Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre to Set Sail with ANYTHING GOES

Two years ago, The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, Frederick's only year-round producing regional theatre, celebrated its 20th anniversary season and opened with a beloved classic, The Sound of Music. To launch Way Off Broadway's new expanded six-show 2016 Season, the theatre will open with another classic, Anything Goes. The Cole Porter musical will kick off the season on Friday evening, January 15th.

The show takes place on the S.S. American which is sailing between New York and England with a comically colorful assemblage of passengers: Reno Sweeney, a popular nightclub singer and former evangelist, her pal Billy Crocker, a lovelorn Wall Street broker who has come aboard to try to win the favor of his beloved Hope Harcourt (who is engaged to another passenger, Sir Evelyn Oakleigh), and a second-rate conman named Moonface Martin, aka "Public Enemy #13." Song, dance, and farcical antics ensue as Reno and Moonface try to help Billy win the love of his life.

The original production of Anything Goes opened on Broadway in the fall of 1934, starring Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney. Despite the Great Depression, the show ran for a year, racking up 420 performances.

A revival, heavily revised and reworked, opened in 1987 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Following in the footsteps of the legendary Merman, was Patti LuPone, another female powerhouse of the stage. The revival ran for two years on Broadway and received 10 Tony Award nominations, taking home the trophy for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Bill McCutcheon), and Best Choreography.

Anything Goes' most recent Broadway bow was in 2011 when Roundabout Theatre Company produced the show with a star-studded cast including Laura Osnes as Hope, Sutton Foster as Reno, and Joel Grey as Moonface Martin. The revival was scheduled to run from April through July for a limited engagement. However, the show was so popular, the run was extended three times before it finally closed after over 550 performances. Like the 1987 revival before it, Roundabout's production won the Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Choreography. Foster also took home the Tony for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Way Off Broadway's cast includes Sam Buchanan, DesWell Carr, Dino P. Coppa, Sr., Rebecca Eastman, Daniel Hafer, Rachel Kemp, Barbie McCarron, David I. Marcus, Ariel Messeca, Mallory Rome, Brett Stockman, Jordan B. Stocksdale, Hillary Templeton, Joseph Waeyaert, Tori Weaver, Rick Weldon, and Megan E. West.

Leading the cast as Reno Sweeney, will be Melani Drummer, making her Way Off Broadway debut. Originally from South Africa, Drummer has performed on stages around the world including the world tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats (original cast), Fame, Evita, and the SA/European tour of Showboat (which she also choreographed).

Anything Goes has music and lyrics by Cole Porter, with an original book by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Russel Crouse, and Howard Lindsay, and a revised book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman. Way Off Broadway's production is directed by Bill Kiska, with choreography by Dee Buchanan, and music direction by Jordan B. Stocksdale.

The theatre's 2016 Season-opener will run from January 15 - February 20, 2016, with performances every Friday and Saturday evening, and matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month. Ticket prices are $45 on Friday evenings, $48 on Saturday evenings, and $44 on Sunday afternoons.

Following Anything Goes in the spring will be the backstage farce Noises Off.

For additional information about any of Way Off Broadway's productions or events, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com. To purchase tickets, c

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, under the direction of the Kiska Family since 2002, celebrated its 20th Anniversary Season in 2014. Since it first opened in 1995, the theatre has been a leader in the area's theatre community, proudly bringing both classic musicals, as well as regional and area premieres to the Frederick stage. Productions have included The Addams Family, Les Misérable, Singin' in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard, Legally Blonde, Dolly Parton's 9 to 5: The Musical, The Music Man, Jekyll & Hyde, Hairspray, South Pacific, The Drowsy Chaperone, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Full Monty, Mel Brooks' The Producers, CATS, The Wedding Singer, Evita, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Sound of Music, The Odd Couple, Fiddler on the Roof, Grease, La Cage aux Folles, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Annie, Bye Bye, Birdie, The King & I, ...Forum, Lend Me a Tenor, Joseph..., Blood Brothers, Mame, and 42nd Street. Way Off Broadway is also the home of a one-of-a-kind children's lunch theatre, offering entertainment for the entire family and giving children a chance to see their favorite characters live on stage. In addition to its regular Mainstage and Children's Theatre seasons, the theatre produces a number of special events throughout the year including an annual Breakfast with Santa (and Mrs. Claus) and an interactive mystery series. To learn more about the theatre, visit wayoffbroadway.com.

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