Boston University’s student-run theatre group “On Broadway” gave a remarkable performance of the classic Cole Porter musical Anything Goes this past weekend. These talented students brought the house down with their believable performances, strong vocals and incredible dancing.
Anything Goes takes place in the 1930’s aboard the S.S American and follows the complicated relationships between Reno Sweeney, a famous evangelical nightclub singer (Hanna Anderson) and Billy Crocker, a stock broker who finds himself in love with a girl he can’t have (Chris Kuiken). The girl he can’t have is none other than debutante Hope Harcourt (Sarah Sosland), who is engaged to the British Lord Evelyn Oakley (Alden Lebov). To add some comedy to the complex romance are Public Enemy #13, also known as Moonface Martin (Idine Mousavi) and his sassy sidekick Erma (Sarah Gibson). The colorful cast of characters find themselves in all sorts of tricky situations where hilarity ensues.
If audience reaction alone were any indication of performance, this would have seemed like a real Broadway production. The talented actors brought us close to tears with laughter, in moments like Lebov’s shimmying in “The Gypsy in Me” and Mousavi’s clever comedic timing in “Be Like the Bluebird.”
Comedy wasn’t the only highlight of this show; the vocals were also outstanding. Anderson blew us away right from the beginning with her beautiful rendition of “I Get a Kick Out of You” and continued to amaze us with her powerful belting in “Anything Goes” while leading the cast in an upbeat tap dance. The other cast members also had strong vocal performances, which really shone in the group numbers like the final ensemble.
What set this performance aside from other student run shows was the professionalism. It is no secret that on-stage mishaps can occur, but how the actors handle these situations is what’s really important. During a passionate scene between Reno and Lord Evelyn Oakley, the latter’s mustache began to fall off in an awkward moment obvious to the audience. Anderson decided to sassily pull off the mustache, as it seemed in line with her confident Reno character. The ability to move on from accidents that happen on stage is so important in live theatre. This also added some humor to an already comedic show. After all, who wouldn’t laugh at seeing someone’s mustache pulled clean off their face?
I was pleasantly surprised with the skill and dedication of the cast. In only a few months, they managed to pull together a witty and fun show that left the audience wanting more. If you missed BU On Broadway’s spectacular performance this weekend, make sure to check them out December 1st – 3rd in their rendition of The Last Five Years.