Anything Goes: 'Olympian' efforts needed to launch London musical

Cole Porter's 1934 musical takes place on a Transatlantic ocean liner

The director of musical Anything Goes has likened her cast to Olympians as it became one of the first major UK stage shows to open since the pandemic.

"I keep reminding them we have to think of ourselves as Olympic athletes," Kathleen Marshall told BBC News.

"We are in training every day and have a collective responsibility to be safe, careful and conscientious."

The Cole Porter musical had a star-studded opening night on Wednesday at London's Barbican Theatre.

That is something Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella will have to wait for, having had its opening postponed due to Covid-enforced cancellations.

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With 28 actors on stage, 16 musicians and a sizeable crew, Anything Goes would be an ambitious undertaking even without the pandemic.

Yet the production managed to make it to opening night without losing any previews to infection or a 'ping' alert from the NHS Covid app.

The musical has not had an entirely smooth return to the London stage, having lost its original star - Will & Grace's Megan Mullally - to injury.

Mullally's absence, however, has allowed Sutton Foster to reprise her Tony Award-winning role as Reno Sweeney in Porter's ocean liner-based perennial.

Foster (centre) won a Tony in 2011 for playing nightclub singer Reno on Broadway

Last month Foster spoke of her relief at returning to the stage after spending anxious months watching her industry on indefinite hiatus.

"I never thought that what I did for a living just wouldn't exist," she told reporters. "That had never happened in my 25 years in the industry."

Co-star Robert Lindsay admitted he had shed tears after the show's first preview in July, having considered "packing it all in" during lockdown.

"It's what I love, theatre is my passion, and that's why I think I found it so emotional in that first preview," he revealed. "It was just like, 'Oh God, it's back'."

Marshall on Wednesday: "Every step has been so emotional - our first day of rehearsal, our first day in the theatre, our first day with the orchestra.

"Now we've made it to opening night, it feels like a miracle we've actually gotten here."

Lindsay (left) plays a gangster called Moonface Martin in the Barbican production

A rigorous round of daily testing has been part of the routine of all involved.

"Every day you come to the theatre you just hope there's no bad news," Marshall went on. "So far, touch wood, there's been no case so far.

"The protocols are very clear and we are all being incredibly safe and smart. We have to be so we can keep going."

Standing ovations

Set on a transatlantic liner sailing from New York to England, Anything Goes sees a mismatched group of travellers suffer a series of romantic and comic travails.

First staged in 1934, its score includes such Cole Porter classics as You're The Top, I Get A Kick Out Of You, It's De-Lovely and Blow, Gabriel, Blow.

The latter number prompted one of three standing ovations given by an opening night audience that included actress Ruthie Henshall, Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli and pop star Sinitta.

On the red carpet, Tonioli confirmed he would not appear on Strictly's next series due to the difficulties combining it with his judging role on US show Dancing with the Stars.

Critics gave rave reviews to Anything Goes, which is at the Barbican until 31 October.

The Times praised the show for its "bubbly wit and stylish fun", while the Telegraph said it was "joyous, charming and hilarious".

The Guardian's critic admitted being dazzled by Foster's "full-beam lustre". Lyndsey Winship wrote in her five-star review: "Everyone else is better when they're on stage with her."

What's On Stage gave it another five stars, saying "there might not be a better musical to see" after "the gloominess of the last 16 months".

Foster, known for playing Liza Miller in US TV drama Younger, will be seen later this year in a Broadway revival of The Music Man opposite Hugh Jackman.