Hillbarn Theatre opens its 2019–20 season with the Beaumont 1987 version of the hilarious maritime musical, Anything Goes. The recipient of three Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards, Anything Goes will perform at Hillbarn Theatre — 1285 East Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City — Aug. 29 – Sept. 15.
A hilarious shipboard romp, Anything Goes brings music, dance, laughs, and the age-old tale of Boy Meets Girl. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, an original book by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, and a new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, this classic musical features hits including “I Get A Kick Out Of You,” “You’re The Top,” “Bon Voyage,” “Friendship,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “Anything Goes,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” “Be Like The Bluebird,” “Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye,” and “All Through The Night.”
The Beaumont 1987 version starring Patti LuPone, Howard McGillin and Bill McCutcheon performed on Broadway for 784 performances. In 2011, the show was revived at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway, where it played for 521 performances and starred Sutton Foster and Joel Grey.
“We’re thrilled to welcome audiences back to Hillbarn Theatre for a hilarious evening aboard the S.S. American,” said Dan Demers, Hillbarn Theatre’s Executive Artistic Director. “With multiple love triangles, mistaken identities, and heartfelt renditions of classic songs, you’ll get a kick out of our cast all through the night.”
Under the direction of Lee Ann Payne, Anything Goes features Dan Demers as the google-eyed tycoon, ‘Elishah Whitney;’ Nathaniel Rothrock as his assistant, ‘Billy Crocker;’ Caitlin McGinty as ‘Reno Sweeney,’ a sexy evangelist turned nightclub singer; Chris Reber as ‘Moonface Martin,’ a hapless gangster; Jessica Maxey of Santa Clara as ‘Erma;’ Melissa Momboisse as the debutante ‘Hope Harcourt;’ engaged to the wealthy Englishman ‘Lord Evelyn Oakley,’ played by Santa Claran Mike Rhone; and Zaya Kolia as the Captain of the S.S. American. Rounding out the cast are Rachelle Abbey, Kyle Arrouzet, Alyson Chilton, Andrew Kracht, Michelle Morales, Ron Munekawa, Fiona O’Neill, and Mike Saenz.
The creative team for Anything Goes includes Benjamin Belew (Vocal Director), Kuo-Hao Lo (Scenic Designer), Michael Saenz (Assistant Choreographer), Brandie Larkin (Sound Designer), Christina Sturken (Prop Designer), Pam Gray (Lighting Designer), and Sharron Peng (Costumes, Hair & Make-up).
Single tickets for Anything Goes range in price from $37 – $60 and are available now by calling 650-349-6411 ext. 2 or visiting www.hillbarntheatre.org. The musical runs Aug. 29 – Sept. 15.
Coming Up
Up next, Hillbarn Theatre presents the satirical farce, It’s Only a Play (Oct. 10 – 27); the Tony Award-winning musical, Newsies (Dec. 5 – 22); the Broadway sci-fi cult musical, Little Shop of Horrors (Jan. 23 – Feb. 9, 2020); the play, Laughter on the 23rd Floor (March 12 – 29, 2020); and the critically-acclaimed musical, La Cage Aux Folles (May 7 – 24, 2020).
Hillbarn Theatre closes its season with the world premiere play The Four Gifts (June 18 – 21, 2020).