Review: 'Anything Goes' at Pomperaug High School

Dedicated to Paul Daniger, with best wishes for a wonderful retirement

“You’re the Top…”

Southbury, CT - Pomperaug Theatre Company and Music Department proudly presents the Beaumont version of ANYTHING GOES this weekend on the Pomperaug Regional High School auditorium stage.

Of course ANYTHING GOES contains the classic music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The new book was written by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. The 1987 Beaumont version has twice as much dance music as the 1962 version, and the orchestration features a shipboard sound derived from the utility band and on-deck acoustics.

Music, dance, laughs, and the age-old tale of Boy Meets Girl– no musical puts it on stage better than ANYTHING GOES! A hilarious shipboard romp set in the 1930s, wrapped around one of Cole Porter’s most magical scores, ANYTHING GOES truly is Delightful, Delicious, and De-Lovely. A bit dated perhaps and not politically correct in parts; Stage Manager Skylar Ahern and Assistant Directors Ben Bernard and Danielle DuVerger mentioned this fact during their curtain speech and encouraged the opening night audience to just enjoy the lighthearted fun.

“Staging a musical is no task for the meek...It seems to demand more hours of work than the building of the pyramids in Egypt. It asks nothing less than a 200% commitment from everyone involved--and their families.” - Director Paul Doniger

Paul E. Doniger, Director of Drama and an English Teacher at PHS, decided to take on this challenging musical for his final production at Pomperaug. The beloved director will retire at the end of the school year. In his director’s note, he expressed his thanks to his two long-time collaborators, the vocal director Ms. Linda Hughes and the director of the orchestra, Mr. John Tzetzo. He also acknowledged the magnificent efforts of the student choreographer Grace Lomaro. Outside of one page for thank yous, the rest of the printed program credits the numerous high school students in the cast, orchestra and crew.

There are many elements that make this show a challenge, starting with the sophisticated music of Cole Porter. The 26 musicians in the pit under the direction of Mr. Tzetzo made it sound easy and they raised the level of this “very musical musical” with their musical skill. Shout out to Clara Meier, the lone violinist in the pit.

Then there is the not-so-small matter of an ocean liner; with the assistance of Ms. Caren Carpenter, the paint and construction crew took care of that challenge. The various set changes were handled nicely as well. Costume Mistresses Marina Marozzo and Emily Douyard gathered tons of period costumes that looked very good. I was extremely impressed with the sound design (led by Tech Crew Head Calvin Hickey.) It was one of the most professional sound execution that I have ever seen at a high school production in an auditorium.

Leading the thirty-member cast as Reno Sweeney was Taylor Dembski, a true triple threat with a fabulous singing voice and plenty of stage presence. She lit up the stage whenever she entered as the evangelist turned nightclub singer. Jason Winter (Jack Kelly in NEWSIES with NewArts) was a natural as Billy Crocker, the young Wall Street broker hopelessly in love with Hope.

Camryn Dembski showed a lovely singing voice as she played the young debutante Hope Harcourt. Izzy Watson was able to shine as her mother, Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt. Jake Nicolari (NEWSIES) displayed fine comic timing in the role of second class gangster Moonface Martin. Ella Storey was adorable in the role of Erma (“Buddie, Beware.”)

Christian Winter (NEWSIES with NewArts) was a delight as the English Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Tim Wolfson played Elisha Whitney. The fun sailor quartet featured Ben Bernard, Logan Nicolari,Morgan Philippe, and Nate King (also the captain.) Taylor Blanco (as Purity,) Autumn Hirschfield (as Chastity,) Lauren SanFanAndre (as Charity,) and Amelia Rosen (as Virtue) made up Reno’s Angel back ups. Dan DeCarli was the ship’s purser and Sean Yaminaka (as John) and Thomas Gilbertie (as Luke) provided some fine comedy to their scenes. Robert Lee played Fred, Emily Puglisi was an FBI agent and Izzy Labonia was a reporter.

Ensemble members included Gabby Ciccarino, Brian Fuscaldo, Corryn Ivey, Natalie Labonia, Grace Lomaro, Hanna Miska, Molly Robinson, and Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theatre alum Gabby Saucier.

Overall, the dancing was well-rehearsed and entertaining. The stage full of dancers for “Anything Goes,” with much tapping, and “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” was impressive. My personal favorite was “The Gypsy in Me” with Evelyn and Reno.

ANYTHING GOES closes at Pomperaug with a 2:30pm matinee on Sunday.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.