Previews: ANYTHING GOES at Stamford All-School Musical

The Stamford All-School Musical is back with its 17th semi-professional production. This year it’s the perennially popular show, Anything Goes, a musical that has not been performed for several years in Lower Fairfield County.

This production uses the new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman instead of the original book by P.G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. This 2022 revised version is the latest one. The toe-tapping music and lyrics by Cole Porter remain forever popular among theater goers.

The cast is comprised of seasoned young players, some of whom are serious about making a career for themselves in show business. They have plenty of confidence, training, commitment, and stage experience. We urge casting directors to see them perform because the Stamford All-School Musicals are just a step away from being an Actors Equity showcase production. As one ex-New Yorker remarked in the past, “The talent is just amazing.”

The show takes place on the New York to London-bound ship, the S.S. American. Kate Morton, a gifted actress and singer, stars as Reno Sweeney, a former evangelist turned nightclub singer. Stamford theater’s local heartthrob Niko Rinaldi plays Billy Crocker, her friend and lovelorn Wall Street broker who is trying to win over Hope Harcourt (Cooper Toland), who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Paul Ferris). Also onboard are Hope’s mother, Evangeline (Ava Sanchez), Elisha Whitney’s, Billy’s boss (Eli Donahue), conman Moonface Martin – aka Public Enemy #13 – (played by the amazingly talented Michael Faherty, and his moll, Erma (Sabrina Farley). Reno’s “angelic” showgirls are played by Mia Carrizzo, Isla Cruz, Kaylee Deenihan, Lola Duhov, Sunia Gadtaula, Lilah Gordon, Beverlyn Lopez, Sydney Mann, Kaitlyn Miranda, and Olivia Sosa. Sebastian Colfer and Quentin Boyd play Spit and Dippy, respectively. The ship’s captain and purser are played by Quincy Flores and Kyle Rogers. Peter Donahue plays Henry T. Dobson. James Kolman plays the bartender and is also part of the male quartet along with Tyson Cantave, Danny Degtyur, and Jeremy Sliss. In the ensemble are Izzy Anderson, Elizabeth Brown, Madison Cabanas, Blake Chakrin, Addison Clear, Katherine Curry, Lilian Del Portillo, Dina Hamrane, Skyla Johnson, Ellery Kasinskas, Charlotte Lupinacci, Miriam Mann, Reese Moe, Evan Montague, Zuko Ranganathan, Hannah Ruhr, Riley Sargent, Poppy Sisko, Chloe Soto, Sarah Strom, Stella Supple, Sadie Swanberg, Julianna Trudeau, Lee Vazquez, Lily Wachsman, Colette Witherspoon, and Penelope Zimmer.

Some of these performers are doing their last Stamford All-School Musical because they are graduating in June 2025 and will be off to college. The next time you’ll see some of them will be in regional theater, touring productions and, hopefully, on Broadway, on television and on the big screen. It’s always exciting to be among the first to see extraordinary talent.

Behind the scenes are stage crew members Alice Brown, Sofia Cartagena, Gemma Churchill-Joell, Hazel Horta, Elizabeth Kanev, Basil Lintern, Penelope Lopedota, Xavier Marks, Aviva Moss, Leo Ross, Daniel Sandford, and Abigail Sosa.

Stamford theater lovers can again thank Nancy Freedman and Amy Guttman for producing yet another theatrical extravaganza. Linda Duci is the director and choreographer. Music director is Zachary Kampler is back, as are production manager/sound designer/engineer Daniel Bria, technical director JP Misciagna, and lighting designer Andrew Patashnik. This team has been working together for years to bring large scale musicals to Stamford with performers from 13 area schools. That’s a huge feat and incredible that they’ve been doing this for almost 20 years.

The performances will take place at Rippowam Middle School, 381 High Ridge Road in Stamford, close to many family-friendly restaurants. There is ample free parking. Opening night is Saturday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m., and subsequent shows are on Sunday, December 8 at 3:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, December 13 and 14 at 7:30, and Sunday, December 15 at 3:00. Orchestra seats purchased online are $17.00 for adults, $12.00 for students and seniors plus a $3.00 handling fee. Tickets at the door are $20.00 for adults and $15.00 for students and seniors, as available. For tickets and more information, please visit https://stamfordallschoolmusical.org.

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