It’s Delightful! It’s Delicious! Music Circus’ Anything Goes is De-Lovely!
A Review by Joan E. Kruger
Staff Writer

What could be better on a balmy summer’s nights than to stroll away from the theater lights whistling a Cole Porter tune? The music, the dancing—everything about Anything Goes makes for a perfect evening! Anything Goes, currently playing at the Music Circus, takes place in 1934 and has all the hallmarks of those beloved screwball comedies of that decade, full of loves gone awry, mistaken identities, and assorted shipboard hijinks, all wrapped up in a neat package of sailors, Betty Boop blondes and a wealthy aristocrat or two. Photo: The Company of Anything Goes, by Charr Crail

Anything Goes takes place on a luxury cruise ship where Billy Crocker (played by Music Circus newcomer David Elder) is a lovesick stowaway hoping to win back his girl, Hope (Natalie Cortez), with the help of his gal-pal, sexy night-club singer Reno Sweeney, played by always-sensational Sacramento favorite Vicki Lewis. Complications arise as Billy dons many disguises to thwart the FBI, who mistakenly think he’s Public Enemy No. 1! He gets some assistance from Moonface Martin, Public Enemy No. 13, brilliantly played by Jason Graae, as he does his best to wrest Hope from the arms of her fiancé, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, played by Music Circus veteran, John Scherer. Photo: David Elder and Natalie Cortez in Anything Goes, by Charr Crail

As usual, the entire cast and ensemble turn in flawless performances. Still, though Billy has stowed away, pining away for Hope, who is secretly pining away for him, too, there didn’t seem to be much chemistry between these two actors. We know that somehow their characters will wind up together in the end anyway, so the audience turned its attention to the other characters and frankly more compelling performances. The real standout performances of the night were those of Jason Graae as Moonface, and John Scherer as the very upper crust, very stuffy—and very funny—fiancé of Hope’s, Lord Evelyn Oakley. Scherer was hilarious in his portrayal of the bumbling Brit, but never so much as in the number, “The Gypsy in Me”, in which he reveals his wild side—and coincidentally his secret love for Reno; he had them rolling in the aisles with laughter. Photo:  Melissa Fahn, Drew Franklin (left) and Elliott Bradley (far left) in Anything Goes, by Charr Crail.

Scherer may have been the best performance of the night, or if not, tied for that honor with Jason Graae, whose comedic timing was flawless, both with the physical schtick and the snappy repartee— not surprising, considering his long list of impressive credits. Graae’s number, “Be Like the Bluebird” drew some hearty guffaws from a delighted audience, as did the comic antics of Kevin Cooney, who played Elisha Whitney, loveable bombast. And let’s not forget about the 1930s requisite Judy Holliday-type “dumb blonde”—Melissa Fahn as Mooney’s moll, Erma, hit just the right note of brass and sass; what a dame!

Which brings us to that other swell dame, Vicki Lewis. Always a show-stopper and pure pleasure to watch, her big number “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” had the “wow!” factor in terms of scope and glitz with the whole ensemble, but something about it seemed a bit contrived; maybe the whole idea of a camp-revival, faith-healing theme seemed oddly out of place aboard ship. Nevertheless, the number worked on its own terms, where Music Circus gets to show off its versatile stage of revolving multi-levels, voices soaring in a swirl of high-stepping halleluiahs and jazz hands. The other big number was of course the title song, “Anything Goes”, featuring the whole cast and ensemble in a tap-dancing extravaganza of chorus girls in crimped blonde curls and their sailor boys in white—this one had the audience on its feet; this is what we came to see! Photo: Vicki Lewis and John Scherer in Anything Goes, by Charr Crail

The timeless music of Cole Porter was the big draw for this reviewer, too, and while the dazzling numbers—well, dazzled, there’s a lot to be said for the other songs, so many of which are considered standards, including the lovely and romantic “ Easy To Love” (Billy and Hope), “I Get a Kick Out of You” (Reno), “It’s De-Lovely” (Billy and Hope), and my personal favorite, “You’re the Top” (Reno and Billy), which never fails to charm the listener. In the end, Billy gets Hope, Reno gets Lord Evelyn, and everyone pairs off, hand in hand, with just a little of that 1930s shimmer still clinging to them like moon dust, as the lights come up and everyone heads home. All in all, Anything Goes delivered just about the perfect evening.

Anything Goes continues through Sunday, July 31st at the Wells Fargo Pavilion, 1419 H Street in Sacramento, CA. Tickets are available by phone at (916) 557-1999, online at www.tickets.com or in person at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office. The Music Circus season continues with Camelot (Aug 2-7). For more information, visit www.SacramentoMusicCircus.com

Back to Top

The Gold Country Times
P.O. Box 897
Sutter Creek, CA 95685
(209) 267-9886
editor@goldcountrytimes.com

The Gold Country Times supports the military mission of our country, and our troops
that risk their lives every day in foreign lands all over the world.




 

Back to Top

 

About Us | Community Calendar  | Contact Us | Editor's Desk | Gold Country Living | Gold Country Links