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Manchester Musical Players                    

It's Delovely in Manchester with the Musical Players' Latest Production
By Mary Harris

One must wonder how the Manchester Musical Players manage to find all that talent. Their latest effort, the Cole Porter musical classic Anything Goes, proves there is no material this troupe can't conquer.

While the show, which focused on the SS American's transatlantic voyage from America to England, was docked at Cheney Hall in Manchester, the impressive musical score as created by Cole Porter enraptured audiences. The songs include such thirties classics as the inimitable Anything Goes, Friendship, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Blow Gabriel Blow and You're The Top, which are beautifully accompanied by an effective orchestra led by William Pelto. Complete with tap dancing extravaganzas, director Christopher Stone has managed to assemble a cast that does the material justice, and how.

Stone's blocking is clever and creative, matched only by the superlative efforts of his cast. Randy Boyd has great energy and insight into the lead character, Billy Crocker. He makes Billy likeable and believable. He and his love interest Hope Harcourt, played by Marika J. Kraus, give the musical numbers their full value, All Through The Night seems newly minted and is perfectly phrased, bringing out both the wistfulness and underlying eroticism that characterizes the better Porter songs. Kraus gives a superb performance and renders some great musical chops. She is a real pleasure to listen to and handles herself wonderfully on stage.

Michael May plays Evelyn Oakleigh with a classic wit. His stuffy character, who is engaged to Hope, has a good side that only Reno Sweeney (Kristin Chabot-Gauld) manages to bring out. And without giving it all away, May and Chabot-Gauld have one particular scene together that will have you dropping your drawers with laughter.

Chabot-Gauld's performance, who slinks into the sultry role of Reno Sweeny, defines the show; her sheer presence could make you think you were in the golden age of Broadway Theatre 70 years ago. It's also a tribute to her and May's acting that the marriage of their disparate characters seems normal rather than bizarre. Chabot-Gauld adds va-va-voom in a character that calls for plenty of it. Opening night belonged to her. Her beautiful voice rang out through the theatre. She oozed charisma and confidence and was every inch the sassy American songstress. And there was more va-va-voom to go around. Her "Angels", sidekicks that accompany the near-star wherever she goes, are marvelous. The "angels" are: Marguerite Kelly (Chastity), Lisa Garofalo (Purity), Meg Clifton (Virtue), and Leslie Juliani (Charity). They not only add most of the exhilarating tap dancing to the show, but also have some great moments between dance scenes.

While all characters are funny and entertaining, the roles of Moonface (Rob Thornton) and Bonnie (Erin Root) really call for moxy and comical virtuosity. Thornton and Root fill the stylized characters perfectly. Thornton's character is a would-be crook who is more hapless than dangerous. The veteran musical performer flexes plenty of stage muscle in a throwback role to the characters of black and white film. He can take a stale joke and perk it up with some silly physicality, quick timing that outpaces the line's predictability, or a delivery that slyly winks at the audience. I never thought that I would admit, in public, that I enjoyed Be Like A Bluebird, which ranks for me as one of the worst numbers Porter ever wrote. I must haul down my flag, however, after hearing it rendered by Thornton. While locked up with Billy (Boyd) in the ship's brig, he warbles the ditty to cheer Billy up. I loved it and saw for the first time what Porter intended the song to achieve. In addition, in a trio with Chabot-Gauld and Boyd, he puts a shine on the old warhorse, Friendship, and one wished that Porter had written more numbers for the part, as Thornton is a comedian with style. He darn near walks off with the show. Meanwhile, Root, with a cute Brooklyn accent and a knack for being able to "borrow" sailor outfits from unsuspecting (but uncomplaining) sailors is no angel, but she might be considering a career move as she leads Reno's Angels in a little Heaven Hop. Root is fantastic as the Betty Boop-ish Bonnie. Her tap-dancing and stylized singing is top-rate. She is simply adorable.

It might have seemed like the actors/singers ran the show entirely were it not for the awesome dance numbers. Darlene Zoller's choreography showcased both individual virtuosity (Erin Root, Michael Barker) and feats of ensemble dancing that made you gape. Blow Gabriel Blow showed both elements best and gradually teased the audience's involvement back to levels they'd reached by the end of the first half.

Even the small roles in Anything Goes are well played. The director brings the best out of all his cast members; Hope's overbearing mother, well played by Mary Ann Kelly, would like to see her daughter "marry up," and Samuel Greene in the role as the Captain, in an easy-going and charming way, is there to perform the ceremony. Whitney (Ron Blanchette) carries some hilarious scenes well and Andrew Holl as the Purser and Jim Metzler as the Bishop along with his two Chinese "converts" (Maggie Horton and Tyler McCombe) make the most out of their smaller roles. Also brightening the stage as passengers/singers/dancers were Stacey Constantine, Evan Galatz, Kelly LaCombe, Mal Matthews, Susan Nunes, Pam Thomas and Maria Yates. Pierre Marteney as the Reporter, Marc Mirizzi as the Cameraman and Randy Ronco as the Steward round out the cast in style.

Why should you go see this musical? Because of the songs? Because of the dance numbers? Because of the sets? Because of the performances? In a word - YES. The songs are clever and memorable, the dance numbers lively and a feast for the eyes, the set is fascinating and the performances - vocally, physically and theatrically - are truly first rate. Make it your mission to see this musical. You won't want to miss this boat!

Hats off to all involved!

Playing at Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road in Manchester March 31 - April 8.

--Mary Harris is a freelance journalist for many New England Publications
 

Tickets Available at door.