At a time when people are tightening their belts in the face of bleak economic projections, they can experience a smash-hit that brightened Broadway during the dark years of the Great Depression ¬– at an old-time price that’s pretty painless.
The Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance at Queens College (QC) is mounting a seven-performance production of the musical “Anything Goes,” book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, with music and lyrics composed by Cole Porter.
Set on a Trans-Atlantic liner steaming for England, the show opened in November of 1934 to uniformly enthusiastic and rave reviews. It ran a remarkable-for-the-time 420 performances.
A situational comedy laced with gags and wordplay, it is highlighted by Porter’s sophisticated lyrics and soaring music, and established him as a theatrical as well as popular music success.
“Anything Goes” produced no less than five hit songs, including the title number and the instantly-recognizable “I Get a Kick Out of You,” which is still in the repertoire of nearly every nightclub and cabaret singer, 75 years later.
The production will be in the Goldstein Theatre of the Kupferberg Performance Center of the College, located at 65-30 Kissena Boulevard in Flushing, from March 20 to 22 and March 26 to 29.
Performances on Friday, March 20 and 27, and Saturday, March 21 and 28 begin at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees on March 22 and 29 begin at 3 p.m. Thursday March 26 has an early 7 p.m. curtain.
Tickets for Saturday evening performances are an easy to love $18; all other performances are $15 per ticket. Seniors, students, alumni and others with QC ID pay $2 less. They are available online at www.KupferbergCenterArts.org ($1 per ticket surcharge applies), by phone at 718-793-8080 or at the Colden Center Box Office at Queens College.
