Music & Lyrics by Cole Porter

Book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton

New Book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman

                        and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse

We had three reviews:

Penarth View Review by Katherine Peach

I was lucky enough to be invited to come and watch Concept Players’ production of Anything Goes at the Paget Rooms in Penarth. I didn’t know much about this show going in but I’d heard good things so I had high expectations…and I was not disappointed!  The story follows Billy Crocker, portrayed by Shane Rose-Goodsir, a young New York businessman upon a transatlantic liner travelling from New York to England. Billy’s quest to win the hand of the woman he loves is met with a fair few challenges. From the beginning, audience was introduced to a raft of interesting characters, from gambling nuns to gangsters.

I was surprised by the shear talent of this cast. I didn’t know what to expect but I was blown away by the range of abilities of every cast member that stepped onto that stage. Each one holding an unwavering amount of professionalism. Every actor embraced their character whole-heartedly and the audience fell in love with them all. Shane Rose-Goodsir, took on the role of this iconic character and commanded the stage. Hayley Toms as Reno Sweeney was incredible. Aside from her beautiful voice, she truly took hold of the infamous character, capturing all of what makes Reno so loveable but also putting her own personal spin on it. And Cat Bailie, who portrays Erma and Paul Buckle, who portrays Moonface Martin, comedic chemistry on stage had the audience in stitches and quickly became audience favourites.

An incredible performance by Ellie Hoare as Hope Harcourt, Stephen Hopkins as Evelyn Oakleigh, Nick Pratt as Eli Whitney, Rebecca Rose as Evangeline Harcourt, Kevin Morgan as the Captain, Sarah Jones as Sister Mary Aloysious, Kate Smith as Sister Bernard and the rest of the cast and crew. The technical visual of this show worked really well. The staging was simple, but allowed the characters to use the space and engaged with the audience. With minimal set stage pieces and an exposed band, you were pulled into the story from the beginning. And the lighting design was brilliant also, especially by using the lights around the audience to fully immerse them in numbers such as ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’, flooding the room in an intoxicating red glow.

The musical numbers in this show are fantastic! Classic musical stylings with a jazzy twist, with upbeat numbers such as, ‘You’re The Top’, ‘Friendship’, ‘You’re The Top’, ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’, ‘Buddie Beware’ and, of course, ‘Anything Goes’. And more soulful numbers that left goosebumps running up my arm, such as, ‘Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye’, ‘Easy To Love’ and ‘All Through The Night’. And each number was paired with an incredibly fun dance number, choregraphed by Adam Pitt. From big tap dancing chorus numbers to elegant waltz, each one had the audience wanting to dance along with them.

What I loved so much about this show was its humour-driven, up-beat liveliness. The audience was laughing from start to finish, and leaving with huge smiles on their faces. It’s was the perfect choice by Concept Players’ director Ruairidh Macleod Lyon as there “come-back” show. So if you’re looking for a fun-filled, toe-tapping, hilarious musical for the whole family then this is the one for you. Anything Goes will be in the Paget Rooms for just one more night before moving onto the Dolman Theatre from 30th March to 1st April, and tickets are selling out fast so get them while you can.

Entertainment South Wales Review by Andy Howells

 Having only discovered Anything Goes in recent years, it has quickly become one of my favourite musicals. I love its classic “at sea” setting, the Cole Porter soundtrack, the vintage PG Wodehouse comedy element and the dance sequences. So, I approached Concept Players’ presentation, which opened its run at Newport’s Dolman Theatre on Thursday evening with some excitement and some trepidation. I needn’t have worried.

Anything Goes finds Young New York Stockbroker Billy Crocker stowing away on a transatlantic liner, the S.S. American heading to England in pursuit of his one true love, the beautiful heiress, Hope Harcourt. Along the way, and in the spirit of true farce, Billy finds himself avoiding his boss, the pompous Elisha J Whitney, while forming an allegiance an unsuccessful gangster, Moonface Martin and making several attempts to separate Hope from her future husband, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. Helping the action along is the sultry nightclub singer evangelist and long-time acquaintance of Billy, Reno Sweeney, her Angels, two corrupt nuns, a gangster’s moll, plus a Captain and his crew. All become embroiled in a riot of comedic situations including mistaken identities and mad disguises as the lead protagonists fall in and out of love.

Concept Players’ staging of Anything Goes features a static set with the action taking place on the deck of the S.S. American.  Spot lighting directs to various areas of the stage to compensate for scenes in the ship’s hold and enabling the action to flow easily from one scene to the next.

The comedic element of Anything Goes is timed to perfection with Shane Rose-Goodsir as the hero of the piece, Billy Crocker, who frequently finds himself pushed from pillar to post adopting disguises to be with his true love. Paul Buckle’s Moonface Martin demonstrates lots of energetic exchanges with fellow passengers and there are some lovely scenes with Cat Bailie as his moll, the squawky, but endearing Erma. Stephen Hopkins effectively displays shades of a Wooster-ish beau in his portrayal of Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, and for a time, it seems that Ellie Hoare’s desirable and moralistic Hope Harcourt will totally forsake true love to be with him. 

Hayley Toms gives an exciting portrayal of the vivacious Reno Sweeney as she embraces the performance of the Cole Porter standard, I Get a Kick Out Of You. There was more to enjoy as she led the company with plenty of jazz pizazz on Blow Gabriel Blow and Anything Goes. I was also uplifted and enthralled on her duets with Shane Rose-Goodsir (You’re the Top) and Paul Buckle (Friendship) which featured great choreography as well as a refreshing on-stage energy that demonstrated the performers were having a lot of fun. Credit must go to Musical Director Christopher Fossey for a perfectly tuned presentation of Cole Porter’s soundtrack and Director Ruairidh Macleod Lyon and his creative team for pulling all the elements together, including the brilliant ensemble cast for this feelgood show. Concept Players’ Anything Goes really is The Top and a De-lovely way to spend a few hours at the theatre.

NODA Review by Allan Mears

Anything Goes has been wowing audiences ever since this bubbly Cole Porter musical opened on Broadway in 1934. Anything Goes not only has an entertaining story with great characters but the music of Cole Porter provides an added bonus. This production captured the essence of the show with strong principal performances and a company that was well drilled and filled the stage with life and colour. Reno Sweeney, played by Hayley Toms, gave a strong polished performance and particularly like her rendition of ‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’, beautifully sung and acted. Billy Crocker, played by Shane Rose-Goodsir, confidently created the character of the cheeky charmer with a good stage presence and effortless vocals. Hope Harcourt, Played by Ellie Hoare, was a mix of sophistication and girlish enthusiasm and created a lovely on stage relationship with her beau Billy. Lord Evelyn is a fantastic part to play but difficult as he is meant to appear unintentionally funny, however Stephen Hopkins managed this with ease. Moonface Martin, Played by Paul Buckle, and Erma, Played by Cat Bailie, were a great gangster double act, funny, engaging and full of character. Good character performances were provided by the Nick Pratt as Elisha Whitney and Rebecca Rose as Evangeline Harcourt. The whole company worked extremely well, rising to the challenge and gave highly entertaining performances. The production was attractively costumed and the staging worked well and efficiently I would urge you to continue to be bold in your choices and help to push boundaries in non-professional theatre.