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Its “Anything Goes” for Simsbury Summer Theatre in
2006
SIMSBURY, Conn., Dec. 28 -- Coming off its very
successful 40th anniversary production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
“Cinderella,” the Simsbury Summer Theatre for Youth (SSTFY) will stage
the classic jazz-age musical “Anything Goes” in August 2006. The
announcement by the organization’s joint board of directors was made
December 27th during the group’s annual holiday party.
The age-old tale of boy-meets-girl and the complications that ensue
intrigue every audience, and no musical puts it on stage better. It's an
amusing story wrapped around one of Cole Porter's most memorable,
magical scores. His terrific songs include It's De-Lovely, Friendship, I
Get A Kick Out Of You, All Through The Night, Anything Goes, You're The
Top, Blow, Gabriel, Blow, Take Me Back To Manhattan and Let's Misbehave.
The theater’s reading committee spent two months sifting through show
possibilities, finally narrowing the list of choices down to four. It
then became the task of the youth and adult executive boards to come to
an agreement. But it didn’t take much discussion before the thirteen
members voted unanimously in favor of “Anything Goes.”
The reaction of the company’s directors also was unanimous.
Gloria Kirwan Gick, who returns for her fourth year as SSTFY’s artistic
director, said it was her first choice, calling “Anything Goes” one of
her all-time favorites. “This is an outstanding Broadway show and is
lots of fun for the cast,” she said. “It’s got fabulous music, a very
funny story line, many parts – both large and small – and a lot for the
chorus to do.”
Joe Campolieta, who will spend his seventh season as the group’s musical
director, calls it an awesome show. "What can I say? It's Cole Porter!
It has great songs, lots of dance and flash, and it’s very clever,” he
said. “The musical challenge will be getting the style of the songs
down. However, given the caliber of our ‘Cinderella’ orchestra and
singers, I'm confident our group can handle anything that comes their
way.”
Choreographer Lesley Lambert, who’ll also spend her seventh year with
SSTFY, echoed her colleague’s sentiments about the quality of the show,
but admitted she has her work cut out for her. “It will be a big, big
challenge for our dancers. There are several styles of dance in the
show, including tap, which isn't a form of dance that you can just teach
on the fly,” Lambert said. “But, I'm a hoofer myself, and I couldn't
imagine anything more fun than staging these tap numbers.”
As for the backstage aspects of the show, Set Designer Jeff Schlichter
is welcoming the creativity needed when staging a production that takes
place almost entirely aboard a ship. “We had a very talented backstage
crew last summer,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to working with
them to bring the ‘high seas’ to life!”
Auditions for “Anything Goes” will be held in early June with detailed
information to be released sometime in May. Rehearsals will begin June
26th with performances scheduled for August 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th at the
Westminster School's Werner Centennial Theater.
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Click here for more information about "Anything Goes"
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