or chorus lines, and the ensemble around her gasps desperately for breath, Foster launches calmly into yet another extraordinary belt.”

“Foster is just sensational,” writes Hemming. “Her singing beautifully pitched and paced, her dancing dazzling, her switch between the two beguilingly effortless. But what’s most enjoyable is her rapport with the audience and infectious delight in the daftness of it all.”

Seconded, says Marianka Swain (The Telegraph, ★★★★★). Foster is “sinfully talented” and “a dazzling triple threat”. Thirded, chimes Nick Curtis (Evening Standard, ★★★★). She “knocks them dead” in “a magnificent London debut”.

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Anything Goes – Cracking crew members

Foster isn’t the only one rowing the boat, though. She is joined behind the mast by Robert Lindsay, Felicity Kendal, Gary Wilmot, as well as Nicole-Lily Baisden, Carly Mercedes Dyer and Samuel Edwards, all of whom also impress the critics, particularly Lindsay and Dyer.

Dyer is “entertaining”, “squeaky-voiced and fabulous” as Erma, “the horniest of all the horny people on the horny boat”, according to Lukowski, while for Bano she doesn’t just steal scenes, but rather “plunders and ransacks them”.

The 71-year-old Lindsay, meanwhile, plays gangster Moonface Martin. His “grizzled, goofy comedic swagger” is “a constant crowd-pleaser” according to Wood, while Curtis contends that his “easygoing, shoulder-rolling, soft-shoe-shuffling” performance “reminds you what a stage pro he is”.

And it isn’t just the cast that is covered with praise, but the entire creative team, from director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall, to set designer Derek McLane, to costume designer Jon Morrell, to musical director Stephen Ridley and his orchestra.

“Marshall’s direction and choreography are supremely polished. McLane’s set gives us lots of chrome and white-painted naval steel, plus sumptuous art deco interiors. Morrell swathes Foster in ravishing silk and ensures everyone looks fabulous, including the sailors,” Curtis writes. “Surrender is the only option.”

Spot-on, says Swain. Marshall’s revival “immediately joins the pantheon of great classic musical revivals”.

Anything Goes – The verdict

A tsunami of five-star reviews says it all. Anything Goes is by far the best big show to open this summer, and a welcome wave of carefree, Covid-free chaos. Foster is fantastic on her first London appearance, and her shipmates are sensational, and Marshall marshals it all magnificently. Shiver me timbers – it’s a hit!