Brief Review of "Anything Goes"

The musical, Anything Goes (Revised Version--1962), currently on stage at the Princess of Wales Theatre until August 25th, under the direction of the Roundabout Theatre Company, allows theatre goers to experience a boat cruise set in the early 1930s. While the tap dancing (which involves the cast of this show moving to a soundtrack that represents tap dancing sounds) and musical numbers like “Friendship” and “The Gypsy In Me” can be somewhat entertaining, the "Othering" scattered throughout this romantic comedy should not be taken lightly. As the title of this musical suggests, literally “anything goes” during this theatrical production, including explicit racial stereotyping and discrimination. Hence, the Asian characters involved in this stage show, Luke (Vincent Rodriguez III) and John (Marcus Shane) are portrayed as nothing more than gambling fools with stereotypical Chinese accents. Whereas their White cast mates, Billy Crocker (Josh Franklin) and Moonface Martin (Fred Applegate) are depicted as smarter and thus, able to outwit their Asian co-stars by eventually stealing their clothes and identities. Thus, if this musical is to be played out in 2013, the Roundabout Theatre Company might consider making revisions to this production--their Tony Award-winning Musical Revival--to avoid leaving some viewers seasick from bigotry.