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John Kinzer
IU Department of Theatre and Drama
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Last modified: Thursday, March 31, 2011

IU Theatre celebrates spring with Cole Porter musical 'Anything Goes'

WHAT: Anything Goes, music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, directed by George Pinney with musical direction by Terry LaBolt.
WHEN: Opens April 15 (Friday) at 7:30 p.m. Additional performances run April 16 (Saturday) and 19-23 (Tuesday-Saturday) at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee performance on April 23 (Saturday) at 2 p.m. Theatre Circle Lectures will present a pre-show talk by Jacobs School of Music professor Vincent Liotta, April 14 (Thursday) at 5:30 p.m. in the Bridgwaters Lounge of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.
WHERE: All performances take place at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre, Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center at 275 N. Jordan Ave. No photography or recording of any kind is permitted during performances.
TICKETS: Regular admission is $22 for adults, $15.00 for students, $16 for senior citizens; Student Rush Tickets are $10 with cash and a valid IU Bloomington student ID on the day of each performance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU Theatre concludes its 2010-2011 season of award-winning plays at the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, April 15, with Cole Porter's farcical ocean-liner antics in Anything Goes.

Anything Goes

Recurrent revivals on Broadway and London's West End -- including a television and two film versions -- are a tribute to this musical's enduring popularity. Anything Goes includes such timeless show tunes as "You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Let's Misbehave" and, of course, "Anything Goes." Tony Award-nominated choreographer George Pinney directs with musical direction by Terry LaBolt. For the first time ever, Pinney has assigned the entire choreography of one of the department's musicals to a student, William Angulo.

"Armed with great imagination and wit, his interpretation of the dancing is exhilarating," Pinney said of Angulo. "He is also an excellent teacher with a brilliant, meticulous approach."

Stowed away aboard the S.S. American, Billy Crocker conspires with a known criminal, Moonface Martin, to win the heart of American heiress, Hope Harcourt. Miss Harcourt, however, is engaged to the ever-dull Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. The hilarious antics that ensue provide this musical with mistaken identities, catchy songs and elaborate tap numbers.

This is Pinney's first return to Anything Goes since he directed it at Auburn High School in Auburn, Illinois, in 1976. "We did the musical in the high school gym with lights made from big, industrial cans from the cafeteria," he said. He describes the IU production as a "crisp, clean, Art Deco-approach to create an environment where sailors always wear tap shoes, public enemies try to do better, and songs are sung at the drop of a champagne bucket."

Pinney said working with the cast and creative team has been "an absolute joy."

The cast is fully composed of IU undergraduates, most from the B.F.A. musical theatre program: Lawrence Evans, Patrick Mars, Ryan Dooley, Jamie Anderson, Kerry Ipema, Erica Johnson, Ethan Carpenter, Marty Brent, Nathan Mittleman, Francesca Arostegui, Aaron Densley, Hannah Slabaugh, Carrie VanDoren, Jenna Schneider, Lexi Lessaris, Cosmo Clemens, CJ Pawlikowski and Evan Mayer. Joining the B.F.A.s are undergraduates Elizabeth Jenkins, Kelsey Breece, Leslie Smith, Leslie Spitznagel, Landon Scott, Joe Giovannetti and AJ Whittenberger.

Bringing their technical skills to the production is a team of student designers, most of whom are presenting their M.F.A. thesis projects: Nick Passafiume (scenic design), Chris Wood (lighting design) and Jenn Sheshko (costume design). Joining those third year M.F.A.s are assistant professor Andrew Hopson (sound design) and second-year M.F.A. Scott Wolfson (technical direction).

To see information about the entire cast and production team, and the rest of the 2010-2011 season of award-winning plays visit theatre.indiana.edu.