Having fallen in love with the human special effect that is a large ensemble tap number (or, perhaps rather more accurately, observed the audience’s love for them), Shaw Festival Artistic Director Tim Carroll has cornered himself into a very specific style and era of musical theatre programming. While there’s plenty to love about said style and era, including catchy tunes from legendary tunesmiths and the aforementioned tap numbers (TC’s right, they are a kind of magic), there’s a flimsiness to most of the stories that gets boring fast, especially when similar shows are programmed year after year. Anything Goes is maybe the definitive musical in this style. Essentially a jukebox of Cole Porter hits (nearly every song is a total banger), the story is strung together on the thinnest of threads in order to move the action from classic tune to classic tune. This version, directed and choreographed by Kimberley Rampersad, is well-cast enough to carry the day even without a stronger story but, still, it’s hard not to yearn for one.

Mary Antonini’s performance of headliner Reno Sweeney’s demanding vocal track isn’t as consistent as it should be but she’s a dynamite dancer with charisma to burn, both non-negotiables for the true triple threat role. She’s matched well by a compelling duo of lovers in relative newcomer Celeste Catena and stalwart Jeff Irving. Irving’s strong jaw and swoony tenor voice frequently qualify him for the type of classic leading man role that he yet again steps into here. These roles as written are often pretty devoid of personality so it always feels revelatory how he turns every one of them into a whole (and memorable) person. Catena plays an equally boring character but is a heavenly introduction to a landscape badly in need of a dynamic new soprano.

Many jokes are made at the expense of characters played by Allan Louis and Sharry Flett, two of the most elegant performers at the festival. No matter how goofy they pretend to be (and Louis certainly takes a run at it), they feel miscast. Michael Therriault, on the other hand, is perfectly cast as Moonface Martin, his elastic physicality and easy humour elevating the show’s wildest character. He’s paired with his former Me and My Girl costar Kristi Frank who is, as always, a bright spot (sometimes literally as her red wig is occasionally the only pop of colour in the strangely grey design). Shaw’s band (led by the ever-reliable Paul Sportelli) and small but mighty dancing chorus are, as ever, splendid.

This sharply executed though far from revelatory production easily achieves the baseline charm of Shaw’s usual musical taste but I’d love to see the festival try their hand at something more contemporary, even if “must have tap dance” remains part of the criteria (Big Fish, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Newsies all feature tap as part of their period settings but are a bit more fresh). I may even dare to suggest a small indie musical in the studio as counter-programming in lieu of the concert-style work once the Spiegeltent is gone. TC is so thoughtful about balance when it comes to his straight theatre programming, a bit of that is desperately needed when it comes to his musicals.