Review - Anything Goes, The Motherf**ker With The Hat & High

If there's one thing this town can't resist it's a gal who can reinvent herself, and in director/choreographer Kathleen Marshall's smashing new revival of the Cole Porter classic, Anything Goes, Sutton Foster foregoes the spunky wholesomeness that made her a Broadway star for a sleek, sophisticated and sexy turn as nightclub singer turned evangelist, Reno Sweeney.

Of course, no one actually "plays" Reno in Anything Goes. Above all else, the show is a glimmering vehicle for a star to crack wise, belt out smart, funny numbers, wear fabulously chic ensembles and just generally be a star. It was producer Vinton Freedley who, in 1934, came up With the idea of putting Ethel Merman on a luxury liner as a spoof of Aimee Semple McPherson, the evangelist who had turned to the nightclub stage, and surround her With a crazy group of characters in a musical that, as Sylvia Fine once put it, was low comedy disguised as social satire. P.G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton's original book involved a shipwreck and had to be extensively rewritten by the newly formed team of Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse (who would later collaborate on Life With Father and the book of The Sound of Music) when the sinking of the S.S. Morro Castle killed over 100 people very shortly before rehearsals were about to begin.

An Off-Broadway revival kept most of the first-rate Porter score in place (the title song, plus "You're The Top," "I Get A Kick Out of You," "All Through The Night" and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow") but altered the book and found room for gems from his other scores like, "It's De-Lovely" and "Friendship." This revival uses a slightly tweaked version of the script used for the 1987 Lincoln Center production, where John Weidman and Timothy Crouse (Russell Crouse's son) removed some of the Off-Broadway production's additions and reinstated numbers cut from that revival, such as "Buddy Beware" and "The Gypsy In Me" (though assigning them to different characters) and found a spot for "Easy To Love," the American Songbook classic that was cut when original leading man William Gaxton had trouble singing it.

But while the text can resemble a patchwork quilt at times, such a quality is totally consistent With the musical's 1934 roots. This is musical comedy from the days when such fare was boiled down to songs, jokes and stars and Marshall doesn't make the all-too-common mistake of mounting the show With wisps of nostalgia or a modern knowing eye. Even better, she makes no attempt to mold her star into the kind of brassy dame normally associated With the role. As in her last two New York appearances, the emotionally repressed nurse in Anyone Can Whistle and the leather-clad dominatrix in Trust, Foster is now playing a fully-fledged grown-up. But even as she sips cocktails and croons a sumptuous Porter torcher while showing off impressive gams, there remains the appealing dorkiness of a performer whose star quality lies in seeming like an approachable, likeable pal. As Reno Sweeney, Sutton Foster is the geeky girl next door who dresses as a Hollywood starlet for Halloween and pulls it off like a knockout, but With a cute smile that says, "Ah shucks, it's still me under all this." It's a quality that shines out when, in a snazzy Porter list song, she reacts With incredulous takes and satisfied coos when her leading man bathes her in crazily rhymed compliments and when, in the rousing first act finale, Marshall has her tapping dance challenges to sections of chorus members and she seems so pleased at how well everyone is doing.

Aside from her prowess as a singer, dancer and actress, in Anything Goes Sutton Foster solidifies her unique quality that legitimizes her claim to Broadway stardom. It is her best performance to date and one that leaves playgoers anxious to see what she comes up With next.

But even Without her, there is plenty of star wattage lighting up the Sondheim stage. To a lesser degree, Joel Grey is also going against type in the broad comic role of Moonface Martin, Public Enemy Number 13. The impish charm he's carried throughout his 60 years on Broadway is now paired With a thuggish Bowery accent that gives his fumbling gangster a sweet pathos. He no longer taps With the furious pace he dazzled With in George M!, but Marshall expands his quaint little solo, "Be Like The Bluebird," With a sappy routine he delivers With artful innocence.

Another fine old pro, John McMartin (50 years on Broadway), takes the relatively small role of a doddering, imbibing Wall Street tycoon and scores big time on every laugh. The crisp and delightful supporting company includes the slick and appealing Colin Donnell, as Reno's stowaway pal, Laura Osnes who sings sweetly and does whatever can be done With the bland role of the girl he pines for and Adam Godley and Jessica Stone both displaying fine comic chops as a romantically enthused English lord and a sailor-crazy gun moll.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Colin Donnell and Sutton Foster; Bottom: Joel Grey and Sutton Foster.

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That crackle of lightening bursting from the Schoenfeld Theatre eight times a week is the combustible fury of a funny, tense and thought-provoking play being fiercely staged and performed by a terrific ensemble. As the theatre award season approaches we can anticipate quite a few tuxedo-clad and evening gown wearing celebrities attempting to stay dignified while announcing the name of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Motherf**ker With The Hat. (The asterisks are part of the play's official title and represent a rare instance where the production holds anything back.)

Fresh out of jail, Jackie (an excellent Bobby Cannavale) is determined to get a decent job and settle down With his longtime girlfriend, Veronica (the also excellent Elizabeth Rodriguez), who he adores despite the fact that he's faithfully following the path of Alcoholics Anonymous while she clings to her own addiction. The two of them share an S.R.O. apartment in Times Square but their mutual hot-headedness, and their lack of skills in maintaining healthy relationships, keeps them dangling on the edge of emotional abuse.

When Jackie discovers a man's hat in the apartment and claims to smell fresh male on the bed sheets, Veronica denies cheating on him and he seeks the help of his A.A. sponsor, Ralph D. (Chris Rock in his stage acting debut), a scam artist committed to health food. Ralph's recovering alcoholic wife, Victoria (Annabella Sciorra), is ready to leave him and is craving male attention. Watching Jackie's back is his cousin Julio, a funny, quirky guy played With realistic humor by Yul Vazquez.

The plot takes tense and violent turns and while the play is grounded in humor, Guirgis also paints Jackie and Veronica's relationship as a tragic romance. Cannavale's beautifully detailed performance shows a man committed to reforming his life but unable to communicate hurt and anger Without violent actions. Likewise, Rodriguez's Veronica is not accustomed to a world where men can be trustworthy and while some of her actions may be hurtful, they're for the sake of self-preservation.

Rock's stage skills may lack the development of those of his colleagues, but his slippery charm has a formidable presence and he admirably does not let the character resemble his stand-up comic persona, even in a monologue which could have easily garnered laughs With his recognizable delivery.

Photos by Joan Marcus: Top: Bobby Cannavale and Elizabeth Rodriguez; Bottom: Bobby Cannavale, Yul Vazquez, and Chris Rock.

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Just a few thoughts regarding Matthew Lombardo's High, which ended its 8-performance run yesterday. It certainly wasn't as bad a play as the fact that the closing was announced the day the opening night reviews were published might suggest. But it's a rather formulaic drama that, though it touches upon some interesting issues, is rather predictable fare and not likely to attract an audience in a season now offering seven new straight plays on Broadway. (Pretty good for a season that, at one point, had only one non-musical running.)

Pushed front and center for most of the evening - particularly when performing lengthy monologues in front of a cheap-looking display of stars - Kathleen Turner admirably carried the play as a tough-talking plainclothes nun, a recovering alcoholic working as a drug rehab counselor. When the priest in charge (Stephen Kunken in a functionary role) assigns her to a 19-year-old homeless, drug-addicted gay prostitute accused of murder (Evan Jonigkeit, suitably distrustful and intense) can there be any doubt that there will be self-discovery before the curtain falls?

Director Rob Ruggiero took the piece through its rudimentary paces and though the playwright managed to get some early laughs from the nun's foul-mouthed comments, delivered With deep, gritty tones by Turner, there were few surprises to follow.

So a small theatre in a prime location is now available. Perhaps we can have another intimate new drama jump in and have a go at it.

Photo of Kathleen Turner and Evan Jonigkeit by Joan Marcus

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Up for the week was: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET (37.5%), THE ADDAMS FAMILY (29.4%), LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (27.2%), THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE (25.4%), RAIN: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES ON BROADWAY (24.5%), AMERICAN IDIOT (20.0%), BABY IT'S YOU! (19.4%), MAMMA MIA! (17.3%), CHICAGO (16.5%), MARY POPPINS (14.9%), THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (14.5%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (13.6%), BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGDHAD ZOO (12.4%), MEMPHIS (11.4%), LOMBARDI (11.4%), GHETTO KLOWN (11.2%), BORN YESTERDAY (11.1%), ROCK OF AGES (10.3%), JERSEY BOYS (8.7%), CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (8.1%), SISTER ACT (6.7%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (6.0%), THE MOTHERF**KER WitH THE HAT (5.1%), WONDERLAND (5.0%), ARCADIA (4.8%), HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WitHOUT REALLY TRYING (3.5%), THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES (3.1%), THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON (0.6%), WICKED (0.4%), ANYTHING GOES (0.3%), THE LION KING (0.1%),

Down for the week was: HIGH (-9.5%), JERUSALEM (-8.2%), PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (-6.4%),