Photo by Joan Marcus.
A backstage birdie tells me (I feel like Walter Winchell) that the Roundabout’s critically-acclaimed revival of Anything Goes has officially been extended through January 2012. With this good news, leading lady Sutton Foster can put her gym membership on hold; she gets the workout of a lifetime every night during her awe-inspiring, lung-defying, shin-destroying numbers. Seriously, how many Broadway actresses are truly diva singers and top-tier hoofers? My favorite moment of the show comes at the end of the title song’s epic dance break; Foster walks upstage, takes the biggest “damn, now I have to sing again” breath, turns to face the audience again and seamlessly wails the last chorus.
Of course, she’s not alone in tackling that big number; she’s just one in a long line of Reno’s belting out Cole Porter’s snappy lyrics. So, thanks to the wonder of video, let’s compare and contrast the contenders: Sutton Foster, Patti LuPone, Ethel Merman…and one surprise, dark horse candidate.
Sutton Foster: It’s almost not fair. She’s working on a morning television set the size of a Manhattan studio apartment, the orchestra is canned and it’s 8 freaking AM! And yet, the girl’s got it. She’s a triple threat and a lyricist’s best friend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4iUxRPvgjE&feature=related
Patti LuPone: You knew she’d sing the hell out of it…but who knew she’d rock the sparkly sailor suit? I have to take her a notch down for stepping aside to let the chorines do the serious dancing, but she gets sentimental points; the video was show on Musical Theater Mondays at Chicago’s Sidetrack when I was in college and we’d all join in. And we’d count the number of times the wig slapped her in the face (at 4:00).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zJ3vqkXqRU
Ethel Merman: She was first. And she’ll be the last, as her hyper-resonant voice travels onward to distant galaxies. I wish there was video from her heyday but this clip gives a taste. Bonus points for the “point and point and point-ography” at the end.
Willie Scott (aka Kate Capshaw): Yo, she’s singing in Mandarin! Mandarin, I tell you. This will always be the winner in my heart because I used to sing along to a worn VHS copy. (My parents should have known what was up.) Basically, if I’m ever stranded in the Chinese countryside, I can charm my way to safety by singing Cole Porter to the locals. Thank you, Willie.
