April/May 2014
Page 7
“Anything Goes” Makes Waves: All Star Cast was Unsinkable
Megan Meehan
Staff Writer
Despite the twists and turns involved in its plot, Cole Porter‘s
classic musical comedy ―Anything
Goes,‖ directed by Mr. Steve Shannon was smooth sailing. The show
was presented by the Abington High
Drama Club and ran for three nights
in March inside the Frolio Auditorium. It captivated each audience
and pulled them into the crazy
events that unfold onboard the S.S
American.
There was a lot going on during the
ship‘s journey to England involving
passengers planning their own agendas, gangsters masquerading as ministers, and a nightclub singer with
her aggregation of angels. As cluttered as a story with all of these
elements could become, ―Anything
Goes‖ made its voyage sans an iceberg incident. Billy Crocker, played
by Sean O‘Brien, stows away on the
ship in hopes of winning the heart of
Hope Harcourt, Alessandra Vento‘s
character, who is previously engaged
to Timothy McDonnell‘s character,
Sir Evelyn Oakleigh. Crocker enlists
the help of his friend Reno Sweeny,
the nightclub singer who is played by
Leighann Healy. Sweeny agrees to
help the love-sick Crocker in his
endeavor for Harcourt which ends
up entangling the minister onboard
who Crocker discovers is really
gangster Moonface Martin, brilliantly
portrayed by Riley Morrison. Moonface gets a lot of support from Bonnie (Abigail Budwey), his suprisingly
resourceful accomplice who leads
the company through two big song
and dance numbers, ―Heaven Hop‖
and ―Let‘s Step Out.‖
The musical was steered in the right
direction with the help of musical
director Mrs. Joyce Harrington and
choreographer Ms. Tara McSweeney.
This production was unique for AHS
due to its amount of dancing. Stand
out dancers Caroline Bradbury and
Nicole Bradbury played two of the
Angels, Virtue and Faith. These two
used their talent to raise the level of
performance in the show, partly because of the height their legs reached
in the Angels‘ kick-sequences on
number like ―Anything Goes‖ and
―Take Me Back to Manhattan‖ sang
wonderfully by Healy.
The cast and crew steadily put on a
great show each night, which can be
considered a titanic sized feat. The
high applause that was given was well
deserved.
Reno Sweeny (Leighann Healy) and the
Angels
“There was a lot going
on … involving
passengers planning
their own agendas,
gangsters
masquerading as
ministers, and a
nightclub singer with
her aggregation of
angels”
— Megan Meehan
“Newsies” – Read All About It!
Disney Musical was a Highlight of the Band Trip
Ashling Geary
Contributor
In March, the Abington High band
and chorus took a trip to New York
City where the itinerary included
seeing ‗‘Newsies‘‘ a Disney musical
appearing at the beautiful Nederlander Theatre. This original Broadway musical, directed by Jeff Calhoun, stars a group of boys and the
challenges they go through in order
to gain better rights as workers.
Based on real events, ‗‘Newsies‘‘
takes place during the summer of
1899, in Lower Manhattan. The
newspaper sellers or Newsies are
led by a radical boy named Jack Kelly
(Corey Cott). He and the others
strike against Joseph Pulitzer (Stuart
Marland) who raised the amount the
boys have to pay for the newspapers. Enraged, they work together
to shut down the big newspapers. They also meet up with news
reporter rookie, Katherine (Liana
Hunt). She writes an article that
strengthens the strike and she also
helps Jack find a true love (with her).
Everyone working together with a
lot of writing, fighting and a bit of
love they find a way to ‗‘Seize the
Day.‘‘
The show was very enjoyable to
watch. The story-line, acting and
dancing really kept you hooked. The
costumes were very well made and
matched up well with the choreography. The dancers did a phenomenal job. Everything was en pointe.
The singing was mesmerizing and
made you want to sing along and
keep watching.
The set design was very unique. It
used scaffolding to represent buildings and other structures, and it
moved around the stage. It was
fascinating!
The costumes had the look of
the late 1800s look and added a bit
of pizzazz to the show. All parts of
the show whether it be the costumes, singing, dancing or the setup
were spectacular. They obviously
helped the
show gain
several
Tony nominations in
2012, winning for best
choreography and original costumes.
―Newsies‖ continues its run at
the Nederlander Theatre in New
York City. Tickets may be purchased at
www.ticketmaster.com. They also
sell tickets at the Nederlander
Theatre, but buying them online
prevents you from waiting in line
and possibly getting a bad seat.
―Newsies‖ is a great show for all
ages. It does have some fight
scenes, but nothing bloody or profane. It does have a lot of great
sense of humor, and singing and
dancing that is great for the whole
family. Check out this original
Broadway show.
“The singing was
mesmerizing and
made you want
to sing along and
keep watching.”Ashling Geary