What went wrong with the 1988 tour of ANYTHING GOES?

[morosco]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 7:36pm

Leslie Uggams, Rex Smith, and Rip Taylor went out in a tour that was a replication of the Lincoln Center/Jerry Zaks Broadway production. It closed after 3 months on the road. What happened?

[otis33]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 7:39pm

I didn't know anything was wrong with it. I remember seeing it and enjoying it.

However, I don't remember seeing Leslie Uggams. I think I saw Mitzi Gaynor...maybe. Updated On: 8/13/06 at 07:39 PM

[morosco]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 8:33pm

"I didn't know anything was wrong with it."

I was surprised to read that it toured for only 3 months. It makes me wonder what went wrong with the tour.

[HereNowhere]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 8:36pm

Did it close early? It might have just been a limited tour that didn't get extended.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 8:43pm

There was no problem with the show, the problem was with the set. It was a replica of what was seen at the Lincoln Centre, however what the producers hadn't given thought to was the logistics of moving the set every few weeks. I seem to recall hearing that the second date on the tour opened days late due to the time it took to bump the set in. It was at this point they realised that there was no way that they could move the show in the time frame they had allowed themselves.

A year later a tour went out with Mitzi Gaynor. The set for that tour was a light weight replica of the original, what they should have used in the first instance.

[morosco]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 8:46pm

"Did it close early? It might have just been a limited tour that didn't get extended."

Perhaps. But it appears to have been an expensive replica of the still playing Broadway production. I just can't imagine an expensive show like that going out for only 3 months. There's no way they could recoup the costs of the production that quickly.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 9:42pm

Otis33 - How was Mitzi Gaynor? ( I think her husband was largely respondsible for financing her tour) Who else was in that production?

[otis33]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 9:46pm

Quite honestly, I don't remember details about the show or specifics about cast members. It was my first introduction to the show. I remember really enjoying it. (how's that for no help at all )

[alterego]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 9:50pm

Well at least you remembered Mitzi Gaynor. Is she still around?

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 11:03pm

The first tour had to be withdrawn because it was too time-consuming and costly to move the set.

The Mitzi Gaynor tour went out a year later and did good business playing spit week and one week engagements. Gaynor was fine but she started cutting "I Get a Kick Out of You" after opening night in each city.

Gaynor, by the way, starred with Bing Crosby in the 1956 film called ANYTHING GOES but it uses only 5 songs from the show with a new story.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/13/06 at 11:33pm

Leslie Uggams went into the Broadway production, replacing the Magnificent PATTI LuPONE.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 1:39am

frontrowcentre2 were there any other "names" in the Mitzi Gaynor tour?

[scooter38432]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 7:48am

I saw this tour in Boston after seeing the Vivian Beaumont version (LuPone, McGillin) twice.

What a disappointment! It was lousy in comparison. I really admire Leslie Uggams' talent. It's undeniable, but in that role it just didn't work. I think she might have it in her somewhere to play Reno, but her "star quality" persona was missing -- and it's completely essential to the role.

The main problem with the whole show was the miserable casting of Rex Smith as the leading man. Whose idea whas THAT?! He is a really lousy actor. (And no one can sing the role like Howard McGillin.)

The outstanding highlight of the production was (surprisingly) Rip Taylor as Moonface. He was a complete delight. (And much, much, much better than Tony winner Bill McCutcheon in the role.)

I'm not surprised this tour folded -- regardless of the set issues. It was a snorer -- except for when Rip Taylor was on stage.

[friedrichVT]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 6:19pm

Rip was outrageous...when he ripped his wig off and through it into the pit,it just sent me over the edge. Rex Smith was just terrible. The show lacked the spark the NY production had. Sometimes it's impossible duplicate "magic" that was once captured on the stage based on star magnetism and chemstry.The tour simply didnt have it.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 8:49pm

I saw the Patti LuPone production, and it was outstanding. I still remember laughing so hard I cried.

I also laughed at the Mitzi Gaynor production...but for entirely different reasons. Mitzi was too old to play Reno Sweeney yet she wore costumes usually reserved for 9-year-old baton twirlers. She was "busting out all over." It wasn't pretty.

The show paled miserably in comparison to the Vivian Beaumont production.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 8:51pm

How long did the "Mitzi" show tour for?

[morosco]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 8:58pm

"The outstanding highlight of the production was (surprisingly) Rip Taylor as Moonface."

Rip Taylor is indeed a fine actor. Terribly underrated by some. I'd love to see him do a one man show.

Check out his website. The songs and clips are a hoot!
www.riptaylor.com Updated On: 8/14/06 at 08:58 PM

[morosco]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 9:12pm

Damn! Now that I think about it he'd be wonderful as Edna in HAIRSPRAY!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 8/14/06 at 9:40pm

Didn't the same thing happen with the Guys and Dolls tour? It failed miserably on the road (with Lorna Luft no less).

[Musical Director]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:00am

I was the Musical Director of the 3 month tour of ANYTHING GOES. It was a wonderful show, and it is true that the set was so big and expensive to move. If any of you remember, there was a time when they were thinking of moving the show from the Beaumont to a regular Broadway theatre and they had desinged a proscenium set. That is the design that went on the road. That design was for the show to sit in one theatre and not tour. It took 3 days to load it in and the first preview in Boston had to be cancelled. It was a real shame, but the producers made a mistake. Artie Siccardi, the production supervisor, told everyone that the set was too big to travel. So it is true, the set closed the show. The cast was marvelous, and a really happy family. Rip Taylor was a great Moon, and Leslie was wonderful, and she ultimately replaced Patti LuPone on Broadway. After the show closed, they moved me to the Broadway production, and I conducted the last 10 months of the run.

[Musical Director]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 1:03am

By the way, Rip did not throw his wig into the pit. There was no pit. He took it off, fanned himself with it, and then put it back on backwards. It just happened one day in rehearsal and it just stayed in. Rex was not the best, but he is truly a sweetheart.

[alterego]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 3:02am

Musical Director - Someone once told me that the "Mitzi" tour had a very small combo not the full orchestra that the previous tour had. Do you know if this is correct?

[Christoph]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 8:58am

scooter38432 called it perfectly. The music was great and show itself is fine, but the casting was totally off track. Rip Taylor, who I could never previously stand, was surprisingly terrific as Moonface Martin. Barring that, it was downhill. Leslie Uggams has a nice voice, but she is an underwhelming dancer (even for the minimal dancing her character had to do in this tour) and she never reached the pure dynamism required to capture the spirit of Reno Sweeney. She always seemed to be either slightly off or lacking. Rex Smith was a total wash-out. His voice was weak, his dancing atrocious and he had the charisma of a sponge. In this he was well-matched with the ingenue who played Hope Harcourt. Their numbers together were relatively excruciating. Even with all that, I have to admit that I was still surprised that the tour only ran for three months. Ironically, I enjoyed the show enough, despite these shortcomings, to want to see it again with Sally Ann Triplett and John Barrowman. Now that was an astounding show!
Updated On: 8/15/06 at 08:58 AM

[AshleyBrownFan123]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 12:53pm

did the tour play anywhere besides Boston?

[Christoph]

Posted: 8/15/06 at 3:28pm

I know it played in DC. That was where I saw it.