By Mia Fatuzzo ’15, News Section Editor

Anything Goes, which opens tonight at CCDS, is unique in that it truly requires its actors and actresses to not only sing and act but also dance. More specifically, to tap dance. Country Day performers prepared for their tap numbers with weekly tap dance instruction beginning in the fall. Their hard work paid off. The first act closes with an exciting tap dance to the musical’s namesake number, led by Reno Sweeney (Elizabeth Miler ’15/Hannah Taylor ’15) and her angels. That our petite Upper School assembled a cast of nearly forty and tackled the vibrant and busy “Anything Goe”s demands admiration. The sizable ensemble cast provides the show with constant energy.

The show follows the complicated love parallelogram of Reno, Hope Harcourt (Elizabeth Grace ‘15/ Claire Beyette ‘15), Billy Crocker (Jack Hupper ‘15), and Evelyn Oakley (Teja Atluri ‘16). The first scene depicts a frustrated Reno “practically proposing” to her uninterested beau Billy. Reno then departs for England aboard the SS American. Billy ultimately follows in pursuit of not Reno but the beautiful socialite Hope. Billy’s dream girl is, unfortunately, engaged to the British “teabag” Evelyn Oakley. This outlined tangle of affections sets the stage for a musical busy with rousing numbers and entertaining characters.

The SS American is infiltrated with a variety of colorful characters, from notorious gangsters posing as ministers to busy Wall Street brokers. Lynn Im ’15 and Kathryn Burress ’16 shine as Erma, a small-time gangster’s (Connor Wiley ’15) flirty and frank sidekick. David Yang ’16 and Zach Stacy ’17 are strong as the authoritative yet adaptable Captain and Purser. The show, with lyrics and music by Cole Porter and book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, made its Broadway debut in 1934. It features well-known show tunes such as You’re the Top and, of course, Anything Goes. The production’s popularity has ebbed and flowed over the decades, but Sutton Foster’s Tony-winning performance in an acclaimed 2011 Broadway revival propelled Cole Porter’s charming musical back into the spotlight. But Country Day breathes vitality and fun into Porter’s aging production. I’m not sure what “you’re Garbo’s salary” means, why “you’re a Coolidge dollar” is a compliment, or who Mae West is. As Reno points out, “Times have changed, and we’ve often rewound the clock, since the Puritans got a shock, when they landed on Plymouth Rock.”   We’ve probably wound the clock a few more times since Porter first wrote that line in the early 30s. Country Day’s playful take on the production allows all those crazy things we do for love—a universal theme—to take center stage.

Reno: Elizabeth Miller ’15 (Thursday, Saturday night), Hannah Taylor ’15 (Friday, Saturday matinee)

Billy: Jack Hupper ’15

Moonface: Connor Wiley ’15

Hope: Elizabeth Grace ’15 (Thursday, Friday), Claire Beyette ’15 (Saturday matinee, Saturday night)

Evelyn: Teja Atluri ’16

Erma: Lynn Im ’15 (Thursday, Saturday night), Kathryn Burress ’16 (Friday, Saturday matinee)

Mrs. Harcourt: Megan Campbell ’16 (Thursday, Saturday night), Kayla Chisholm ’16 (Friday, Saturday matinee)

Mr. Whitney: Ben Paff ’16

Purser: Zack Stacy ’17

Captain: David Yang ’16

Luke: Leonard Behrens ’15

John: Stephen Liao ’15

Angels: Pratiti Ghosh-Dastidar ’15, Kirsten Simpson ’15, Carmelita Mays ’16, Lily Hill ’17, Anna Beyette ’17