Goodspeed's ANYTHING GOES, Starring Rashidra Scott, David Harris and Stephen DeRosa, Sets Sail Today

All aboard! Goodspeed Musicals kicks off its 2016 season at The Goodspeed with the Broadway hit ANYTHING GOES beginning today, April 8, where it will continue through June 16 at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn. Official Press Opening will be April 27, 2016.

Set sail on a "de-lovely" cruise through some of Cole Porter's most famous songs. A brassy nightclub singer, a starry-eyed stowaway and Public Enemy No. 13 are booked on a transatlantic luxury liner bound for romance and laughter. Hum along with an easy-to-love score packed with hits including "I Get a Kick Out of You," "You're the Top," "It's De-Lovely," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" and more! A tap-happy classic docks at Goodspeed for the first time.

ANYTHING GOES features music and lyrics by Cole Porter; original book by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse; with new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. This effervescent musical will be sponsored by Chester Village West, Liberty Bank, Sennheiser and The Shops at Mohegan Sun.

Reno Sweeney will be played by Rashidra Scott (pictured, above), who is currently performing on Broadway as Janelle in Beautiful the Carole King Musical. Her other Broadway credits include Avenue Q, Finian's Rainbow, Hair and Sister Act. Ms. Scott's regional appearances include Dreamgirls at Marriott Lincolnshire, Hairspray at Paper Mill Playhouse, Little Shop of Horrors at STAGES St. Louis (Kevin Kline nomination), Sister Act at Ogunquit and Gateway Playhouse, and Hair at Arizona Theatre Company.

Internationally acclaimed leading man David Harris will play Billy Crocker. Connecticut audiences may recognize Harris from his turn as Jean Valjean in critically acclaimed production of Les Misèrables at CRT this past summer. Mr. Harris hails from Australia where his performances in Into the Woods, Beauty and the Beast, and Legally Blonde garnered several awards. In 2012 he traveled to Singapore to perform the role of Fiyero in Wicked.

Stephen DeRosa, whose Broadway credits include the recent revival of On The Town, Betrayal, The Nance, Henry IV, Hairspray, Into the Woods, and The Man Who Came to Dinner, will play Moonface Martin. For HBO, Mr. DeRosa played Eddie Cantor on the acclaimed series "Boardwalk Empire". Erma will be played by Desiree Davar. Ms. Davar performed on Broadway in the revival of West Side Story. At The Goodspeed, Desiree performed in Half a Sixpence. Hope Harcourt will be played by Hannah Florence, whose Broadway credits include Gigi and Scandalous.

The role of Mrs. Wadsworth T. Harcourt will be played by Denise Lute. An Actors Studio veteran and a film, television and theatre actor, Ms. Lute has been seen at The Goodspeed in Mame and Show Boat. On Broadway, Ms. Lute performed in Monday After the Miracle. Sir Evelyn Oakleigh will be played by Benjamin Howes, who was last seen at The Goodspeed in the 2008 Festival of New Musicals presentation of The Trouble With Doug. On Broadway, Mr. Howes appeared as Asa Keyes in Scandalous, and in [title of show] and Mary Poppins. Kingsley Leggs, who played Mister in the original Broadway production of The Color Purple, will play Elisha J. Whitney. Mr. Leggs also appeared as Curtis Jackson in Broadway's Sister Act. The Purser will be played by Patrick Richwood. Mr. Richwood's credits include the National Tour of Dixie's Tupperware Party and the Off-Broadway productions of It Must Be Him and Peter Pan.

The ensemble includes Brittany Bohn (Goodspeed's Mame,), Sy Chounchaisit , Alison Jantzie (Broadway's Gigi), Jay Aubrey Jones (Broadway's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Cats, Goodspeed's Gotham at The Terris Theatre), John Ramsey, Christopher Shin ( Broadway's Mary Poppins), Karilyn Surratt (a Radio City Christmas Spectacular Rockette, The Merry Widow at The Metropolitan Opera), Sam Tanabe (Broadway's Allegiance), James Tolbert , Edward Tolve (Goodspeed 2012 Festival of New Musicals' Harmony, Kansas) and John T. Wolfe (Goodspeed's A Wonderful Life, the world-premiere of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, and Mame). The swings will be Cooper Taggard and Chiara Trentalange.

ANYTHING GOES will be directed by Daniel Goldstein, who directed the hit Goodspeed productions of Damn Yankees and Hello, Dolly! at The Goodspeed, as well as productions of Snapshots and The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown at The Terris Theatre. On Broadway, Mr. Goldstein helmed the award-winning revival of Godspell. Choreography will be by Kelli Barclay. Ms. Barclay served as Associate Choreographer for Broadway's Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Assistant Choreographer for Broadway's 42nd Street. She also choreographed Goodspeed's Damn Yankees; Hello, Dolly!; My One And Only; and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as well as Hello!, My Baby at The Terris Theatre.

Scenic Design will be by Wilson Chin, who designed the critically-acclaimed Broadway play Next Fall. Mr. Chin also served as an associate/assistant designer to Santo Loquasto on nineteen productions including Broadway productions of Glengarry Glen Ross, Three Days of Rain, Shining City and The Times They Are A-Changin'. Wilson was also an associate designer on the Broadway production of Fela! and Fiddler on the Roof. Costumes will be designed by Ilona Somogyi ,who designed Clybourne Park on Broadway. Lighting Design will be by Brian Tovar, who designed Goodspeed's production of Damn Yankees in 2014. Hair and Wig Design will be by Mark Adam Rampmeyer, whose work has been seen at The Goodspeed in last summer's smash hit La Cage aux Folles, The Most Happy Fella, Good News!, Something's Afoot, 42nd Street, Big River and Half a Sixpence, to name a few. On Broadway, he designed West Side Story, Lysistrata Jones and The Farnsworth Invention. Sound Design will be by Jay Hilton, who is in his 31st season at Goodspeed.

The Music Director for Anything Goes will be Michael O'Flaherty, who is in his 25thseason as Goodspeed's Resident Music Director. William J. Thomas will be assistant music director. Orchestrations will be provided by Dan DeLange, who has created the orchestrations for numerous Goodspeed productions. Casting for Anything Goes is by Paul Hardt of SH Entertainment.

ANYTHING GOES will run April 8 through June 16, 2016 [Official Press Opening April 27, 2017]. Curtain times are Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (with select performances at 2:00 p.m.), Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (with select performances at 6:30 p.m.).

Tickets are available through the Box Office (860.873.8668), open seven days a week, or online at goodspeed.org. For show highlights, exclusive photos, special events and more, visit us at goodspeed.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter @goodspeedmusicl, Instagram and YouTube.

Under the leadership of Executive Director Michael Gennaro, Goodspeed Musicals is dedicated to the preservation, development and advancement of musical theatre. Goodspeed produces three musicals each season at The Goodspeed in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions at The Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals. The first regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains The Scherer Library of Musical Theatre and The Max Showalter Center for Education in Musical Theatre.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride