Anything Goes - Barbican / U.K.Tour

Here goes the review for Anything Goes at the Liverpool Empire - it is a very lovely show! A very enjoyable night out.

It is a feast for the eyes, with the choreography and wardrobe.

A feast for the ears, because of the excellent orchestra and songs.

Kerry Ellis is great, a joy to watch. I overheard her say to someone she is doing much better, so if she is poorly, I certainly couldn't tell.

I saw some remarks on Denis Lawson - I enjoyed him in the role. He may be a bit OTT, but I felt it suited the role. He missed a few steps in 'Blow, Gabriel, Blow', but I think that was more noticeable to me because of the angle I was sat in.

Simon Callow was good too, but he doesn't have an awful lot to do.

The whole cast were great, the dance numbers were a real treat. 'Blow, Gabriel, Blow' seemed to get a bigger (louder) reception than 'Anything Goes', although several people gave a standing ovation for the latter.

It is just a shame it's not doing so well, as it is just a great night at the theatre.

It's more of a gentle funny endearing old style musical, and I enjoyed it.

Another great thing to watch - a woman and her young son came to sit next to me, at the end of the third row stage right (if you know the Empire, basically next to the steps). I realised that due to his lack of height, even with a booster seat, he'd just be looking at the top of the stage extension. So I swapped seats so he was more central of the row, and could see the action. He loved every minute of it! He was very well-behaved, but it was just wonderful to see a child soaking up theatre.

After people saying the other day that people wouldn’t notice Bonnie missing a performance as she’s barely in it, it made me laugh hearing two women talking at the end -
Woman 1: Did you enjoy it?
Woman 2: Yes, it was very good. I thought Bonnie Langford was supposed to be in it though.
Woman 1: … She was.
Woman 2: Was she?!

Hugh Jackman has been drafted in to help sell it.

fb.watch/dhFJLbAm3e/

Update on sales for the same two nights in Manchester - upper circle is now closed.

Opening night





And the first Saturday night

I saw it in Dublin last night and it's glorious. Such a wonderful evening.

I know it’s selling poorly, but could they have taken the upper circle off sale because of the multi-level set? When I saw it in Liverpool it really filled the stage vertically in a way that I don’t remember seeing before, so I’d imagine it would be restricted view right up the top. Not that theatres care particularly about the view, but still…

Are there no offers about for Manchester?

I can't imagine so. If it was actually selling out they'd be more than happy to sell the upper circle view or no view!

Clicked into a few random Friday / Saturday nights and this seems to be selling really badly at the Barbican! This, for example, is Saturday 9th July: -

The understudy for Hope is Georgie Ashford who is very active on Instagram and YouTube and posts a lot about what it’s like working in theatre. She did several vlogs about Anything Goes including one of the understudy rehearsal where you see snippets of her singing Hope’s songs. She sounds amazing and her voice really suits the songs - I’d be intrigued to know why she didn’t get the role.

I guess there are all sorts of things to consider when casting a show and as I don’t work in the industry myself I probably don’t fully appreciate how complex the decision making process can be!

Saw the show in Dublin with a friend and we both thought Nicole had good chemistry with Billy, was a fabulous dancer and had a nice presence/energy onstage. Her vocals were a little shakey at times though. She has a lovely voice when she's singing the correct note!