YOU’LL GET A KICK OUT OF THIS
Oh, no, no, no. A musical in concert of this magnitude hardly ever happens in L.A., and Anything Goes in Concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium is shaping up to be a wallop — in fact, tickets are already flying off the ship, so I’m-a telling you about it now. Cole Porter’s classic musical romp will be presented by The Pasadena Playhouse in its entirety with full orchestrations played by a 16-piece band, music directed by Darryl Archibald, only on January 24 & 25, 2025.
Get this cast! Wayne Brady is the plucky hero Billy Crocker who will seduce you with the entrancing “Easy to Love” and “All Through the Night”; Jinkx Monsoon is Reno Sweeney, the unofficial cruise director of the S.S. American, who sings “I Get a Kick Out of You” (and I can’t think of anyone better to teach you how to “Blow, Gabriel, Blow”); J. Harrison Ghee is the bumbling yet haplessly charming fiancée Lord Evelyn Oakleigh; BenDeLaCreme is Mrs. Harcourt, an overbearing mother; Harvey Guillén is mobster Moonface Martin, who becomes a minor-league shipboard celebrity after he’s exposed as “Public Enemy No. 13” — he sings the enthralling duet with Reno, “Friendship”; Alec Mapa is Yalie doofus Eli Whitney, a cross between a Wall Street mogul and Mr. Magoo; and Mike Millan is the Purser. More casting to be announced. For bios, click here. The show will be helmed by Anne Tippe, the director of Dave Malloy’s brilliant Octet.
So, what to expect?
In Anything Goes, dotty passengers and showbiz sailors on an anarchic ocean liner transpire in mistaken identities, amorous deceptions and shameless impersonations as if Roman comedy were here to stay. It’s still “It’s De-lovely”, but, steeped in bon-vivant euphoria and Roaring Twenties’ hedonism, this 1934 musical is so light it’s hard to believe it came out of the sobering Depression. But that was probably the point. A comforting throwback to such Jazz Age obsessions as goodtime flappers, gold-digging gigolos, and gangster chic, the book, by American funsters Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse and British cut-ups P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton, was reassuringly retro. Employing the new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman that accompanied the Lincoln Center revival, Pasadena Playhouse is using unique, anything goes casting to pump up the anything-for-a-laugh book where the only sentiment is a throbber like “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
Chock full of music-hall verve, the silly plot, quirky characters, and vaudeville slapstick unleashes a grab bag of novelty numbers, stage business, stereotypes, and antediluvian shtick. However slight the book, which this cast will most certainly beef up, it showcases songs that never grow stale. At the height of his tunesmith triumphs (and just before the riding accident that would condemn him to lifelong pain), Cole Porter could turn out infectious rousers like the title treat as effortlessly as the Martinis he downed in his Venetian villa. His classic songs are showbiz diamonds unequaled in lushness or freshness until Kiss Me, Kate arrived 14 years later.
The 17 songs — favorites like “You’re The Top” and the added delicious discovery “Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye” — are totally once and future. Ninety years later, this feel-good frolic remains a rug-cutting rampage (Ayodele Casel of Broadway’s Funny Girl will choreograph). Anything Goes in Concert is gonna set sale soon, so you better get aboard.
Anything Goes in Concert
presented by Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E Green St. in Pasadena
Friday, January 24, 2025, at 8
Saturday, January 25, 2025, at 2 and 8
for tickets through the purchase of a Membership,
call 626.356.7529 or visit Pasadena Playhouse
single tickets on sale through Ticketmaster
Also coming up January 31-February 1, 2025, is Follies in Concert, a stunning interpretation of Stephen Sondheim’s acclaimed musical, emphasizing the power of its masterful score and the emotional resonance of its characters. With a cast of powerhouse vocalists and a 25-piece orchestra, Follies in Concert highlights iconic showstoppers like “Broadway Baby”, “Losing My Mind”, and “I’m Still Here”. This Sondheim Celebration encore allows audiences to experience one of the most beloved works from one of the greatest composers of American Musical Theater in a deeply emotional and unforgettable performance. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.
