Trivia / Anything Goes

• All-Star Cast: The 2011 Broadway revival included rising stars Colin Donnell and Laura Osnes, acclaimed character actor Adam Godley, beloved veterans John McMartin and Jessica Walter, old Broadway legend Joel Grey, and led by current Broadway legend Sutton Foster.
• Billing Displacement
  • In the 2011 revival. The show is marketed as "Anything Goes with Sutton Foster and Joel Grey". While Foster, as Reno, is the leading lady, Joel Grey plays Moonface, when the main man is Billy Crocker (played by Colin Donnell). In keeping with this billing, Grey bowed second to last instead of Donnell.
  • The same thing happened with the the 2021 West End revival, with the show being marketed as starring the returning Foster and Robert Lindsay, who is also playing Moonface and like Joel Grey, got the second to last bow. Gary Wilmot and Felicity Kendal were also emphasized in the advertising for playing Eli and Evangeline, the two smallest showcases of the principal cast.
• Colbert Bump: Anything Goes would've been long forgotten, or at least not as widely known, by the 21st century if it wasn't for the play's titular song being consistently part of the Fallout franchise's soundtrack since Fallout 3.
• Cut Song: When you combine the different versions of the show, you get a good number of examples.
  • 1934 Production:
    • "Kate the Great" went unused, "What A Joy To Be Young" was removed before the New York Opening, and "Waltz Down The Aisle" was removed before the Boston tryout and later reworked as "Wunderbar" in Kiss Me, Kate.
    • "You'd Be So Easy To Love" was cut at the soloist's insistence, but found its way back into the show decades later.
    • "There's No Cure Like Travel" was cut in tryouts and didn't come back until the 80s, but it's connected number "Bon Voyage" was present.
  • 1962 Production:
    • "There'll Always Be A Lady Fair" was taken out, though instrumentals for it are heard in the overture. The song would return in the next iteration, though its reprise would not.
    • "Where Are The Men" was replaced by "Heaven Hop".
    • Hope's solo "Gypsy In Me" was removed. It would return in 1987, now altered to be sung by Evelyn in a comedic number, which is how it's since stayed.
    • "Buddy Beware" was taken out, and—like "Gypsy In Me"—was altered when it came back in the 80s. Originally a Reno number, it's now sung by Erma, who was not in the previous versions of the show, unless you count her equivalent character Bonnie.
    • The original "Act 1 Finale" where Reno and Moonface reprise "You're The Top" to an upset Billy was replaced by the preexisting titular number.
    • "You're The Top" also has missing verses in this version.
    • "Public Enemy Number One" is still present, but done a cappella and without the introductory verse. The 87 version reinserts the music and intro, which is now done by The Captain and Purser rather than the sailor quartet.
    • "Be Like The Bluebird" is missing a verse which continued to the most current version. Though there, the song was expanded with an additional dance break and extra music.
    • The original version of "All Through The Night" where Billy courts Hope on the deck is gone. The reprise when he's in the brig has remained, though.
  • 1987 Production:
    • "Heaven Hop", "Let's Step Out", "Let's Misbehave", and "Take Me Back to Manhattan" have all been taken out.
    • The reinstated "There'll Always Be A lady Fair" has fewer verses.
    • The returning intro to "Public Enemy Number One" has been shortened.
    • Originally Hope sang "All Through The Night" before the version with her, Billy, and the sailors. This was replaced with "Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye" (which itself is missing an introductory verse, added back in 2011), and "All Through The Night" is now only sung the one time.
    • The final number was changed. The original finale reprised "You're The Top" alongside "Anything Goes" while the one here has "I Get A Kick Out Of You" alongside the titular number.
  • 2011 Production:
    • Only one example. This production is mostly the same as the 1987 one, and actually adds several lines and dance breaks to the music. The only number that applies to this trope is the finale, which was reworked to still include the reprise of "Anything Goes" but now reprises "It's De Lovely" and has a verse from Moonface.
• In Name Only: The 1956 film — features many of the same Cole Porter songs as the theatrical production, but with totally different characters and plot.
• Referenced by...: The titular song of the play is used in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode “Subspace Rhapsody” as Uhura chooses this song to send into that episode’s Negative Space Wedgie, causing the Musical Episode to take place.
• Role Reprise:
  • Howard McGillin reprised his Tony nominated role as Billy on the West End a few years later.
  • Sutton Foster returned to her Tony winning role as Reno a full decade later on the West End.
• Wag the Director: Billy's original actor William Gaxton had a habit of requesting his songs be removed from shows so that he could spend more time on comedic scenes. He successfully had "You'd Be So Easy To Love" removed from the original production.
• What Could Have Been: Megan Mullally was going to headline the 2021 West End revival but then suffered an injury, at which point Sutton Foster was brought back in to replace her as Reno.