ANYONE CAN WHISTLE Review Roundup

ANYONE CAN WHISLTE is an experimental satire that takes aim at every target on the American cultural scene of the moment-conformity, psychology, race relations, greed, religion and politics. It divided the critics, thrilled the emerging counter-culture, baffled the masses, and became an instant legend-one that has grown over the years along with Sondheim's reputation. The title song and "With So Little to Be Sure Of" have survived as cabaret classics, but the rarely heard complete score is a riot of jazzy, show-biz razzmatazz, waltzes, gospel numbers and Broadway pastiche, as full of variety and surprise as the show that gave birth to it.

Ben Brantley, The New York Times: "Accept that "Anyone Can Whistle" is never going to work as a fully integrated show, and it's possible to have a swell time at this production, which Mr. Nicholaw has staged with prismatic sparkle, enhanced by Ken Billington's candy-colored lighting, airborne dance sequences and a scenic gimmick (by John Lee Beatty) that turns the audience into patients in the asylum called the Cookie Jar. And members of that ever-expanding club of Sondheim cultists can float into heaven, listening to what is really the first score that suggests what would become this composer's idiosyncratic style, performed by a top-of-the line orchestra (directed by Rob Berman) and cast."

Elisabeth Vincentelli, NY Post: "In "Anyone Can Whistle," Donna Murphy embodies everything that's exhilarating about musical theater. When she's onstage, it's pure, unadulterated ecstasy -- there isn't a more dynamite performance anywhere else in town. The rest of this Encores! production of Stephen Sondheim's cult flop is right in step, thanks to Murphy's co-stars, Sutton Foster and Raul Esparza, and the breakneck-speed direction and choreography of Casey Nicholaw."

Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: "Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw has squeezed every drop of entertainment from the show. With just a row of theater seats and game-for-anything stars - Foster and Esparza - he makes "Come Play Wiz Me" a playful delight. His Act II ballet, which uses the whole company, is such a wonder it makes you wonder: How did they do with such a short rehearsal period?"

David Sheward, Backstage: "Whistle" is the perfect show for the Encores! concert series: an oddity that hasn't got a chance for a commercial revival but contains brilliant elements deserving of a second look."

Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press: "But you're probably never going to see a better production of "Anyone Can Whistle" than the concert version Encores! opened Thursday at City Center for a four-day run that's become one of the hottest tickets in New York. Under the imaginative direction and choreography of Casey Nicholaw and featuring an exemplary cast headed by Donna Murphy, Sutton Foster and Raul Esparza, the show is fascinating in its wild ambition."

Michael Sommers, NJ Newsroom: "A must-see for devoted Stephen Sondheim fans and an utter bewilderment for anybody else, the great composer's legendary and rarely performed "Anyone Can Whistle" was brought back to spirited life on Thursday thanks to New York City Center's Encores! series of American musicals staged as concerts."

Linda Winer, Newsday: "If anyone still wonders why the Encores! series needs to exist, a perfect response is "Anyone Can Whistle." At City Center is a splendid semi-staged performance of this infamous big-time flop - music by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents - which ran nine performances in 1964, but left a handful of vintage Sondheim songs and wheelbarrows of wistful curiosity. So now we know, and we know why."

Matt Windman, On Off Broadway: "Compared with the other two productions of this season - a dreadfully miscast "Girl Crazy" and a respectable but lackluster "Fanny" - Casey Nicholaw's production of "Anyone Can Whistle" shines like a golden rainbow."

 

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