'Anything Goes' Australian revival will be headlined with stars Todd McKenney, Caroline O'Connor and Debora Krizak.
For decades, 'Anything Goes' has captivated millions with its delightful story of madcap antics aboard the S.S. American. When the ocean liner embarks from New York to London, etiquette and convention get tossed out the portholes as two unlikely pairs set off on the course to find true love. Proving that sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an exotic disguise and some good ol' fashioned blackmail.
The outstanding cast stars names such as Caroline O’Connor, as evangelist turned nightclub singer Reno Sweeney; Todd McKenney as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh; and Alex Rathgeber as young Wall Street broker, Billy Crocker. Also featuring in the production is Debora Krizak – known for her roles in 'A Chorus Line', and more recently her dual roles in the debut production of 'Sweet Charity' – who will star as Moonface Martin's feisty and determined sidekick, Erma.
“She's fun, she's lively, and she's quite quirky, which is my favourite part about her. She is looking for her next conquest, whether that is a sailor, a rich man or anyone that will get her where she wants to go, which is somewhere with luxury and money. She has quite a few interesting layers, which we get to work with on stage.”
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The hit production features an amusing tale of topsy-turvy relationships, mistaken identities and foiled plots, sugar coated with some of musical theatre’s most memorable standards – 'You’re The Top', 'De-Lovely', 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' and of course the title song, 'Anything Goes'.
“'Anything Goes' is my personal favourite,” says Krizak. “It's the best song that features a stunning tap routine with everyone on stage, so I think that's the one that brings the house down every single day, because it's the one that everybody knows.
“The finale is also my favourite part of the show. It's so much fun – everybody's on and we all have our little moments to do things. We all get to come out and do some tap dancing and I have a couple of bars with Moonface Martin. It's a good chaos and the crowd loves it. It's fantastic... I was really excited to put the tap shoes back on for that.”
'Anything Goes' will not only have you singing along with the well-known and well-loved musical numbers, but will also have you in side-splitting laughter.“Every single person on stage, from the ensemble to the main actors, every single person is hilarious... It's got very sharp dialogue and there's a lot of slapstick, and the comedy is what I love the most about this show. There's nothing better than hearing people laugh, whether it's from your own work or fellow actors. It's the response that makes you realise that this is exactly where I want to be and what I want to do.”
Debora describes the production as something that will appeal to both the general audience and aspiring young people in the musical theatre industry.“It's good, old fashioned musical comedy at it's best. It's also like watching a musical theatre master class – it's some of the best people performing in the roles, and it's everything that musical theatre is. Quite often people will think about revivals and say 'we should have more new Australian work', and I think that there is a place for everything. And while new Australian work is fantastic, we also need to teach young people, particularly those coming up in the industry, about musicals such as this one. That were written by such comic people, how they were written, how they need to be delivered, and how to respect the material.
“But for the general public coming along, they will enjoy it because it's a spectacle of delight. It's got the wonderful costumes and designs by Dale Ferguson, it's got the choreography by Andrew Hallsworth, it's smartly directed by Dean Bryant, and of course it's got a cast of very experienced actors. It's got short and sharp scenes, it's got good music, it's got romance, it's got tension, it's got comedy, it's got all the components of a good night out. It's just an all round good time show – you don't have to think too hard. Just watch, tune out and have a laugh.”Anything Goes Tour Dates
Until 19 July – Princess Theatre (Melbourne)From 28 July – Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Brisbane)
From 8 September – Sydney Opera House
