Trowbridge Amateur Operatic Society. “Anything Goes”

The Arc Theatre. May 2003.
________________________

With delightful music and Lyrics by Cole Porter, this hilarious comedy is overflowing with bizarre situations. It needs to be presented at a fast pace, and it was.

Yet again the chorus singing was of a very high standard and the choreography by Felicity Courage was most energetic and well performed, especially by the angels.

The simple but imaginative set was well constructed with the Orchestra cleverly placed on the bridge of the S.S. American. The six musicians under the Direction of Harold Jones performed well and really brought the score to life.

The costumes looked really fresh and colourful and were correct for the 1934 period.

The casting was very good, even Willow as cheeky. Caroline Schmidt as Reno Sweeney was most impressive. With her good looks and fine singing voice she was an obvious choice for this part. Matt Heaton sustained the part of Billy Crocker really well and proved again what a good comedy actor he is.

Hope Harcourt was portrayed by Mari Webster with dignity and Ann Berry was most impressive as Evangeline Harcourt. I was delighted with Hannah Lockwood’s Erma. Her bubbly personality was infectious throughout and her “Buddie, Beware” almost stopped the show. Ian Bell was impressive as the Captain and Gareth Lloyd as the Perser gave a well controlled performance and sang extremely well. In a character part you can always rely on Bob Knowles to give a superb performance and he did not disappoint as Elisha Whitney. Paul Butler’s interpretation of Lord Evelyn Oakleigh was hilarious. I have never seen a vetter performance of this character and his “Gypsy In Me” was outstanding. Pete Grant as Moonface Martin did not miss a trick. He produced every ounce of comedy from his character, sang well and really got into this part. Director Colin Lindzey can be well satisfied with a presentation that was not only well received, but quite memorable for all the right reasons.

Alec J. Ruddick.

N.O.D.A. Regional Representative.