SOUND OFF: ANYTHING GOES 2011

A powerhouse of a performer like Sutton Foster comes along only once a generation or so - the last of her likes on these shores was undoubtedly grande dame EVITA diva Patti LuPone and, across the pond, original EVITA and CATS headliner and current FOLLIES revival star, Elaine Paige - and in her debut lead performance in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE more than ten years ago Ms. Foster set Broadway babies' hearts aflutter and tongues a-wagging with her steam train take on the title role and nabbed a well-earned Best Actress Tony Award for her considerable efforts. After that, starring roles in LITTLE WOMEN, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and SHREK followed - as well as a stupendous turn in the Encores! ANYONE CAN WHISTLE opposite Raul Esparza and Donna Murphy - but it was not until this very last season on Broadway that Sutton Foster truly received her shot to tap, strut, belt and, well, blow, in the old big Broadway Diva fashion. Make that even more to the point - in true Ethel Merman fashion. The new Tony on her mantle bespeaks Sutton's power in the theater, yet what about on the fresh new 2011 Broadway revival recording out this week on Ghostlight Records? And, what about her co-stars like Oscar-winner Joel Grey, Broadway stalwarts John McMartin and Adam Godley and the newer generation of Broadway hoofers like Colin Donnell, Jessica Stone and Laura Osnes? Come on aboard the S.S. Broadway World and find out for yourself!

Blow, Sutton, Blow

ANYTHING GOES is considered Cole Porter's most consistently enjoyable and theatrically compelling score by most theatre critics and Broadway babies, and, surely, the sheer awe that this songstack inspires in one merely perusing the handsomely packaged new 2011 cast recording on Ghostlight Records confirms that Porter was one of the most influential Broadway composers insofar as pop culture and pop music is concerned in the twentieth and twenty-first century in America - owning a particularly idiosyncratic place in the pantheons of each due to his wild personal life - and no one was wittier when he wanted to be, or, at the same time, warmer - evah! This score has ample doses of both sides of Porter‘s towering talent. But, first, the hits! "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "You're The Top", "It's De-Lovely", "All Through The Night", the title song - each one is a standard and many are even known to the GLEE generation.

The simple fact that Porter's music continues to delight and incite so much joy and satisfaction seventy years later or more is proof positive that his music will last longer than any of us can hope to - and will remain in the collective cultural consciousness of this country forevermore. And, with good reason. Who could plumb the depths of emotion from ebullient, rhapsodic transcendence in a gospel rave-up like "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" and, then, offer forth the delicate, heartfelt romance of "All Through The Night", or, the plaintive, hurting "Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye"? And, who was funnier - evah?! "You're The Top", "It's De-Lovely" and "Anything Goes" alone have enough puns to make you pant with laughter and more bitchy jabs and thinly veiled (and not so veiled at all) double entendres than a knitting circle's pin cushion.

The new Broadway revival cast recording of ANYTHING GOES is, without a doubt, an absolutely exhilarating way to experience the Broadway Cole Porter at his very, very best - whether you are an old, dear friend and fan of his wit, panache and musical dexterity or - especially - if you are completely new to his many multitudes of charms. This is a sheer sonic smile. Young or old, Broadway baby or someone interested in the history and future of musical theatre - this is one of the most fun and formative indoctrinations possible. You don't have to belong to the church to sing in the choir and this recording is so persuasive in its bubbly, fast-paced charms that it may even convert a few - or a slew - to the congregation. If anyone could bring a new audience to Broadway in this day and age it would certainly be the only female headliner we have these days who is known singularly for her stage work. So, without further ado, then, let's give the unforgettable leading lady her full due.

Sutton Foster imbues each and every one of her numbers - heck, each and every one of her moments - with such vigorous, vivacious commitment as to make one almost exhausted merely listening to her. While virtually any other performer putting across the material in quite the same way could all too easily come across as cloying, annoying, harried and pushing - Foster is precisely the reverse of those things, while selling every single second onstage to the hilt and blasting it all to the most heavenward rafters. Sure, from time to time a little too much Merman mania enters into the equation - for example: her pronunciation of "Waldorf salad" in "You're The Top" and elsewhere in the big numbers - but, for the most part, Foster amps it all up without overdoing it or pushing it over the top. She so consistently commands the utmost attention from the listener in such a striking way as to make comparisons to Merman; this is a big, brassy Broadway belter functioning at the apotheosis of her ample and audacious talents. She takes risks and they almost always pay off - in such a way as to astound. What a star!

This is a star doing what only a handful of stars then or now could do this well and it is a cause celebre of such significance on a Broadway littered with theme park attractions and less-than-stars. The thing of it all really is, she invigorates and enlivens the proceedings of the entire musical to such an impressive extent as to overwhelm almost everyone else in her purview - and, I suppose, that's sort of the point of the role in the show, no? She dominates, takes names and calls the shots. Sutton owns this game as if she wrote the very rules of it and her presence is felt even when she is not on the scenic - or, in this case: sonic - stage. If ANYTHING GOES was a game, Sutton Foster plays it like a shuffle board master - on or off the boat.

Not unlike the role of Rose in GYPSY, Reno Sweeney in ANYTHING GOES demands that the leading  lady bring it in a big way - everything she has got to give to the performance and, then, the rest, if we are lucky, to the rapt audience. That elusive "it" is best defined as everything associated with a Broadway Diva role - such as those referenced earlier - of the highest order. There are not many roles in the musical theatre as memorable and fabulous as Reno in ANYTHING GOES and when a theatre artist like Sutton Foster takes on the mantle left to her by the best in the business, then or now - Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone and Elaine Paige - Broadway babies must perk up and take notice. The fact that Foster brings such a fresh reading of the role is just icing on the decadent, rich and filling gateau of this show.

Beginning to end, the entire trans-Atlantic voyage of listening to the 2011 Broadway revival cast recording of ANYTHING GOES is like a smile, along with all of its physiological, psychological and social machinations: acknowledging first what brings us joy; then recognizing it as the synapses inform a physical reaction; becoming filled with joy and now showing it outright on your face as the expectations of your thoughts meet the reality of the experience. "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" and "Anything Goes" are two such moments. Defy me and try not to smile - I double dog dare you. So, too, does Joel Grey's oh-so-anomalous and unique take on "Be Like The Blue Bird" alongside Sutton make a lasting and lovely impression - with special mention to the hilarious sound effects. The orchestrations and arrangements are crisp and exacting throughout and intermittently cut straight through the air to the hair on the back of the neck when most appropriate. There are clear-cut moments of musical transcendence here to go with the leading lady's heavenly portrayal. It's quite a colorful, rewarding affair.

While this is Ms. Foster's show, the featured players all get a moment to shine and Porter's varied and multi-culturally influenced score is given room to really breathe and display its decadent dexterity and complexity. Each song is like a finely crafted French pastry and many of them can so easily turn to crumbs if bitten into with too much gusto, so the mere fact that the cream always stays light and the pastry dough never cracks or flakes too much is a sign that this is a well- balanced ensemble if there ever were any for this particular show. Colin Donnell has the least enviable role, having to take on a role and material made famous by Frank Sinatra and a host of other performers, so, while he is certainly no Sinatra - and, all told, I'm not even that big of a Sinatra fan - he acquits himself adequately and, sometimes, more than that.

That being said, much more than that is Laura Osnes who simply sparkles and shines in her material here - especially the aforementioned album highlight, "Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye" and her lovely "Easy To Love (reprise)". John McMartin is equal-parts gruff and grandpa-like - bringing to mind his narrator in INTO THE WOODS - in his chorus-heavy "Bon Voyage". Joey Grey lends his material the edge and oddness only he can and makes his mark on his part, as does Adam Godley in his funny, bizarre and ingratiating "The Gypsy In Me". Jessica Stone is slightly shrill but makes her "Buddy Beware" all her own, in any event, though it always seems - in performance and, especially, on disc - like one of this score's only duds. It's effervescent enough, but too late.

The Finale makes up for any tiny, minor inconsistencies and the chorus throughout brings the lush, full sound originally intended, while not quite reaching the heights of the some past recordings of these songs. Consistency of tone and style is one of the crowning achievements of this recording and everything feels of one piece - which is far too often not the case with recordings of this show, in any of its versions or recordings. This seems to be the most audience-friendly and album-friendly version of the show to date and one hopes this sterling songstack stays intact  from here on out in future productions and recordings of one of Porter's finest creations.

For those of us not lucky enough to go on a luxury cruise liner, this is the best vacation you can take to Broadway paradise this Summer, Spring or Fall - or evah, for that matter (or, make that: mattah)! It's worth the trip - to iTunes, the store or to see the show live itself. However you take your ANTYHING GOES, thanks to Sutton Foster as your cruise director you will be guaranteed the ride of your year - or, maybe, any year; at least for a while. After all, stars like her only come into view once or twice per galaxy per lightyear. Blast off and Bon voyage!