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Billy Crocker est monté clandestinement à bord du navire de croisière « S.S. American » afin de tenter de reconquérir celle qu’il aime, Hope Harcourt, mais qui doit se marier avec un autre, le riche Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Billy est soutenu par Reno Sweeney, une chanteuse qui tient toujours tendrement à lui, et par un autre passager clandestin, Moonface Martin, un gangster de second rang qui essaie d’échapper au FBI. Après des difficultés et des rebondissements, l’amour finira par triompher. La croisière s’achèvera par plusieurs mariages, dont certains inattendus.

Four versions of the libretto of Anything Goes exist: the original 1934 libretto, the 1962 revival libretto, the 1987 revival libretto, and the 2011 revival libretto. The story has been revised, though all involve similar romantic complications aboard the S.S. American and feature the same major characters. The score has been altered, with some songs cut and others reassigned to different scenes and characters, and augmented with various Porter songs from other shows.

Original 1934 libretto)
Acte I
Billy Crocker, a young Wall Street broker, has fallen in love with a beautiful girl he met in a taxi. His boss, Elisha J. Whitney, is preparing to make a business deal and is going to travel to London aboard the S.S. "American". Evangelist turned nightclub singer Reno Sweeney will be traveling aboard the same ship. Even though Reno and Billy are just friends, she tells him "I Get A Kick Out Of You." Billy goes to the dock to bid "Bon Voyage" to his boss and Reno and glimpses the mysterious girl. She is heiress Hope Harcourt and, escorted by her mother, Mrs. Harcourt, is on her way to England with her fiancé Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, an attractive but stuffy and hapless British nobleman. Billy stows away on the ship in hopes of winning Hope's heart. "Moonface" Martin, a second-rate [gangster] labeled "Public Enemy 13", and his friend Bonnie (Erma in 1987) have disguised themselves as a minister and a missionary and innocently aided by Billy, board the ship under their assumed identities, stranding the ship's real chaplain back at the port. Moonface and Bonnie mistakenly leave behind their leader, "Snake Eyes" Johnson, Public Enemy 1.
To thank Billy, Bonnie and Moonface let him have Snake Eyes Johnson's passport and ticket without telling him to whom they belong. Billy convinces Sir Evelyn that he is quite seasick and when he goes below deck, Billy and Hope meet again and realize each has been thinking of the other "All Through The Night". Though Hope prefers Billy, she insists she must marry Evelyn, not revealing to Billy her family's company is in financial trouble and a marriage to Evelyn would promote a merger and save the company. The ship's crew gets a cable from New York saying that Public Enemy 1 is on board. Moonface admits his true identity to Billy and he and Bonnie conspire to disguise Billy as a crew member since he is now presumed to be Snake Eyes Johnson.
A quartet of sailors proclaim that "There'll Always Be a Lady Fair" waiting on shore for each of them. On deck, Bonnie proclaims, "Where Are the Men?," attracting a group of sailors. She returns to Billy and Moonface with a sailor suit.
Hope discusses her impending marriage with Evelyn and discovers that he is not particularly pleased with the engagement either. Billy asks Reno to help separate Evelyn and Hope, and she agrees. Billy and Reno declare to each other, "You're the Top". Reno flirts with Evelyn, who invites her for a drink in his cabin. She and Moon plot that Moon should burst into the cabin and discover Reno half-naked in Evelyn's arms, providing sufficient reason for breaking off the engagement. However, when Moon breaks into the room, machine gun in tow, he instead sees Reno fully dressed and Evelyn nearly undressed. Moon tries to invent some indecent explanation for the situation, but Evelyn insists that he would be quite pleased by any rumor depicting him as a passionate lover, especially if Hope heard it. Moon admits that the plot has failed.
The crew has caught on to Billy's sailor disguise, and Moon and Reno create a new disguise for him from a stolen pair of trousers, a drunk's jacket, and hair cut from Mrs. Harcourt's Pomeranian and made into a beard. Reno tells Billy that Evelyn has kissed her, and she is sure she will be Lady Oakleigh soon since nowadays "Anything Goes". Mrs. Harcourt, recognizing her dog's hair, angrily pulls off Billy's beard and the crew and passengers realize he must be the wanted man. As Snake Eyes Johnson, Billy is an instant celebrity.
Acte II
Billy is honored by both crew and passengers as "Public Enemy Number One." He tells the Captain that Moon (who is still disguised as a minister) is helping him reform from his wicked ways. Moon is asked to lead a revival in the ship's lounge. The passengers confess their sins to the "Reverend", and Sir Evelyn admits to a one-night stand with a young Chinese woman, Plum Blossom. Hope is not impressed with Billy's charade, and to please her, he confesses to everyone that he is not really Snake Eyes Johnson. Moon attempts to compensate by revealing that he is not a minister; he is Public Enemy Number Thirteen. The captain sends them both to the brig. Reno then puts her evangelistic training to good use and, continuing the revival, leads the anthem "Blow, Gabriel, Blow".
Moon tries to cheer Billy up by urging him to "Be Like the Bluebird". Billy doubts he will ever see Hope again; he and Moon cannot leave their cell until they return to America. Their card-playing Chinese cellmates, who have been imprisoned for winning all the cash in third class, will be put ashore in England. Moon and Billy win their clothes in a game of strip poker.
Billy, Moon, and Reno show up at the Oakleigh estate in Chinese garb. Billy and Moon tell Oakleigh's uncle that they are the parents of "Plum Blossom" and threaten to publicize Evelyn's indescretion if he does not marry her. Uncle Oakleigh offers to buy them off and Moon gleefully accepts the cash, much to Billy and Reno's chagrin.
Billy and Reno find Hope and Evelyn, who are unhappy with the prospect of their matrimony. Hope declares that she wildly wants to marry Billy The Gypsy in Me. Billy spots Whitney and finally learns that Evelyn and Hope's planned marriage is really an awkward business merger. Billy savvily knows that Uncle Oakleigh is manipulating them all; Hope's company is really worth millions and Billy informs Whitney of that fact. Whitney offers to buy the firm from Hope at an exorbitant price, and she accepts. The marriage is called off since a merger is now impossible. Billy and Hope get married, as do Reno and Evelyn. A cable from the U.S. government fixes Billy's passport problems and declares Moon "harmless". Moon indignantly pockets Oakleigh's check and refuses to return it.

1962 libretto
Before this show starts our hero and heroine, Billy Crocker and Hope Harcourt, meet at a party one hot summer night in the early 1930's. Hope is a pretty girl, with an overbearing mother who wants her daughter to marry an English Lord. Billy is a young man just beginning his career on Wall Street. A leisurely drive through Central Park and a chaste kiss put the finishing touches on an evening that speaks of promise. Somehow, Hope slips away without giving her name and address to Billy.
The story begins at the New York sailing of the Ocean Greyhound AMERICA bound for England. Everything takes place aboard the ship. It is customary for members of the press to take photographs of the passengers for the 'Society' sections of newspapers before a ship sets sail. Of particular interest to the ship's reporters is Reno Sweeney, famed Evangelist-turned-Nightclub singer, with her four beautiful Angels - backup singers. Unfortunately she appears to be the only celebrity on board. Other passengers photographed include Elisha Whitney (Wall Street executive and Billy Crocker's boss), Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (a rich English Gentleman), Miss Hope Harcourt (American debutante and Evelyn's fiancée), Mrs. Wadsworth Harcourt (Hope's mother), Bishop Henry Dobson (a minister), and Ching and Ling (two of Bishop Dobson's Chinese converts).
Billy Crocker comes aboard to drop off his boss' passport. On board he runs into Reno, who is an old friend. Billy, as it turns out, is the same young man who drove around Central Park with Hope Harcourt, and who has been searching for her unsuccessfully ever since. Reno greets Billy warmly, and she tells him how she gets a "kick" whenever they meet -You're The Top. Then the deck stewards begin to call, "All ashore that's going ashore," and Billy starts for the gangplank. He is just stepping on it when a girl appears: the splendid girl with whom he rode around Central Park. "Are you sailing?" she asks. "You bet I'm sailing" is his reply. And the ship sets sail -Bon Voyage.
There is another celebrity sailing, but he is very much under wraps. "Moonface Martin," a onetime ship's gambler and "Public Enemy 13," is hiding out on board disguised as a Minister. This "thirteen" has brought him a succession of bad luck, and he is determined to move up to the 11 or 12 spot. Billy wins Moonface's friendship by inadvertently identifying Bishop Henry Dobson as Moonface to the FBI. The innocent Bishop ends up in the ship's brig. Moonface shows his gratitude by giving Billy a ticket and passport, intended for his friend Snake Eyes, for the trip. Snake Eyes, number "one" on the "wanted" list, had been warned against sailing. His companion, Bonnie, does set sail and spends time with Moonface.
The first evening Billy finds out that Hope is engaged to Sir Evelyn. The British gentleman's lack of romance and upset stomach give Billy an opportunity to be alone with Hope all night -It's Delovely. When he gets back to the room he and Moon are sharing the next morning, Billy realizes that his boss, Whitney, is their neighbor. Moon steals Whitney's glasses, so Whitney will not recognize Billy on board. Moon finds out that the authorities are searching the ship for Billy, who they think is the real Snake Eyes. In order to warn his new friend that he is in danger, Moonface admits to Billy that he is not a real clergyman and reveals his true identity. When Billy responds to Moon that he will not turn him in, Moon tells Billy that the ship's crew thinks Billy is actually Snake Eyes. Billy refuses to hide for the rest of the trip because he wants to see Hope. Bonnie disguises Billy in a sailor's uniform -Heaven Hop. Moon, Reno and her Angels recognize Billy as a sailor. He explains his predicament to Reno, and she is willing to distract Sir Evelyn; she thinks he is attractive -I Get A Kick Out Of You. Moonface also joins in Reno's efforts to help Billy win Hope away from the pleasant but lame-brained English Baronet to whom she is engaged -Friendship. Billy has just a few days to win Hope (whose mother is all for Sir Evelyn), the ship's officers are searching the ship for a man who is the occupant of the "number one" gangster's cabin, and Billy has to resort to varied disguises that include dressing as a woman, a chef and a man with a beard. The ship's Purser finally catches up with Snake Eyes and Moonface, but Billy is spared from going to the ship's jail. All of the passengers except Hope consider Billy posing as Snake Eyes a celebrity, and want him to mingle among them freely-Anything Goes.
The passengers on board celebrate the new celebrity they discovered in Public Enemy No. One, and Bonnie encourages the imposter's acceptance in Let's Step Out. Sir Evelyn begins to fall in love with Reno. He speaks romantically to her, and she sings to him Let's Misbehave. Hope gets progressively more disgusted with Billy's lie. The Captain instructs Moonface, still undercover as a minister, to perform a service to reform Snake Eyes. Under Hope's pressure Billy finally confesses he is an imposter, Moonface admits who he really is, and the two end up in the ship's brig -Blow, Gabriel, Blow.
Billy is obsessed with Hope while in jail. Moonface tries to calm him down with Be Like The Bluebird. The two Chinese converts traveling with the real Bishop Dobson are also thrown into the brig, for gambling. When Hope finally visits Billy there, she tells him of her mother's plans to have the Captain marry her and Sir Evelyn within hours. The young couple love each other -All Through The Night. Billy must prevent this wedding from happening. He and Moonface trick the converts to exchange clothes with them, and are released from jail in the converts' places. Billy arrives on deck in time to prevent the marriage ceremony, by embarrassing Sir Evelyn, with Reno's help. Reno reminisces in Take Me Back To Manhattan. Hope and Billy end up together, as do Reno and Sir Evelyn, Bonnie and Moonface, and Mrs. Harcourt and Mr. Whitney. The only one who is the least bit disappointed is Moonface, who is no longer wanted by the F.B.I.

1987 libretto
Acte I
Billy Crocker, a young love-sick Wall Street broker, has fallen in love with a beautiful girl he met in a taxi. His boss, Yale graduate Elisha J. Whitney, is going to travel to London aboard the S.S.A merican. He plans to relax before the tremendous sale of his own company's stock (or, in the 1962 version, to make an important business deal in England). Evangelist turned nightclub singer Reno Sweeney will be travelling aboard the same ship. She tells Billy "I Get A Kick Out of You" even though he sees her as just a friend. Billy goes to the dock to bid "Bon Voyage" to his boss and Reno and glimses the mysterious girl from the taxi. She is heiress Hope Harcourt and is on her way to England to be married to Sir Evelyn Oakleigh (Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in the 1987 version), a stuffy, hapless British nobleman. Billy stows away on the ship in hopes of winning the heart of his beloved Hope. Also on the boat are "Moonface" Martin, a second-rate gangster on the lam labeled "Public Enemy 13," and his friend Bonnie (originally named Erma); the two have disguised themselves as a minister and a missionary, respectively, after stranding the ship's real chaplain back at the port. They also, mistakenly, left behind their leader, "Snake Eyes" Johnson, Public Enemy 1.
Billy helps Moonface evade the detectives at the dock, and as Billy doesn't have a ticket or passport, Bonnie and Moonface let him have Snake Eyes Johnson's, without telling him to whom it belongs. Billy convinces Sir Evelyn that he is quite seasick and when he goes below deck, Billy and Hope meet again and realize both have spent sleepless nights recalling their chance meeting All Through the Night. Though Hope prefers Billy to Evelyn, she insists she must marry Evelyn nonetheless; unknown to Billy, she believes her family's company is in financial trouble. A marriage to Evelyn would promote a merger and save the company. The ship's crew gets a cable from New York saying that Public Enemy number 1 is on board. Moonface admits his true identity to Billy and he and Bonnie conspire to disguise Billy as a crew member since he is now presumed to be Snake Eyes Johnson. Bonnie obtains a sailor suit for him.
A quartet of sailors proclaim that "There'll Always Be a Lady Fair" waiting on shore for each of them. On deck, Bonnie proclaims, "Where Are the Men?", attracting a group of sailors and dancing off with them. She returns with a sailor suit for Billy.
Hope discusses her impending marriage with Evelyn and discovers that he is not particularly pleased with the engagement either. Billy asks Reno to help separate Evelyn and Hope, and she agrees. Billy and Reno declare to each other, "You're the Top". Reno is successful enough with Evelyn to earn an invitation for a drink in his cabin. She and Moon plot that Moon should burst into the cabin and discover Reno half-naked in Evelyn's arms, providing sufficient reason for breaking off the engagement. However, when Moon breaks into the room, machine gun in tow, he instead sees Reno fully-dressed and Evelyn nearly undressed. Moon tries to invent some indecent explanation for the situation, but Evelyn insists that he would be quite pleased by any rumor depicting him as a passionate lover, especially if Hope heard it. Moon admits that the plot has failed.
The crew has caught on to Billy's sailor disguise, and Moon and Reno create a new disguise for him from a stolen pair of trousers, a drunk's jacket, and hair from Mrs. Harcourt's Pomeranian made into a beard. Reno tells Billy that Evelyn has kissed her, and she is sure she will be Lady Oakleigh soon since nowadays "Anything Goes". Mrs. Harcourt angrily pulls off Billy's beard and the crew and passengers realize he must be the wanted man. As Snake Eyes Johnson, Billy is an instant celebrity.
Acte II
Billy, presumed to be "Public Enemy Number One", is honored by both crew and passengers. He tells the Captain that Moon (who is still disguised as a minister) is helping him reform from his wicked ways. Moon is asked to lead a revival in the ship's lounge. Reno puts her evangelistic training to good use and leads the anthem "Blow, Gabriel, Blow". The passengers confess their sins to the "Reverend", and Sir Evelyn admits to a one-night stand with a young Chinese woman. Hope is not impressed with Billy's charade, and he confesses to everyone that he is not really Snake Eyes Johnson. Moon attempts to compensate by revealing that he is not a minister; he is Public Enemy Number Thirteen. The captain is not impressed and sends them to the brig.
Moon tries to cheer Billy up by urging him to "Be Like the Bluebird". Billy doubts he will ever see Hope again; he and Moon cannot leave their cell until they return to America. Their card-playing Chinese cellmates, who have been imprisoned for winning all the cash in third class, will be put ashore in England. Moon and Billy win their clothes in a game of strip poker.
Billy, Moon, and Reno show up at the Oakleigh estate in Chinese garb. Billy and Moon tell Oakleigh's uncle that they are the parents of "Plum Blossom" and demand reparation for Evelyn's promiscuity. Uncle Oakleigh offers to buy them off and Moon gleefully accepts the cash, much to Billy and Reno's chagrin.
Billy and Reno find Hope and Evelyn, who are unhappy with the prospect of their matrimony. Hope declares that she wildly wants to marry BillyThe Gypsy in Me. Billy spots Whitney and finally learns that Evelyn and Hope's planned marriage is really an awkward business merger. Billy savvily knows that Uncle Oakleigh is manipulating them all; Hope's company is really worth millions and Billy informs Whitney of that fact. Whitney offers to buy the firm from Hope at an exhorbitant price, and she accepts. The marriage is called off since a merger is now impossible. Billy and Hope get married, as do Reno and Evelyn. A cable from the U.S. government fixes Billy's passport problems and declares Moon "harmless." Moon indignantly pockets Oakleigh's check and refuses to return it.

2011 libretto

Version 1934)

Version 1962
Acte I: Overture / You're the Top / Bon Voyage / It's De-Lovely / Heaven Hop / Friendship / I Get a Kick Out of You / Anything Goes
Acte II: Public Enemy Number One / Let's Step Out / Let's Misbehave / Blow, Gabriel, Blow / All Through the Night / Be Like the Bluebird / Take Me Back to Manhattan

Version 1987
Acte I: I Get a Kick Out of You / There's No Cure Like Travel / Bon Voyage / You're the Top / Easy to Love / I Want to Row on the Crew / There'll Always Be a Lady Fair / Friendship / It's De-Lovely / Anything Goes
Acte II: Public Enemy Number One / Blow, Gabriel, Blow / Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye / Be Like the Bluebird / All Through the Night / The Gypsy in Me /Buddie Beware / I Get a Kick Out of You

"Anything goes" est basé sur l'idée d'un producteur, Vinton Freedley, qui habitait sur un bateau après avoir quitté les Etats-Unis pour fuir ses dettes. Il a sélectionné l'équipe de création, et la star, Ethel Merman. Alors que le spectacle était en préparation, un bateau du passager, le SS Morro Castle, a brûlé et plus de 125 passagers ont péri. L'intrigue originale, qui parlait d'un fou faisant sauter un paquebot a été jugée, indélicate et le livret de Bolton & Wodehouse a été presque totalement recréé par Lindsay et Crouse qui sont devenus des partenaires d'écriture pour le reste de leurs vies.
Si on se fie à la légende, le nouveau titre du spectacle, est né de la hâte avec laquelle le spectacle a été réécrit: lors d'une rencontre de production qui s'était ptolongé tard dans la nuit, un membre exaspéré et exténué de l'équipe de production s'est écrié "Et comment allons nous, bordel, juste finir ce premier acte?!" "À ce moment," repondit un des producteurs, en étant plus utile qu'il ne le croyait : "n'importe quoi est bon!!"
En 1988, une nouvelle version a été montée à Broadway. Le livret a été à nouveau modifié et d’autres chansons de Cole Porter ont été intégrées à cette comédie musicale (« It’s De-Lovely », « Friendship »…). Cette version interprétée notamment par Patti LuPone a été récompensée par des Tony Awards (meilleur « revival » et meilleure chorégraphie). Dès 1989, elle a été transférée à Londres (avec la participation d’Elaine Paige).

Producer Vinton Freedley came up with the idea for the show as he was living on a boat at the time. He left the US to avoid his debts and used a boat as his residence. Freedley picked Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse to write the book, and Ethel Merman to star in the production. The original plot was a comedy about a mad bomber running loose on an ocean liner. Freedley was not happy with the script and found it difficult to make changes when Bolton and Wodehouse sailed for Europe. In an odd turn of events, as rehearsals began, the passenger ship, the SS Morro Castle, sailing from Havana to New York on September 8, 1934, caught fire and burned. The disaster killed a total of 137 passengers and crew members before beaching herself near Asbury Park, New Jersey. This was the excuse that Freedley needed to completely revamp the show. He maintained that the tragedy made the plot of the show seem insensitve and that this would not work well with public opinion. As a result, the book was almost entirely recreated by the show's director, Howard Lindsay and press agent, Russell Crouse (who became lifelong writing partners as a result). They revised the script, finishing the last scene on the train to Boston, where the show was to open before hitting Broadway. The show opened on November 21, 1934, about two and a half months after the SS Morro Castle disaster.
There is a legend behind the name of the show and the title song. It is said that at a late night production meeting where the show was being reworked, one of the overly-tired production team members said in frustration "And just how in the hell are we going to end the first act?!" "At this point," responded one of the producers, "anything goes!!"
The show became a big hit and the confusion really begins. Two years later, the 1936 film version of Anything Goes hit the theatres and held little resemblance to the stage production. The book and score were dramaticaly changed with only two of the original songs included. Additional songs were included by Hoagy Carmichael and other composers.
18 years later in 1954, the television version changed the plot again and changed the songs again to include more of the original score than the movie version along with songs from other Cole Porter shows.
The second movie version was filmed in 1956 and the book was drastically changed once more with additional songs by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen. The second film named Anything Goes forced the first film version (1936) to be renamed Tops Is The Limit.
An Off-Broadway revival of Anything Goes opened on May 15, 1962 at the Orpheum Theatre. It starred Hal Linden as Billy Crocker and Eileen Rodgers as Reno Sweeney. The stage script was revised and incorporated several of the changes from the movie versions. The minor character named Erma was expanded and her name changed to Bonnie. This revival also added several songs from other Porter shows that came after the original production of Anything Goes. From the 1930 musical, The New Yorkers, came the song "Take Me Back to Manhattan," from the 1934 musical, Red Hot and Blue, came the song "It's De-Lovely," from the 1939 musical, DuBarry Was a Lady, came the song "Friendship," and from the 1929 musical, Paris, came the song "Let's Misbehave".
In October 19, 1987, a major revival of Anything Goes opened on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, with Patti Lupone in the role of Reno Sweeney and ran for 784 perfomances. The book was revised by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. This production opened in London at The Prince Edward Theatre the following year.

Billy Crocker — Protagonist. Assistant to Elisha, love-struck would-be suitor to Hope.
Reno Sweeney — An evangelist turned nightclub singer and an old friend of Billy's.
Hope Harcourt — An American debutante and the object of Billy's affection.
Moonface Martin — a second-rate gangster, "Public Enemy Number 13", soon to not be thought as a public enemy at all.
Sir Evelyn Oakleigh — Hope's wealthy and handsome English fiancé.
Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt — Hope's haughty and overbearing mother.
Bonnie / Erma (1987 revival) — Sidekick to Moonface.
Elisha J. Whitney — Ivy league Wall Street banker, Billy's boss.
Reno's Angels (Purity, Charity, Chastity and Virtue). (1934 original and 1962 revival / 2002 concert) - Reno's back up singers.
Ritz Quartette (1934 original) / Lady Fair Quartet (1987 revival)
Ching and Ling ("Luke" and "John" in the 1987 revival and 2002 concert) — Two Chinese 'Converts' and reformed gamblers who accompany Bishop Henry T. Dobson
Captain, Steward, Purser on the ship
The Right Reverend, Bishop Henry T. Dobson
Ships crew, Passengers, Reporters, Photographers and F.B.I. Agents
Shelly — Extra

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Anything goes

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Anything goes