I Get a Kick Out of You (Reprise) Lyrics — Anything Goes

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Work: Anything Goes (opened November 21, 1934).
2. Who sings it: Reno Sweeney, as listed in the 1934 Act II numbers.
3. Where it lands: Late Act II, a short return that echoes the opening confession and tightens the romantic knot.
4. Why it exists: A reminder of Reno's feelings, delivered fast - like the show tapping you on the shoulder before the final rush.
5. Edition note: The reprise is flagged as a 1934-only item in modern song summaries, even though later revivals use other reprise structures.

Anything Goes (1934) - stage musical - non-diegetic. A reprise is theatre efficiency: you already know the melody, so the character can move straight to the point. This one is a clean piece of dramaturgy. The tune returns like a familiar scent, and suddenly Reno is not the glamorous engine of the ship, she is a person who wants something she cannot control. The trick is that it stays light on its feet. The number does not beg for sympathy. It slips in, tells the truth, and gets out before the farce loses momentum.

Key takeaways: Keep it short, crisp, and personal. Think of it as a camera close-up, not a full-stage event. If you belt it like a standalone, you blur the purpose.

Creation History

Modern reference lists identify the reprise as a 1934-only entry and credit it to Reno in Act II. Production-history notes add a practical backstory: early in the original run, a reprise of the song replaced "Buddie, Beware" so late arrivals would still catch the melody that had been introduced near the start of the show. In other words, the reprise is not only a character beat - it is also a piece of show-running strategy, shaped by the rhythms of real audiences.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Anything Goes stacks misunderstandings on the SS American until everyone is forced to choose: reputation or love, safety or risk, performance or honesty. By late Act II, the story is sprinting toward pairings and solutions. That is when a reprise earns its keep. Reno steps into the flow and briefly restates her truth, so the audience remembers what is at stake for her even as the plot ties its final knots.

Song Meaning

The meaning is simple and sharp: Reno still feels it. In a full song, the lyric can afford detours. In a reprise, the emotion is already established, so the return becomes a proof point. The melody says, "this has not changed," and the timing says, "it matters right now."

Annotations

The reprise is listed as a 1934-only item and credited to Reno.

That detail is revealing. It suggests the original production wanted a late-stage reminder of Reno's inner story, not just the outer plot.

Early in the run, a reprise replaced "Buddie, Beware" so latecomers would not miss the tune.

This is Broadway being practical. The best part is how the practical choice can still serve the drama: the reprise does not feel like a patch when it is performed as a quick, sincere check-in.

The base song was published by Harms in 1934, and common sheet-music metadata places it in Eb major with a mid-range vocal span.

That matters for the reprise because it often sits inside the same vocal world. You do not need new fireworks - you need clarity and tone that reads as truthful.

Rhythm and staging logic

Most productions treat the reprise as a moving scene - a line of music that travels with blocking. That is why rhythm matters more than volume. A steady pulse helps the moment feel inevitable, like Reno is finally letting herself say the quiet thing out loud.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

1. Song: I Get a Kick Out of You (Reprise)
2. Artist: Cole Porter
3. Featured: N/A
4. Composer: Cole Porter
5. Producer: Recording-dependent
6. Release Date: November 21, 1934 (Broadway premiere context)
7. Genre: Musical theatre; reprise
8. Instruments: Voice; orchestra or piano-vocal
9. Label: Recording-dependent
10. Mood: Candid, quick, lightly bittersweet
11. Length: Short scene reprise (varies by production)
12. Track #: Often folded into finale tracks on cast albums (varies)
13. Language: English
14. Album (if any): Often paired with the title-song reprise on revival cast recordings
15. Music style: Swing-era Broadway ballad phrasing in compressed form
16. Poetic meter: Accentual, speech-forward phrasing

Frequently Asked Questions

Who sings the reprise in the 1934 version?

Song summaries for the 1934 lineup credit it to Reno Sweeney.

Is the reprise part of every edition?

No. Modern number lists often flag it as specific to the 1934 version, while later revivals use different reprise and finale structures.

Where in the show does it happen?

Late Act II, close enough to the ending that it reads as a final reminder of Reno's feelings before the wrap-up.

Why add a reprise when the audience already knows the tune?

That is the point. A reprise borrows recognition, so a character can land a feeling fast without starting from zero.

Did the original production adjust the placement for practical reasons?

Yes. A production-history note reports that early in the run a reprise replaced "Buddie, Beware" so latecomers would still hear the song.

Does the reprise usually repeat the full lyric?

Typically no. It tends to be a shortened return that focuses on the core idea rather than every verse.

Is there a standard key and range for performers?

Sheet-music metadata for the base song commonly lists Eb major with a vocal range around C4 to F5, but productions transpose freely.

Why do cast albums sometimes combine it with the title-song reprise?

Because the finale often stitches reprises together as one continuous curtain-run, and tracks reflect that performance flow.

Additional Info

The most interesting thing about this reprise is that it sits at the crossroads of art and logistics. A theatre is a living machine. People arrive late, ushers seat them, the first number happens anyway, and the show either shrugs or adapts. Here, a history note suggests the production adapted, bringing the melody back so nobody missed the hook. That kind of decision can sound purely practical, but it also fits Reno. She is a performer who knows the value of a refrain, and she is a woman who cannot quite let the feeling go without one more line of music.

According to Ovtur's production trivia, the early-run switch was linked to concern that late arrivals would miss the song when it appeared only in the opening scene. That matches the way revivals later treat reprises as structural glue, often pairing this tune with the title song at the finish line.

Key Contributors

How to Sing I Get a Kick Out of You (Reprise)

Because the reprise borrows the main song's musical language, published arrangement metadata for the base song is a useful starting point: Musicnotes lists Eb major as a common published key, a vocal range around C4 to F5, and a metronome mark of q equals 90 for one widely used edition. The stage rule, though, is simpler: keep the moment intimate and the words clear.

1. Tempo: Hold a steady pulse near the underlying song tempo, but let the scene breathe. A reprise can flex time if the intention stays readable.
2. Diction: Prioritize clarity. A short reprise lives or dies on whether the audience catches the thought in real time.
3. Breathing: Take one prepared breath before the first line you want to land hardest. Do not scatter breaths everywhere, or the moment feels nervous.
4. Flow and rhythm: Keep phrasing speech-forward. If you start singing it like a concert standard, it stops being a story beat.
5. Dynamics: Start one notch under your full voice. Build only if the blocking or the orchestra demands it.
6. Key choice: If the top of the phrase pulls tight, transpose. The reprise should sound effortless, like Reno is finally admitting what she already knows.
7. Pitfalls: Avoid extra comedy. The joke is that Reno is usually the room's boss, and here she is briefly not.

Sources

Sources: IBDB original Broadway production listing, Wikipedia musical-numbers table for Anything Goes, Ovtur production trivia and number lists, Ovtur London production number list (1935), University of Maine DigitalCommons sheet music record, Musicnotes arrangement metadata page, YouTube performance clip titled I Get a Kick Out of You (Reprise)