playbill vip

     Welcome aboard the S.S. American, and to Medway High School's production of Anything Goes! I am so glad you could join us for an excellent night of live theatre. 

     Anything Goes might not be a show that comes to mind when one thinks of the modern-day musical. On the contrary, this show is from before what is known as the "golden age of musical theatre," when musicals looked quite different and served quite a different purpose than they do today. Believe it or not, in the early twentieth century, people would go to the theatre to hear the popular music of the day. Scriptwriters would work with songwriters like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, among others, to piece together a plot that could support (or at least attempt to) a collection of their songs. Whether the plots were deep, intriguing, or meaningful wasn't really the goal. The goal was to sell the collection of songs that would be placed on the cast album. Up until 1965, the best selling albums in the U.S. were primarily cast albums from musicals!

     Anything Goes opened just as the U.S. was beginning to climb out of the Great Depression, and the public was turning to the theatre as a means of escape. This led to musicals that played strongly on absurdity, song and dance, and lots of knee-slapping jokes, Anything Goes being a prime example. The humor used in this musical was aimed very specifically and very purposefully at an audience who had their fingers on the pulse of 1934 culture and politics. If you look up the lyrics to Billy and Reno's song "You're the Top," you'll find dozens of references to people, places, and things that were popular in the 1930s. While today the song might seem "dated," in 1934, audiences would have really appreciated all the current references that were being made, which was exactly the goal.

     It goes without saying that what audiences in the 1930s found funny might not align with what you, a showgoer in 2020, might laugh at. In the almost 90 years that have passed since the curtain first rose on Anything Goes, our country has endured a number of drastic changes in every aspect of life. So, I ask tonight that you observe this production as a piece of history come to life. This is one of the wonderful ways that theatre can tell our nation's history, and we can see how much we have grown and how far we have come (or haven't).

     Above all, I hope tonight that you are able to escape whatever might be bringing you down at the moment to laugh along with these talented young people. They have worked tirelessly over the past few months to give you a memorable night of theatre, and I could not be more proud of them. 

Now sit back, relax, and let's set sail!

Kendra Nutting - Director