Chair’s welcome

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our production of “Anything Goes”: a first for

Hitchin Thespians.

The show began its stage life on Broadway in 1934 and has had a number of

revivals both in the States and the U.K. Originally called “Bon Voyage” there were

film versions by Paramount in 1936 and 1956 starring variously Ethel Merman, Bing

Crosby, Donald O’Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire and Mitzi Gaynor.

The plot of the 1962 off-Broadway revival, which you will see tonight, is complex but

centres around a stowaway on board a ship (Billy Crocker) trying to win the heart of

the woman he loves (Hope Harcourt). Amid sub-plots, disguises and subterfuge it

is easy to become confused by who is who and who knows what but of course, as in

all good musicals, everything resolves perfectly in the end.

A special thanks is due to our production team, our musical director, the band, the

lighting and sound crew, wardrobe ladies and the backstage and front-of-house

squads without whom none of this silliness would be possible.

We invite you to sit back and enjoy the wonderful music and lyrics of Cole Porter,

marvel at the energetic tap dancing, laugh at the eccentric characters on stage and

admire the ingenuity of the writers, who include one P.G. Wodehouse. What better

way to spend an evening than at live theatre?

Committee 2019/20

President: Ann Crook

Chair Ian Hamilton

Secretary Matt Kaplan

Treasurer Marianne Bond

Business Manager Barbara Thomas

Production Manager Sarah Cunningham

Choral Manager Cathy Coulthard

Woodside Hall Manager Ian Hamilton

Social and Fundraising Manager Nicole Georges

Memberships and Patrons Manager Nick Morgan

Young Thespians Co-ordinator Claire Bailes

Committee Members Caroline Christofi, Iain Fishpool, Susan Osbourn

Anything Goes Show History For such a celebrated musical, Anything Goes has a surprisingly tortuous history. It was always set aboard a ship, but a real-life tragedy close to the show’s opening in 1934 enforced a significant re-write. The original book writers were Guy Bolton and the English novelist P.G. Wodehouse, but they had already returned to England, so the writing duties were given to Howard Lindsay, the show’s director. He enlisted Russel Crouse, a press agent, to help him. This began a professional partnership which lasted until 1962, the highlight of which was the stage version of The Sound of Music.

Anything Goes was a huge hit on Broadway, becoming the fourth longest-running musical of the 1930s, no doubt helped by the casting of star Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney. It also enjoyed a shorter run in the West End. There followed 2 film ver-sions and then another stage version in 1962 with a radically re-worked plot and dif-ferent song choices (this is largely the version that you are seeing tonight). It has enjoyed major revivals on Broadway in 1987 and 2011 and in the West End in 1989 and 2002. The British production of 1989 was a star vehicle for Elaine Paige, and also gave a young John Barrowman his stage breakthrough.

Cole Porter One of American musical theatre’s giants, Cole Porter has become a by-word for elegant sophistication of both music and lyrics. His talent was evident from a young age, although his musical skills were not seen by all as the passport to his future; when he changed at Harvard from studying law to music, the news was kept for a while from his father. He achieved some success early (his first song to be sung on Broadway was in 1915 when he was aged just 24) but his first proper flop followed shortly after. During the next few years he kept writing songs and honing his craft, producing amongst others Let’s Misbehave, Let’s Do It and What Is This Thing Called Love? Anything Goes arrived in 1934, partly as a star vehicle for Ethel Merman, and was an instant hit. Unfortunately 3 years later he was injured in a riding accident, which left him in pain for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, he continued to write and the classics kept coming: Don’t Fence Me In, Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye, True Love, Well Did You Evah? What some consider to be his masterpiece, Kiss Me Kate, was first performed on Broadway 1948 and has been revived frequently on both the amateur and professional stage. Porter continued to write throughout the 1940s and 50s until complications from his riding accident meant that he had to have his injured leg amputated. He died in October 1964, his legacy as one of the greatest song-writers in the English language secure. Among his accolades are a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, membership of the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame, has had two films dedicated to his life story and numerous albums and tribute shows dedicated to him (Cole, Red Hot and Cole, Hot’n’Cole and The Decline and Fall of the Whole World As Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter). Such is the size and quality of his back catalogue that the website Broadway World has compiled a list entitled The Top 100 Cole Porter Songs (in case you were wondering, the highest entry for a song from this show is ‘Let’s Misbehave’ ranked at number 4).

1902 The Gitanos 1904 The Sorcerer 1905 The Mountebanks The Yeomen of the Guard 1906 The Pirates of Penzance 1907 The Gondoliers 1908 The Mikado 1909 H.M.S. Pinafore 1910 Ruddigore Trial by Jury 1911 The Yeomen of the Guard 1913 Les Cloches de Corneville Patience 1920 The Gondoliers 1921 The Mikado 1922 The Pirates of Penzance The Yeomen of the Guard 1923 The Sorcerer Ruddigore 1924 The Gondoliers Iolanthe 1925 The Yeomen of the Guard Merrie England 1926 H.M.S. Pinafore Trial by Jury Patience 1927 Miss Hook of Holland The Mikado 1928 A Country Girl The Geisha 1929 Veronique Princess Ida 1930 Tom Jones 1931 Merrie England The Pirates of Penzance 1932 Rose Marie 1932 The Belle of New York 1933 The Vagabond King The Desert Song 1934 The New Moon 1935 The Maid of the Mountains 1936 Miss Hook of Holland 1937 The Student Prince 1938 Goodnight Vienna 1939 Showboat 1946 The Rebel Maid 1947 The Desert Song 1948 The Gondoliers 1949 Chu Chin Chow 1950 Rose Marie 1951 The Yeomen of the Guard Bitter Sweet 1952 Viktoria & Her Hussar 1953 The New Moon 1954 Wild Violets 1955 Magyar Melody 1956 The Quaker Girl 1957 Call me Madam Goodnight Vienna 1958 Bless the Bride 1959 Love from Judy 1960 Oklahoma

1961 Carousel 1962 The Merry Widow Hansel & Gretel 1963 Kiss Me Kate 1964 Pink Champaigne 1965 The Music Man 1966 The King & I Trial by Jury 1967 Orpheus in the Underworld 1968 Half a Sixpence 1969 Carmen 1970 Kismet 1971 The Merry Widow 1972 Hello Dolly The Sound of Music 1973 Most Happy Fella 1974 Night in Venice 1975 South Pacific 1976 Bitter Sweet The Beggars’ Opera 1977 The Yeomen of the Guard Robert & Elizabeth 1978 Die Fledermaus 1979 Fiddler on the Roof 1980 Showboat 1981 Hello Dolly 1982 Orpheus in the Underworld 1983 Grease The Music Man 1984 Carousel 1985 The Merry Widow 1986 Salad days Trial by Jury The Pirates of Penzance 1987 West Side Story Kismet 1988 Annie Get Your Gun 1989 The Boy Friend The Mikado 1990 My Fair Lady 1991 Cabaret Kiss Me Kate 1992 Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat * The Sound of Music Oklahoma 1993 Smike * H.M.S. Pinafore Trial by Jury 1994 Charlie Girl Guys and Dolls 1995 Barnum A Little Night Music 1996 The Pirates of Penzance 42nd Street 1997 La Cage Aux Folles Hello Dolly 1998 Chess Crazy For You

1999 Singin’ in the Rain Oliver! 2000 South Pacific Mack and Mabel 2001 Half a Sixpence King and I 2002 My One and Only Carmen 2003 Barnum West Side Story 2004 Jesus Christ Superstar Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 2005 Carousel Kiss Me Kate 2006 Jekyll and Hyde the Musical The Full Monty Me and My Girl 2007 The Mikado The Full Monty ** Thoroughly Modern Millie 2008 Calamity Jane Chess 2009 Fiddler on the Roof Sweeney Todd 2010 The King and I The Music Man 2011 Gypsy The Gondoliers 2012 Oh What a Lovely War Orpheus in the Underworld 2013 A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum Annie Get Your Gun 2014 Man of La Mancha Godspell 2015 Little Shop of Horrors Jack the Ripper 2016 A Tale of Two Cities Chess In Concert 2017 Oliver! HMS Pinafore in Concert 2018 Sister Act Made in Dagenham * Noteable Youth ** Edinburgh Fringe

Past Productions

Sarah Bailes— Co-Director and

Choreographer

Sarah is delighted to be working with fellow Hitchin Thespians once again having been a member for 26 years. Favourite highlights have been playing Miss Flannery in Thoroughly Modern Millie, choreographing The Small House of Uncle Thomas Ballet from The King and I and The Library Dance from The Music Man and directing Oliver! at the Queen Mother Theatre in 2017. Having previously performed in both versions of Anything Goes, Sarah has once again taken on the role of director and enjoyed working alongside Alison Hudson on this crazy musical farce!

John Edwards—Musical Director

Since coming to Hitchin Thespians in 1987, John has enjoyed many roles in the society. Joining first as a member of the basses, he went on to tread the boards in both chorus and principal roles, acted as accompanist for many concert performances and directed the popular touring Footlights group. Appointed as one of Thespians’ musical directors in 1992 he has devised and directed many concerts. To date, he has fronted no fewer than 15 of the society’s full stage musicals and is looking forward to adding Anything Goes to the list.

Alison Hudson—Co-Director

Alison is a familiar face to Thespians’ audiences, having played such varied roles as Widow Corney in Oliver! and Sonia in Godspell. Most recently she moved audiences with her portrayal of the steadfast Connie in Made in Dagenham. Alison is also involved with the Bancroft Players at the Queen Mother Theatre and she often works with youth groups to share her love of theatre and performing.

Reno—Gina Abbatt

Gina joined Thespians in 2004 for Jesus Christ Superstar, playing Mary Magdalene. Subsequent roles for Thespians have included: Lois (Kiss Me, Kate), Julie (Carousel), Vicki (The Full Monty), Pitti Sing (Mikado), Dorothy (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Adelaide (Calamity Jane), Music Hall Singer/ Nurse (Oh! What A Lovely War), Annie (Annie Get Your Gun), Domina (A Funny Thing…), Aline (The Sorcerer), Aldonza (Man of La Mancha), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Crystal (Little Shop of Horrors) and Florence (Chess). Other favourite roles sung include: Sister Margaretta (The Sound of Music), Witch (Into the Woods), Mistress (Evita), Carmen (Carmen), Liz (High Society) and Luisa (Nine).

Billy—Colin Wilson Colin joined Hitchin Thespians 15 years ago and has performed regularly with them ever since. Among other shows, he has appeared in Calamity Jane (in drag), The Full Monty (in nothing at all) and Little Shop of Horrors, where he was eaten by a plant! He often says there’s very little he hasn’t done on stage, but the sheer number of accents required in Anything Goes has been a surprise. When not on stage Colin enjoys spending time with his family.

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Behind the Scenes

Production Manager Sarah Cunningham

Stage Manager Philippa Tadman

Set Design Rosemary Bianchi

Stage Crew and Construction Iain Fishpool, Cliff Gulbis, Clive Hall,

Neil Leggat, Viv Stephenson

& Nigel Woodbridge

Lighting and Sound Alan Bailes

Wardrobe Cathy Coulthard

Costumes supplied by Harlequin Costume Hire and Hitchin Thespians

Props Jo Gordon

Tap sequence by Yvonne Sibbald

Front of House Managers Ann Crook, Sarah Cunningham & Matt Kaplan

Publicity Barbara Thomas

Bar Manager Susan Osbourn

Box Office Managers Nick and Nicki Morgan

Publicity Artwork Claire Bailes

Programme Editors Barbara Thomas & Cathy Coulthard

Programme Photos Naomi Woodhouse

Foyer Display Athena Woodbridge & Barbara Thomas

Printing Stageprint

FUTURE PRODUCTIONS!

Christmas at Woodside 12—14 December 2019

Seussical jr. 20—22 February 2020

Return to the Forbidden Planet 21—25 April 2020

Hope—Melanie Plowman-Cobb Melanie is thrilled to be playing the part of Hope in this production. She's been an active member of Hitchin Thespians for the last 16 years. Her favourite performances include Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), HMS Pinafore (Josephine), Merrie England (Bessie), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Philia), The King and I (Tuptim), Orpheus in the Underworld (Diana), Fiddler on the Roof (Tzeitel), The Gondoliers (Casilda) and especially the role of Louise/Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy. She's also performed in The Full Monty and Nine at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Melanie enjoys spending time with her 4-year old twins who so far seem to have been bitten by the musical theatre bug, just like their mummy.

Evelyn—David Lodge David is delighted to be returning to Woodside Hall where he last appeared with his partner Gina in Thespians’ award-winning production of The Man of La Mancha. He has also has enjoyed many happy times at The Boxmoor Playhouse in Hemel Hempstead in a variety of productions with HHTC, most recently in Spamalot, Stones in His Pockets, Pride and Prejudice and 12 Angry Men. Panto roles include Captain Hook, an Ugly Sister in Cin-derella, King Rat, Gloria in Beauty and the Beast and this year as Mother Goose.

Bonnie—Nicole Georges Nicole has been a member of Hitchin Thespians since she was 14, starting as a Young Thespian performing in Oklahoma, Aladdin, Below Stairs and The Wiz. At 16 she took part in her first Hitchin Thespian show, The Music Man. She has now performed in The King and I, Little Shop of Horrors, Sister Act and played the role of Sandra in Made in Dagenham. Nicole also directs the Young Thespian shows, directing The Wizard of Oz, Madagascar Jr., My Son Pinocchio and their current show, Seussical. Nicole is the Head of Drama at a local secondary school and particularly enjoys teaching more abstract methods of performance to her students.

Moon—Mike Barker Mike has performed many character roles for Hitchin Thespians such as Alexander Molokov in Chess, Curtis Shank in Sister Act, Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors and Harold in the Edin-burgh Festival production of The Full Monty. Mike has also enjoyed taking lead roles elsewhere such as Eric 'Rubber-Legs' Devine in A Slice of Saturday Night, Dr. Whackoff in Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens, Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady, the Narrator in Blood Brothers and Daddy Warbucks in Annie as well as singing The Peace-makers by Karl Jenkins at Carnegie Hall, New York. He has been performing, directing and choreographing shows and Pantos locally for many years and is very much looking forward to this production with all his friends at Hitchin Thespians.

On the afterdeck Evelyn is attempting to care for Hope, only for Billy to turn up dressed as a woman. His disguise is successful, until he makes the mistake of riling Mrs Harcourt by sitting in her chair, whereupon she unmasks him and he runs off. He finds a new disguise (chef) and then acquires both a beard and a new alter ego – a European Count. This charms Mrs Har-court and enables him to stay with Hope – for now. Moon’s clerical disguise causes more prob-lems as he is asked to take responsibility for the Chinese converts who boarded with the now-arrested Bishop. The Purser invites Moon to a trap shooting contest which he accepts – provid-ing he can bring his own gun, with predictable results. Mrs Harcourt finally rumbles Billy’s latest disguise, which leads the Purser to the obvious conclusion that Billy must be Snake Eyes John-son. He puts Billy under arrest, only to be reprimanded by the Captain who, needled by com-plaints about the lack of celebrities on board, announces that they should celebrate having a gangster on board. Reno sums up the topsy-turviness of the situation by singing Anything Goes. Act II Passengers and crew join in with a chorale-type number singing the praises of Public Enemy Number One. Bonnie declares that this is all too gloomy and that they should celebrate instead (Let’s Step Out). Far from being thrown into the brig, Billy is being asked for autographs and given a luxurious suite, but all he wants is to be reunited with Hope, who is monumentally unimpressed by him impersonating a criminal. Evelyn and Reno continue to bond (Let’s Misbe-have) and the Captain asks Reno and Moonface to lead the passengers in worship. This re-sults in a surprising confession from Sir Evelyn and a revelation from Billy of his true identity (Blow, Gabriel, Blow). Five days later, both Billy and Moon are now back in the brig and Billy is pining for Hope (All Through the Night). Moon attempts to cheer him up by looking on the bright side (Be Like the Bluebird). Bonnie appears at a porthole and offers to bring Hope to see Billy (All Through the Night Reprise) whereupon she explains that she is shortly to be married off to Evelyn in an on-board ceremony. Billy’s urge to escape is higher than ever. The Chinese converts are also thrown in for gambling, giving him an idea... Reno sings of her homesickness for her own city (Take Me Back to Manhattan) and tries to get Evelyn to respond to her, but he feels honour-bound to wed Hope. The ceremony proceeds but in time-honoured fashion is interrupted at the last minute by...some surprise guests. All is somehow resolved and everyone joins in for a rousing rendition of You’re The Top and Any-thing Goes.

Come and join Hitchin Thespians for a

fund-raising Quiz Night on Friday the 8th of November. £10 per

person, including a fish and chip supper. To book your place email:

secretary@hitchinthespians.org.uk

Synopsis Act I The setting is the liner S.S American, due to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to England (Overture). A newspaper reporter and camera man are waiting to interview the rich and famous passengers boarding in search of gossip and sensationalism for their paper. The passengers include a Wall Street business man, Elisha J. Whitney and his ultra-efficient assistant Billy Crocker, the evangelist-turned-nightclub-singer Reno Sweeney along with her backing singers, (the 4 Angels), Bishop Henry T. Dobson and the wealthy socialite Mrs Harcourt with her beauti-ful daughter, Hope, and Hope’s fiancée, English aristocrat Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. Also sneaking aboard is small-time crook Moonface Martin (disguised as a clergyman) and his ‘moll’ Bonnie, attempting to hide from the cops. They aim to meet up with Public Enemy Number One, Snake-Eyes Johnson, in order to boost Moonface’s own lowly Public Enemy status of Number 13. Despite sorting everything out admirably for his employer, Billy Crocker is fired (again) but soon reinstated when he proves his usefulness. He and Reno are old friends and sing a duet as a testament to their mutual admiration (You’re the Top). Billy then bumps into Hope, with whom he had a brief fling, and discovers the devastating news that she is to be married to an English toff. He therefore resolves to stay on board in order to win back her heart, despite his lack of ticket, money or luggage. The FBI arrive having got wind of Moonface Martin’s presence and disguise. In the confusion, the real clergyman gets arrested and Moonface cheerily wishes him Bon Voyage as the ship sets sail. Moonface is under the impression that Billy distracted the arrest team with the Bishop intention-ally, and is overwhelmingly grateful. He gives Billy the ticket and passport intended for Snake-Eyes Johnson. Later that night, we discover Hope and Evelyn on the deck. Hope wants a ro-mantic interlude but Evelyn is consumed by sea-sickness - which is not helped by Billy who arrives with a lurid description of the swells approaching. Evelyn rushes off to lie down leaving Hope and Billy all alone in the moonlight...so naturally, they sing a duet (It’s Delovely). The following morning Billy is fretting about the fact that his cabin is right next door to his boss (who believes he is still back in Wall Street, working diligently for him) so Moonface, still anxious to return the favour, tricks the short-sighted Whitney into losing his glasses. The Purser visits to announce that they have received a telegram and are now looking for Snake-Eyes Johnson who is supposed to be occupying that cabin. Billy decides that to evade capture he must dis-guise himself as a member of the crew. Back on deck Bonnie auditions to become one of Reno’s Angels (Heaven Hop). Hope is dizzy with joy after her time spent with her true love, Billy, but Evelyn is oblivious to her emotional state. Meanwhile, Billy has wangled himself a sailor suit asks Reno to keep Evelyn occupied. As it happens, he is a fan of Reno’s, having proposed to Hope in her nightclub, and a meeting with him is easily arranged. Moonface suggests using her date with him as a blackmail oppor-tunity. The three friends then swear undying loyalty (Friendship). Back in the cabins, Reno at-tempts to seduce Sir Evelyn but he proves (as she predicted) to have a ‘high boiling point’ and her efforts are unrewarded...although she finds herself strangely intrigued by him (I Get a Kick

Members of the Band Reed 1 Chris Pettitt Reed 2 Sue Pettitt Bass Tom Chaplin Percussion Dan Wild Keyboard John Edwards

Captain / Bishop - Ian Hamilton Ian has been a member of Hitchin Thespians since 1982. His first role was Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld in that year. Perhaps his favourite part has been the Emcee in Cabaret, closely followed by Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. He is now retired and modestly denies his own incompetence!

Whitney—Mike Roberts Mike joined Thespians back in 1983 and has lost count of how many shows he has taken part in. His favourite roles so far have to be Mendoza in Jack the Ripper and Harold Wilson in Made in Dagenham, even if the latter did involve appearing in nothing but a pair of Union Jack swimming trunks!

Mrs Harcourt - Barbara Thomas A Thespian member since 1993, Barbara has taken part in many shows and concerts, her favourites being Barnum, Godspell and the recent Sister Act, in which she played Mother Superior. She has also played both Svetlana and The Arbiter in Chess (but not at the same time). She is very excited about her next project, co-directing Christmas at Woodside 2019. For a day job she works as a catering assistant at a local garden centre and in her spare time she is the author of the children’s book blog Storybook Names.

Cast List

Reno Sweeney Gina Abbatt Billy Crocker Colin Wilson

Hope Harcourt Melanie Plowman-Cobb

Sir Evelyn Oakleigh David Lodge

Moonface Martin Mike Barker Bonnie Nicole Georges

Mrs Harcourt Barbara Thomas

Whitney Mike Roberts

Angels—Chastity Juliette Albone

Charity Claire Bailes

Purity Jade Newman Turner

Virtue Athena Woodbridge

Bishop / Captain Ian Hamilton

Purser Iain Fishpool Steward Mark Savage

Reporter / Ching Judith Coen

Cameraman / Ling / Drunk Bryan Summers

Crew Julie Dawson

Belinda Gee

Carolyn Roberts

Dancers Frances Aylin

Sue Rayner Heather Kynnersley

Hannah Woodhouse

Passengers Jilly Dickinson

Lilian Dixon

Chris Read

Vivienne Tadman

Musical Numbers

Act I

Opening Orchestra

You’re The Top Billy and Reno

Bon Voyage Full Company

It’s Delovely Billy, Hope and Chorus

Heaven Hop Bonnie and Girls

Friendship Billy, Reno and Moon

I Get A Kick Out Of You Reno

Anything Goes Reno and Chorus

INTERVAL

Act II

Public Enemy Number One Chorus

Let’s Step Out Bonnie and Chorus

Let’s Misbehave Reno and Sir Evelyn

Blow, Gabriel, Blow Reno and Chorus

All Through The Night Billy and Hope

Be Like The Bluebird Moon

All Through The Night (Reprise) Billy and Hope

Take Me Back To Manhattan Reno and Angels

Finale Full Company

Warning: gunshot sound effect