Can an 89-year-old musical be fresh? With music and lyrics by the brilliant Cole Porter and sparkling, witty, and suggestive romantic songs, like “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and the title song “Anything Goes,” the answer is a resounding yes.
Anything Goes runs March 23-26 in Newton North High Schools’ Lasker Auditorium. It’s presented by Theatre Ink, the school’s teaching and working theater, and directed and choreographed by Katie Anne Clarke, with musical direction by Chris Ropolla.
Opening Night Review by Kimberly Gladman
On March 23rd, the opening night audience was delighted by the production’s high production values and terrific performances from the entire cast. Outstanding period costumes, props, sets and lighting design showed off the skills of Newton North’s technical directors and stage crew, while a 15-piece orchestra provided live musical accompaniment. Excellent musical and theatrical direction, dialect coaching, blocking and choreography helped the students and their audience travel back in time to rediscover the pleasures of this classic show. Keohane’s Reno provides the fireball of energy, sass and humor that powers the action, and she and all the other principals are strong singers and actors who bring Porter’s complex and clever lyrics admirably to life. The excellent chorus, meanwhile, provides the energetic singing and dancing that puts ensemble numbers like “Blow Gabriel Blow” and “Anything Goes” over the top.
Two additional highlights are especially worthy of mention. One is the convincing romantic chemistry that Kalish Demaris and Lyons create in the Billy Crocker/Hope Harcourt scenes, which can feel saccharine in less skillful productions.The other is the standout performances in supporting roles by Tarrega Krupala and Metcalf, both of whom contribute comic brilliance and some of the most memorable moments of the night.
Anything Goes was first performed on Broadway, where it was a huge hit in the Great Depression year of 1934. Ethel Merman originated the role of Reno Sweeney in the play and in the movie version, and it’s been revived countless times since then. Ava Lyons, who plays Hope Harcourt in the Theatre Ink production, said, “Golden Age theater is often looked down on as not modern or progressive. In actuality, Cole Porter was already rewriting the way for LGBTQ musical theater with Anything Goes.”
Sophia Keohane, who plays Reno, says her character is “such a fireball and so iconic.” She added, “The show takes place in a time in which women didn’t have a lot of power. Our female characters are struggling to navigate a male-dominated world. The character of Reno is the most self-sufficient woman in the show.”
About her castmates Sophia says, “This cast is crazy talented!” Among the nearly forty “crazy talented” cast members are Jack Kalish Demaris as Billy Crocker, Ava Lyons as Hope Harcourt, Toby Gilpin as “Moonface” Martin, David Tarrega Krupala as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, and Ruby Metcalf as Erma.
Showtimes at Newton North High School are 7:30PM on March 23, 24, and 25, and 2PM on March 26. Purchase tickets online for in-person seating from $12-$20 or for livestream from $8-$16. For more information, contact Adam_Brown@newton.k12.ma.us.
