REVIEW 'Anything Goes' hits Akron
A top-notch cast provides a great evening of entertainment.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AKRON -- Carousel Dinner Theatre's revival of Cole Porter's 1930s Broadway classic "Anything Goes" is a fun musical treat.
An impossible plot holds things together just enough to provide opportunities for the stellar cast to perform an array of show-stopping familiar tunes, such as "I Get a Kick Out of You," "All Through the Night," "You're the Top," "Friendship," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," and of course, the title song.
The plot
"Anything Goes" takes place on the dock in New York and aboard the cruise liner S.S. American after it sails for London.
Here's the story. Rookie Wall Street broker Billy Crocker, crushed when he learns of the engagement of the woman he loves, debutante Hope Harcourt, finds himself a stowaway aboard the S.S. American misidentified as Snake Eyes Johnson, Public Enemy No. 1.
Also on board are the sweet Miss Harcourt; her English fianc & eacute;, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh; Crocker's hyper boss, Mr. Whitney; nightclub entertainer-turned-evangelist Reno Sweeny and her quartet of fallen angels Chastity, Virtue, Charity and Purity; Moonface Martin, Public Enemy No. 13, disguised as a pastor; and Erma, a blond bombshell mob moll.
Don't worry. This isn't "Miss Saigon." Everything turns out okay, and along the way to the happy conclusion, a skillful cast provides a great evening of entertainment.
Cast
The principal players are Broadway and regional theater veterans Kirsti Carnahan and Rob Donohoe, who as Reno Sweeny and Moonface Martin, set the musical and comedic bars very high.
Carnahan sings the Ethel Merman songs with verve and skill -- a crowd favorite was "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" with the ensemble; and Sweeny's rendition of "Be Like the Bluebird" made the audience laugh out loud.
Overall, the featured players are top-notch, particularly Katherine Wilfong as Harcourt and Jenn Goodson as Erma. Audience members will no doubt have their favorites, as well.
However, Dominic Roberts as Billy Crocker did not measure up vocally to such an important role.
Last, but certainly not least, were the colorful '30s style costumes, designed by Dale DiBernardo, and the clever set designed by Michael Carnahan. "Anything Goes" is directed by Victoria Bussert.
alcorn@vindy.com