She brought more to the role than we even know.Īnything Goes runs until August 18 at the Princess of Wales Theatre. You haven’t typed up any stage directions, then? RY No. Before that, though, she was a stenographer, so in rehearsal, she would take the notes on script changes in short hand, go home and type them up, and bring the pages in to the cast the next day. Girl Crazy launched her career, then they wrote this show for her. CW I try to … One of the things I learned, actually, that wasn’t in the backstory we were given: Anything Goes was actually only Ethel Merman’s second starring vehicle. Ethel Merman was a stenographer, so in rehearsal, she would take the notes on script changes in short hand, go home and type them up, and bring the pages in to the cast the next dayĭo you know this much production history about every play you star in? RY I like doing interviews with Chuck, because I always get an education. So a couple of things were brought in to make the show a bit richer, a bit more story-driven, over the years. But it was actually from another Cole Porter hit called Red, Hot and Blue.
Then in the ’87 revival, we brought in De-Lovely, which is also one of the most famous - that was what the Kevin Kline movie was called. So that was the first time Friendship was in. But it was done for television, and Burt Larr was playing Moonface Martin, and the reason they put Friendship in was because Larr and Merman had done it in DuBarry Was a Lady, and that was a huge hit forever. Pulling out your ears is your sign for Frank Sinatra? CW It was the ’50s, he was very skinny. But she carries that whole number - and the show. Normally, a big star would do what I do: when they all start dancing, I just head on up to the bridge and keep the ship steady. The title song is a 12-minute number with about nine minutes of tap: and she never stops, in the whole thing. Kathleen Marshall, when she wanted to remount it, she said she wouldn’t do it without an honest triple threat. CW When Ethel Merman did it, she had to tap a little, but not too much. But, it’s a lot of pressure, you’ve got a lot on your shoulders, is what I mean. I just saw World War Z, he was on my mind. RY Really? For Brad Pitt? Ethel Merman and Brad Pitt? Really. Well, sure, but, I mean, this like stepping into a role originally written for Brad Pitt or something. It was originally written for Ethel Merman. What else do we sing her in bed? Leonard Bernstein, Over the Rainbow, Irving Berlin. She’s going to have a pretty good classic song education by the time this is over. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She was a baby when it started, and now she’s so polite and connected, and to watch her sing the songs is breathtaking. How much has she actually soaked up, do you think, at two years old? RY Do you really want video? CW She really has grown through the production. RY She’s learned to tap dance, pretty well, too. RY And I thought it would be a great experience for my daughter, too, which it has been. CW This is probably the greatest female role there is in this kind of musical theatre. And I wasn’t going to go on the road, of all things, unless it was a really great role. I had just a baby - I had just finished breastfeeding before we started rehearsals. Article content Really? Ethel Merman and Brad Pitt? Really.Īre you working on your breaks, too, Rachel? RY No, but it was sort of the same thing with this show. With that version of the show making a stop in Toronto, the National Post sat down with stars Rachel York, who plays evangelist-turned-lounge-singer Reno Sweeney, and Chuck Wagner, who plays Captain Elijiah Whitney, to discuss the failings of Hugh Jackman, filling Ethel Merman’s shoes and the Yale Fight Song. Supposedly the name of Cole Porter’s out-to-sea musical Anything Goes comes from an incident during a harried, last-minute rewrite of the 1934 show, when someone wondered how they were going to end the first act, and a producer exclaimed, “At this point, anything goes!” For a show that came together at the last minute, it’s had an awfully long tail, giving the world a handful of Porter’s biggest hits, including the title song and I Get a Kick Out of You, and being regularly remounted, including the most recent, Tony-winning incarnation by Roundabout Theatre in 2011. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected.