"Times Have Changed!" Anything Goes @ Barbican Theatre Review - Summer 2021

There is absolutely no way that this 'review' is going to be coherent in any way, because it is days since I saw this show and I literally have thought of nothing else every waking moment. 

So let me tell you a story.

Ten years ago, sixteen year old Ryan fell in love with a YouTube video, of a Broadway star doing a performance at the 2011 Tony Awards. Repeatedly watching that video on at least a weekly basis, until that tap routine was so engrained in his head, that he knew every single beat of it (despite not being able to tap dance a step). He obsessed over it, and every piece of info about that production.
 Never, ever in his wildest dreams did he every think that he'd ever get to see that performance in real life, let alone a decade later.

But that's exactly what happened to me on Friday night, when I went to the first preview of Anything Goes at the Barbican, starring the one and only Sutton Foster.

First previews of new productions are always special. The audience are always super-hyped, and the atmosphere is always superb. But because we've been starved of theatre for so long, this was a night for the history books.

I don't think I've ever been in an audience that has given two standing ovations mid-show before. Like, this stuff happens on Broadway, but it doesn't happen here. And yet, TWICE on Friday night. 

At the end of the title number, the audience leapt to it's feet (I mean I was yelling like a football hooligan before Ms Foster had hit the octave jump at the number) and the cast stood there with massive grins on their faces as the curtain came down for the end of Act 1. It's the definition of perfection. I've never seen anything like it.

My friends and I stumbled out of the auditorium at the interval and were in various states of shock... a mixture of admiration, sobbing, joy and shaking occurred, and I do not regret it in the slightest! No one could really speak at the genius we'd just witnessed.

But, what followed 30 minutes later was something I wasn't anticipating. The cast gave a sensational performance of Blow Gabriel Blow, which stopped the show dead in it's tracks. The number ended and the audiences went bananas. Because it's not the end of an act, we were able to go absolutely mental for as long as we wanted. And my god we did!
It's was minutes but it felt like weeks - the sheer bliss and euphoria that comes from a big production number is unmatchable and the adrenaline rush that comes from it is something I have missed an obscene amount.

Two words.

Sutton. Foster.

In 2008, I first discovered Shrek the Musical and fell head over heels in love with the woman playing Princess Fiona. She sang like a dream, she was funny AND she could tap dance - these are literally my three characteristics I look for (hence why I'm obsessed with the entire cast of Follies). But I never really thought I'd get to see her live.

I don't know really what my expectation was. The woman is a bonafide legend, has two Tony Awards, and one of them is FOR the role that she was about to reprise. Like, I knew she was going to be good, but honestly nothing could have prepared me for the performance that I witnessed.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a leading performer who can dance with the ease and coolness that Sutton has got. She gives real heart and grounding to Reno not just through her acting and her singing, but through the way she moves. The fun Reno is having during Anything Goes, as she's tapping with a bunch of sailors, is exhilarating, but with a real focus on the character we've grown to know over the 90 minutes that have led up to this moment.

She's just bloody wonderful, and I honestly haven't stopped talking about it to anyone who will listen since I walked out of the Barbican...

It's been a long time since I saw a cast that I universally loved this much too (not just cause we had hardly any theatre for over a year too...!)

Theatrical legend Robert Lindsay stars opposite Foster as Moonface Martin (public enemy number 13), who stows away on the ship. Lindsay's signature charm and comedic chops come into full play here. 
Samuel Edwards and Nicole-Lily Baisden are charming as the secondary couple of Billy and Hope, with the 'will they/won't they' storyline keeping you guessing right up until the end. Alongside them is the ever excellent Haydn Oakley as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, a British socialite engaged to Hope. Oakley's big Act 2 number "The Gypsy In Me" is a real highlight of the show, which is impressive to be able to steal focus from the rest of the show!

Felicity Kendal and Gary Wilmot offer great comedic relief in small character parts, perfectly suited to their strengths, whilst Carly Mercedes Dyer (who pre-pandemic was a sensational Anita in West Side Story) is scene-stealing as the mischievous Erma, with a brilliantly ballsy number towards the show's finale.

Last night I went back to the Barbican for a second trip in less than a fortnight, and it's every bit as good as the first time I saw it. Foster seemed to be enjoying herself even more and the whole cast have relaxed into it even more. Even more on show was the brilliance of Robert Lindsay, and his sharp wit. He evidently changes a few lines each show (because you saw Foster properly laughing at some of his one liners) and it's a joy to see such a brilliant duo bouncing off each other.

In what other show, on a random Tuesday night would you see two mid-show standing ovations, other than this one? Well you just wouldn't.

Times truly have changed, but if you're wanting a show to go back to that is a proper warm hug, with some of the best dance numbers you'll ever see, and one of the tightest and most talented casts in recent memory,  you cannot miss this show.

I don't think I've ever given a show 6 stars before, but today I do. 
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh, and I think I'm going again on Sunday!