Rivera subs for ‘Anything Goes’

The title is “Anything Goes,” but that sentiment didn’t apply to the cost of Trevor Nunn’s staging of the ‘30s musical, which has been deleted from the final slot in the Ahmanson Theatre’s 2004-05 season because it was too expensive.

It has been replaced by “Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life,” a new show in which the Tony-winning actress and dancer will recall her life and career with the assistance of 10 dancers, a script by Terrence McNally and staging and choreography by Graciela Daniele, June 26 through Aug. 7.

Gordon Davidson, Center Theatre Group’s artistic director when the show was booked, said that he had hoped to use the original set and costumes of the Royal National Theatre production of “Anything Goes.”

But after the show played a commercial run in London’s West End, the costumes needed to be replaced and the set had been altered so that it couldn’t transfer as easily, increasing the cost of an L.A. revival by $2 million. Davidson failed to find a Broadway partner who would share the costs and a star whose name might increase the box-office draw.

Rivera’s show is “much simpler,” he said. It will play two weeks in Denver before arriving in Los Angeles.