No matter how expensive the ticket, no Broadway production can provide the special thrill of joyful exuberance delivered by a company of amateurs mastering a full chorus line of synchronized tap dancing. This particular kind of joyful magic can only be found in amateur land. It is a flower that blooms rarely and always unexpectedly, and when theatergoers have the good fortune to encounter it, we should be grateful.
And that’s the kind of magic that will embrace you if you go to see this production of “Anything Goes.”
There’s a plot, I think. It involves gangsters, chorus girls, show folk, Wall Street, and a lot of silliness that makes little sense but who cares? “Anything Goes” is a masterpiece because of its knockout score that includes “You’re The Top,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Friendship,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and “Anything Goes.” And that’s only the first breathless act! Cole Porter gave his genius to this collection of songs, no doubt about it.
The songs have a gifted advocate in hardworking and ubiquitous musical director Armando Fox. He makes sure the band is fast, crisp, and enthusiastic. Singing highlights include Nico Jaochico as Billy Crocker crooning “It’s De-Lovely.” Jaochico is irresistibly manic, and when he starts dancing he explodes with charisma. As the brassy nightclub performer, Reno Sweeney, Seana Nicol has to drown out the echo of Ethel Merman. Amazingly, she succeeds with delightful renditions of “I Get A Kick out of You” and, especially, “Blow, Gabriel, Blow.”
All of the company understand how to play the broad comedy, and the laughs are reliable and continuous. There are no dull moments, no clinkers, and no missteps.
Was it perfectly smooth sailing? No. Did that matter? Absolutely not. This is “Anything Goes” !!!
Do you need to remember a time when America really did feel “great”? Buy a ticket to set sail on the S.S. American where “Anything Goes” at Altarena Playhouse. I promise you will be lifted up.
“Anything Goes” continues at Altarena Playhouse through April 26. For further information click here.
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Rating: **** (For an explanation of TheatreStorm’s rating system, click here.)
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“Anything Goes.” Music & lyrics by Cole Porter. Presented by Altarena Playhouse. Updated book by Timothy Crouse & John Weidman. Director: Laura Morgan. Musical Director: Armando Fox. Choreography: Rachelle King Campodonico. Set Design: Tom Curtin. Lighting Design: Mark Decker. Sound Design: Daniel “Techno” Debono. Costume Design: Jenn Stephens. Property Design: Tom O’Brien. Wig/Hair Design: Jeremy Letheule. Intimacy Director: Heather Ondersma.
Cast:
Billy Crocker: Nico Jaochico. Reno Sweeney: Seana Nicol. Moonface Martin: Dan Kolodny. Hope Harcourt: Christina Swindlehurst Chan. Bonnie: Erica Hartono. Lord Evelyn: TJ Gassaway. Mrs. Harcourt: Alexis Lane Jensen. Elisha Whitney/Bishop Dobson: Jim Janisch. Charity/Lippy: Sara Jozer. Virtue: Mary Katherine Patterson. Purity/Slug: Isabella Seiden Miller. Tara Roberts: Chastity. Captain: Raymond C. Duval. Reporter/FBI Man/Steward: Myles Wu.
S.S. American Band:
Keyboard/Conductor: Armando Fox. Drums: Ryan Friedman. Bass: Anastasia Preston. Flute, piccolo, clarinet, alto sax: Richard Batelaan. Clarinet, tenor sax: Hal Richards/ Mike Wilson. Trumpet: Matthew Porter. Trombone: Bonnie Maddox.
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