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With its madcap antics, frenetic tap dancing, a glitzy art deco set and classic Cole Porter tunes, the feel-good Broadway musical 鈥淎nything Goes鈥� continues to delight audiences more than 90 years after it first premiered.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just good old classic escapism, and we have a lot of fun with the show,鈥� director Celena Cox said.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Little Theatre鈥檚 production opens on Friday, March 6, and runs through March 22.

The script, co-written by Guy Bolton and 鈥淛eeves and Wooster鈥� humorist P.G. Wodehouse, features romantic mishaps, mistaken identities and a second-rate gangster called 鈥淢oonface鈥� Martin 鈥� all aboard a luxury ocean liner bound from New York City to London.

鈥淚 think one of the reasons that we love returning to 鈥楢nything Goes鈥� is because of how good it makes us feel. 鈥� You know in the first five minutes that everybody鈥檚 gonna get what they want at the end of the show,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淭here are no villains in the show. There鈥檚 no bad guy. Everybody gets the girl. Everybody ends up married at the end 鈥� nobody鈥檚 sad.鈥�

Songs introduced in 鈥淎nything Goes鈥� that later became pop standards include 鈥淚 Get a Kick Out of You,鈥� 鈥淵ou鈥檙e the Top鈥� and the titular 鈥淎nything Goes,鈥� with its famous couplet: 鈥淚n olden days, a glimpse of stocking/Was looked on as something shocking./But now, God knows,/Anything goes.鈥�

鈥淐ole Porter 鈥� was a real wordsmith and really loved playing with fun phrases and the rhythm and pitches of the English language,鈥� Cox said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 a bit satirical 鈥� (because) anything didn鈥檛 go in 1934. 鈥� But I think this is always happening, that the older generation is saying that the new generation coming up and moving into their prime is so much freer than their generation was. 鈥� So, he鈥檚 poking fun at that idea.鈥�

鈥淎nything Goes鈥� has been revised several times over the years 鈥� mostly to remove racist content, Cox said, but also to incorporate additional Cole Porter hits, such as 鈥淚t鈥檚 De-Lovely.鈥� ALT is performing the most recent version from 2022.

鈥淚t鈥檚 still very much a 1930s musical 鈥� very classic Broadway, and there鈥檚 a lot of 1930s slang in it,鈥� Cox said.

The sets, costumes and lighting enhance the 1930s glamor.

鈥淥ur set designer, Jason Roman, is building this beautiful, art deco set for me, and it鈥檚 going to be really stunning. Then, our costume designer, Emma Rose Harrison, has really dived into the period for this. 鈥� It鈥檚 very glamorous and soft and beautiful, but it鈥檚 also on a boat, so it鈥檚 very nautical,鈥� Cox said, 鈥渁nd our lighting designer, Emma Ziegler 鈥� my directive to her was, 鈥業 want the whole show to sparkle.鈥� And she has delivered.鈥�

Cox said the entire 23-member cast is fabulous, including Tasha Booth, who plays wisecracking nightclub singer Reno Sweeney.

鈥淭asha Booth is just knocking it out of the park,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淪he lights up the stage, and her voice is so dynamic and beautiful.鈥�

Cox also praises the dancers.

鈥淥ur ensemble have done an enormous amount of work,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is a very dance-heavy show, and they have stepped up in a huge way. I鈥檝e been so impressed with everybody鈥檚 work ethic and everybody鈥檚 commitment to make this the best show they can.鈥�

This is Cox鈥檚 first time directing 鈥淎nything Goes.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 probably the most traditional, 鈥楤roadway feel鈥� show that I鈥檝e ever directed,鈥� Cox said. 鈥溾�楤eautiful鈥� (the Carol King jukebox musical Cox directed last year) was also big and flashy, but it was about the 鈥�60s and 鈥�70s, so there was a little less sparkle. And before I moved to sa国际传媒官网网页入口, a lot of what I directed was kind of experimental and in black boxes and found spaces.鈥�

So, what motivated Cox to revisit a Broadway classic in 2026? She said she wanted to spread joy and happiness at a time when many people are feeling distressed.

鈥淚 think the world is a little dark right now,鈥� Cox said, 鈥渁nd if you have the ability to step out of it for a minute, and come and enjoy two hours of pure fun, that鈥檚 a gift.鈥�

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the sa国际传媒官网网页入口. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .