Anything Goes at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage

Lyric Arts recently opened their closing production of their 2016-2017 season, Cole Porter's Anything Goes. I've seen multiple productions of Anything Goes including the touring production from Roundabout Theatre Company which can be found here.

Anything Goes is a musical about antics abroad the "S.S. American," a ship on its way to London from New York. Reno Sweeney (Jaclyn Juola) is a swanky nightclub singer who boards the ship where she runs into her friend, and stowaway, Billy Crocker (Ty Hudson). Billy hopes that by stowing away on the ship, he can win over the heiress Hope Harcourt (Elizabeth Cassidy) who is aboard the ship with her fiance Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Kyler Chase). Aboard the ship as well is Public Enemy #13 Moon Face Martin (Robert Zalazar) and Erma (Rachel Hudson).

Ty Hudson as Billy Crocker and
Jaclyn Juola as Reno Sweeney

If you've never been to a Lyric Arts production, let me start by saying how much I love their space. It's an intimate 228 space. Scenic Designer Jadyn Vasquez does something different with the set of this production and that is she alludes to the ship being on stage. Most productions of Anything Goes consists of a giant ship in the back ground while her design shows the railing and steps but it is more abstract in a sense. It's beautifully painted with symmetrical colors and I must say I was absolutely in love with it. A huge shout out to Lauri Kraft for her impeccable choreography as well. As I mentioned, Lyric Arts is an intimate space which means it is a little smaller than a lot of stages however Kraft's choreography never once looks messy or too busy in the space. It is clean, precise and, most importantly, so fun to watch!

The Sailor Quartet with Reno Sweeney

The talent in this show is spectacular in every sense of the word. Ty Hudson as Billy Crocker had me swooning in my seat. His voice was smooth and he added the perfect amount of charm to the role. Bob Zalazar as Moonface Martin? Could we have asked for a better casting? Zalazar is hilarious in every role he's cast in. Jessica Scott who played Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt, Hope's mother, brought brilliant caricature facial expressions to her role that you could see all the way from Main street. While Beth Cassidy, as Hope Harcourt, had a beautiful voice and dancing, I felt that her acting to be a little underwhelming and had a lack of choices being made. There seemed to only be one or two levels she was playing on. Reno Sweeney's Angels (Falan Dahl Nuhring, Tara Schaefle, Sommer Walters, and Hannah Weinberg-Goerger) were all wonderfully casted as well as they had the perfect amount of sex appeal without going over the top. The Sailor Quartet (James Ehlenz, Alex Johnson, Josh Palmquist and Armando Ronconi) were some serious all-stars in this show as well. During scene changes they were often acting little mini scenes to distract the audience from the changing scenery, and it worked. I rarely noticed the scenes changing.

Jaclyn Juola as Reno Sweeney

Now let's talk about the leading lady Reno Sweeney, played by Lyric Arts new comer Jaclyn Juola. I was blown out of the water. Her portrayal of Reno was something I'd never seen before. With classical musicals like this, it becomes increasingly hard for actresses, especially young actresses, to not copy other portrayals of the character. Reno Sweeney has been played by many great actresses like Patti LuPone, Sutton Foster and Rachel York. That is not the case with Juola. She still manages to create and allow Reno to become her own character. Juola plays this role a bit more swanky and charming than I've seen before versus a total sex pot. Her tone in her singing is beautiful and again, not an exact copy of any of the soundtracks. After the show I managed to introduce myself and confessed I'd love to see her in a Sondheim show sometime. To be able to belt after an intense tap scene is a remarkable skill and perfect for many Sondheim shows. She is easily one of the best Reno Sweeney's I've ever seen. She is certainly a name that I will be looking for in future productions around the Twin Cities.

Lyric Arts continues to shine through out each production. For anyone who has seen a show here before they will know that Lyric Arts consistently produces extremely high quality work and casts some of the most talented performers in the Twin Cities. That being said, this is one of the best productions I've seen on the Lyric Arts stage.

Anything Goes plays at Lyric Arts Main Street Stage through August 6th. Tickets can be purchased here.