Yes, ANYTHING (Still) GOES!

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Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, I’m thrilled to be celebrating the 90th anniversary of Cole Porter’s classic Anything Goes, which first opened on Broadway on November 21, 1934. As many of you know, this show holds a special place in my heart, for it was a key stepping stone in my developing love not only for musicals, but for classic musicals and the history of this genre as a whole (with a special fondness for both Cole Porter and Ethel Merman as a result). In fact, the Musical Theatre Monday part of this blog probably wouldn’t exist without Anything Goes, and I’ve written several tribute posts over the past decade-plus in celebration of this still revived gem (tweaked though it may be!) where I’ve shared pretty much all the goodies I have pertaining to that remarkable original production.

However, to celebrate its milestone anniversary this year, I thought I’d offer — for subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest — something that has to do with my personal favorite recording of the score: the 1989 studio cast album conducted by John McGlinn, who presided over a restoration of the original production’s materials. That’s the only available way to hear anything close to what audiences in the mid-’30s would have heard at the Alvin Theatre. (Even though Merman herself got cast in Paramount’s 1936 film adaptation, so few Cole Porter songs were included in the final cut!) Well, I’ve got a treat, for in March 1988, five months before McGlinn and his cast went into the studio to record their seminal tribute, they gave radio listeners a preview, performing — live at Symphony Space — the Overture and five additional songs. It’s the same folks — Kim Criswell, Cris Groenendaal, Frederica von Stade — and the same arrangements… but not the exact same performances you know (and it’s obviously not mixed like the official recording is — so you’ll pick up different parts of the orchestrations). Here’s a sample — in honor of this delightfully fun show that still brings joy to many young musical theatre lovers everywhere.

Oh, and one more thing. Here’s a clip from a 1939 Gulf Screen Guild Show broadcast — George Murphy and Shirley Ross singing a rendition of “You’re The Top” with updated lyrics and a new “comic insult” take on the number. It’s notable because Murphy and Ross starred as Billy and Reno in Anything Goes’ 1935 West Coast premiere production, which played Los Angeles and San Francisco while the Broadway company (with Benay Venuta in place of Merman) was still running in New York. This history makes it a fun curio.

 

 

Come back next month for a new musical rarity! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Office!

34 thoughts on “Yes, ANYTHING (Still) GOES!”

  1. Anything Goes is my favorite musical of all-time and not performed as often as I think it should be/I’d like it to be. Some of the best musical theater songs ever written. Great dance numbers. I played the Captain in a production years ago and sang let’s misbehave with Mrs. Harcourt (there were obviously some revisions). Such fun!

  3. One of my favorite shows. McGlinn has done a lot of favors for Porter lovers. I would love a copy of this!

  4. Hi, Jackson. Hope all is well. I would be delighted to receive, for my private, non-commercial use, a copy of the 1989 studio cast album of Anything Goes conducted by John McGlinn. Many thanks. Kind Regards, Ian.

  6. Cole Porter is my special favorite too. The first Broadway composer I ever obsessed over – I even made a special trek to Peru Indiana to see his family home and visit his grave! It was hard work – I couldn’t find any information on exactly where the family plot was within the cemetery – those were the pre-internet days.

  9. I am so in love with this show. I was quite suprised when I bought a script of ebay that said “1962 Version” just for me to hold the original 1934 version in my hands.
    Thank you for those two realy amazing audio clips

    • Hi, Musical Fan! Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Do you know the source of your 1930s script? Is it derived from the Broadway production or the West End production that was later licensed? (One of the easiest ways to tell the difference is that Billy says he’s Nicholas Murray Butler in the 1934 original and George Bernard Shaw in pretty much every version thereafter.)

      I have emailed you at your gmail address.

  10. Hi Jackson
    love to hear the audios for “Anything Goes”. I love Cole Porter music and lyrics.from seeing the old movies from the thirties.

    Thanks

    Donna

  11. Thanks for sharing this rare “original West Coast cast” recording of Shirley Ross! She’s a very underrated singer.

    I’d love to hear the live recording of Kim Criswell and co. performing with the original orchestrations… what a great document to have. Thank you!

  12. Hi, Jackson! Thanks for this well-deserved tribute to “Anything Goes”, which (all agree) has one of Cole Porter’s very best scores. I’d love to hear the McGlinn “preview” recording that you’ve offered.

  13. I’m with you, Jackson–I’ve heard plenty of versions of “Anything Goes”, but the McGlinn recording is my favorite recording of this great score as well. Those original orchestrations and vocal arrangements are like champagne! I’d love to hear the radio performance (for my private, non-commercial interests).

  14. Cole Porter has always been my favorite musical theater composer (and lyricist). Even gave a “report” on him to my 7th grade music class! Seeing Sutton Foster in the production of Anything Goes shown on PBS made me think of Judy Garland. I think Garland would’ve been terrific as Reno if MGM had made a film of it in the late ‘40s. Of course, MGM wasn’t very kind in transferring stage musicals to film (especially in the case of Porter!) so maybe it was all for the best.
    I’d love to have the radio performance of this unmatched score. Thanks!

  17. As a lover of Anything Goes and Cole Porter, I woul love to have a copy of
    the concert in my collection! I just found out that my Cousin George
    Murphy did Anything Goes! He is the son of my maternal Grandmother’s
    Father’s Brother. He was born the same year as Eliabeth Murphy De Lade.
    Thank you for still sharing your fabulous wealth of Musical Comedy
    Treasures!

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