BDACT Opening Night: Anything Goes

(Beaver Dam) It is opening night for the Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre’s main stage summer musical. Anything Goes is the age-old tale of boy meets girl. Jena Berg plays the lead Reno Sweeny, a nightclub singer and evangelist aboard the S.S. American, a luxury liner which is en route from New York to England. Her pal Billy Crocker has stowed away to be near his love, Hope Harcourt, but the problem is Hope is already engaged. With the help of some elaborate disguises, tap-dancing sailors and good, old-fashioned blackmail, Reno teams up with gangster Moonface Martin to help Billy in his quest to win Hope’s heart.

Bryce Muenchow, who plays Billy, explained to us on WBEV’s Community Comment that the play is packed full of some of Cole Porters greatest music like You’re the Top, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Take Me Back To Manhattan and of course the title song Anything Goes. Muenchow notes that the play is an early example of what is now-a-days called a jukebox musical, where the songs have already been written and popularized and the plot of the show weaves the songs together. A modern example of a “jukebox musical” is Mama Mia! which features the songs of the 70’s pop group ABBA.

Anything Goes is on the stage of the Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre for nine performances starting tonight and running through August 12 with 7:30pm evening performances and a pair of 2pm Sunday matinees. The show will be the final summer main stage musical at the North Spring Street building that the theatre troupe has called home for 35 years as in coming months the non-profit will be moving to their new, handicapped accessible Fine Arts Center on Maple Avenue. More information is at www.bdact.org.

 

Listen to BDACT on WBEV’s Community Comment:

 

Watch BDACT on WBEV’s Community Comment:

BDACT talk about “Anything Goes”