Poster by Kate Stone
.The University of Puget Sound (UPS) Theater Department will perform the Tony Award-winning “Anything Goes” this month. The musical comedy set in the 1930s takes place onboard the S.S. American, a luxury liner sailing from New York to England. The ship becomes a stage for a boy-meets-girl story line that unfolds amid a series of comical mishaps and warnings of impending danger.
When you are stuck on a transatlantic ship with an eclectic mix of passengers bound for England, anything goes.
That is the amusing lesson audiences will learn during the University of Puget Sound (UPS) Theater Department’s production of the Tony Award-winning “Anything Goes” this month.
The musical comedy set in the 1930s takes place onboard the S.S. American, a luxury liner sailing from New York to England. With its array of unlikely passengers, the ship becomes a stage for a boy-meets-girl story line that unfolds amid a series of comical mishaps and warnings of impending danger.
Originally based on the book by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, “Anything Goes” features characters ranging from an evangelist-turned-nightclub-singer, to a wealthy heiress, to a man known as Public Enemy No. 13, to an American debutante. The show features the music of Cole Porter, with songs including “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.”
UPS will perform Broadway’s 1987 Vivian Beaumont Theatre version of the musical, which was based on a new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. This version of the Broadway musical won multiple honors, including three Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards.
John Rindo has been teaching theater at UPS since 1990. He will be directing the university’s production.
“The students involved are one of the most talented casts I’ve had here,” Rindo said. “It should be a fun and very engaging night of theater.”
Claire Mason, student and special assistant to the director, completely agrees.
“It’s hard to pick just one person that really stands out, because it’s such an ensemble show,” Mason said. “The actors have created such beautiful characters.”
Another added treat for theatergoers is the live orchestral music that will be performed during the production, under the direction of Gerard Morris.
“It creates a fun, dramatic aspect for the people who are singing the music,” Mason added.
The timeliness of “Anything Goes” could not be better, either. Mason noted that the play was originally written in the 1930s, as America was reeling from the Great Depression. Fast-forward to modern times and Americans are being impacted by similar economic hardships.
“This play is a really fun, happy musical that served as an escape for people during the Depression. That carries on through today.”
“Anything Goes” will be presented in Norton Clapp Theatre in Jones Hall by the School of Music and Department of Theatre Arts at UPS. Performances are scheduled March 24-28 and start at 7:30 p.m. There will be a performance at 2 p.m. on March 28.
Admission is $12.50 for the general public, $8.50 for seniors (55+), non-Puget Sound students and Puget Sound students, faculty and staff. For tickets contact Wheelock Information Center, or order by credit card by calling (253) 879-3419. Tickets will be available at the door.
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