Anything Goes
Howard Lindsay and
Russel Crouse wrote the play Anything Goes in 1934 at
the request of the producer, Vinton Freedley. Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse
based it on a book.
Cole Porter composed the music and lyrics. The original story was about a
shipwrecked boat with comical characters and was exclusively the work of Bolton
and Wodehouse. After the wreck of the ship, Morro
Castle, off the coast of New Jersey in which 134 people lost their lives;
Lindsay and Russel were brought in to revise the script.
The
play starts off in New York, follows the cast members aboard an ocean liner,
The S.S. America, enroute to Southampton, England and finishes on the estate of
Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. The main characters
consist of Reno Sweeney, a nightclub entertainer; Billy Crocker, a Wall Street
broker; Hope Harcourt, Billy’s ex-fiancé; and Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, Hope’s
current fiancé. It also includes the characters of the Rev. Dr. Moon, who is
really Public Enemy #13, Moonface Martin.
Billy has remained on board the ship so that he can try to convince his
former flame, Hope, to call off her engagement and marry him. In the meantime,
Reno, who says that she is in love with Billy, starts to fall for Sir Evelyn.
Mrs. Harcourt and Billy’s boss, Elisha J. Whitney, begin to realize that they
have a lot in common. The cast makes the appropriate pairings and every one
ends up happy, except for the Moonface Martin, aka Rev. D. Moon, who has been
exonerated by the administration in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Harcourt and Elisha
are together; Billy and Hope and Reno and Sir Evelyn have found true love.
Anything Goes first opened at the Alvin
Theatre, now the Neil Simon Theatre, in New York City on November 21, 1934. A
screen version, starring Ethel Merman and Bing Crosby, was produced in 1936. A
theatrical version of the play was produced at the Vivian Beaumont
Theatre in 1987. Another revival opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre on April
1, 2002. On April 7, 2010, Anything Goes also opened at the Stephen
Sondheim Theatre on Broadway. All three of the recent revivals garnered
numerous Tony Awards.
Two dramaturgical
choices that Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse choose in Anything Goes are: they
choose to break the 4th wall of play by allowing the orchestra to
respond to what is going on stage, and instead of having the orchestra create
the Purser’s chimes they choose to have the instrument played by the Purser. By
breaking down the 4th wall of the play, Bolton and Wodehouse incorporate
the audience into the show; whereas before, the audience was just looking in
from the outside. Bolton and Wodehouse break the 4th wall in one of
the very final scenes of the play. Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt asks the Ship’s
Purser what her dog was doing in the Ship’s pool. Instead of having the Purser
responding to the question, Bolton and Wodehouse choose to have the orchestra
respond to Mrs. Harcourt by saying “The Dog Paddle” It is this response that
breaks down the 4th wall and drags the audience into the story that
is taking place before them.
A 2nd
dramaturgical choice that Bolton and Wodehouse make is by allowing the Ship’s
Purser to play his own instrument. Allowing the Purser to play the chimes
onstage, instead of having the instrument played by the orchestra, adds a
realistic image to the play. This decision allows the audience to believe that
they are actually watching real events take place on a real ship. The Purser’s
chimes are used to signal dinnertime aboard the ship. This choice creates a
more realistic view of the play for the audience.
Cites:
www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical020.html
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broadwayworld.com/article/ANYTHING-GOES-to-Open-at-the...
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