Interview: Jimmy Moore And Paige Berry of ANYTHING GOES at San Pedro Playhouse

Little lights my heart on fire more than hearing from people who love making good theatre, so chatting with director and scenic designer, J. Robert "Jimmy” Moore and Paige Berry, who plays the lead role of Reno Sweeney, about their upcoming show, Anything Goes, at San Pedro Playhouse was a true delight! They both overflowed with joy and excitement about this upcoming production, and it made me so excited about heading out to see it! You are not going to want to miss this classic production, I can assure you! Take a look at what they had to share. 

What excites you about directing and performing in this popular show?

Paige: This has been a bucket list role, so getting the opportunity to do it feels really good. It’s a big challenge! It’s dancing, singing, acting, dialect, and lots of words that Cole Porter has given us! So, it’s been a great challenge to take on and more rewarding than I even thought it would be!

Jimmy: It’s a big, frolicking, romp on the high seas in a sparkly, classic musical in the way that they don’t really make them anymore. It is very witty and sophisticated. The music is very lush. The story is very fun. It’s a big set and a big cast with lots of costumes. It really is the kind of stylish, sophisticated, witty, musical theatre comedy people think of when they think of Broadway. I mean, it’s got tap-dancing sailors! It’s a very funny, polished, exciting, fast-paced show, so if you’re not a triple-threat performer when you come into rehearsals, you will be one by the time this show closes because everybody is being asked to sing, dance, and act all over that stage as fast as they can! It’s a great opportunity not only to showcase San Antonio talent, but to stretch the talent of some of these performers who don’t really get the opportunity to do these classic musicals anymore because they are so large, challenging, and very expensive. This production is no different. There has been no expense spared to bring this great, glossy production to the Playhouse stage. It was written to transport people away from their everyday lives and into a world where it is carefree, romantic and exciting. 

What do you want the audience to know before they come?

Paige: This is the show to come to even if you don’t usually come out to see shows. You will love it! I think people will come and will want to come back for the next one, so just come in and enjoy! I’m making my children come watch it on Mother’s Day, and they are 3 and 6. They’re going to love it!

Jimmy: Be ready to laugh! It was written in the 1930s, and it’s appropriate for the whole family. It is a show you can bring younger children to because of the spectacle and high-tempo, fun, silly music. Some of the cast who are just getting acquainted with this show kind of liken it to Looney Tunes. Those Merrie Melodies type of broad, slapstick, silly, Bugs Bunny-type characters. So, it’s really easy to laugh and easy to fall in love with Anything Goes, and I hope that everyone does as much as we have. A lot of the songs from this show became standards of the 1930s and 1940s, like “I get a Kick out of You,” “You’re the Top,” or even “Anything Goes” itself. They’re going to recognize those songs, so it’s kind of fun to learn that this is where they started. People will love what we’re bringing to the stage!

Also, there are some pre-show opportunities for people to come up on stage in the Manhattan bar and have a drink up there and be able to see the vantage point of the actors. If you want to do that, make sure you show up early and have one of Reno’s martinis! 

Are people who know the show going to get what they are expecting from the show?

Jimmy: Oh, gosh yes! I came in wanting to give people, like myself, who have loved the show for years and years exactly what they wanted, but we’ve also had a lot of discussion and been very clear about wanting to make sure we’re not presenting a museum piece in any way. From the way we’re considering what to play in the house music to the way that the set is designed, to the costumes, and the way we’ve approached the comedy. It needs to be about bringing people who maybe do not know Anything Goes at all or are not usually theatre-goers. It needs to capture everyone. It needs to feel as modern, electric, and exciting as it was when Ethel Merman played Reno in 1935 for all those people who were sitting in that audience on opening night. 

Paige, what is your experience with San Pedro Playhouse?

I did my first show there in 2008, so I’ve been on and off that stage for a long time. We are long-time supporters. The theatre means a lot to us; my husband and I met each other in that building! I performed on stage pregnant with my first child. We love the Playhouse, and we always said we wouldn’t be able to do shows together once we had children, but it ended up that my husband, Chris, is in the show! It’s been fun to see that part of each other again together onstage as actors. You don’t see this show a lot because it is so hard. You don’t see roles like this, and these are the roles that I love--The showgirl singing and tap dancing! I feel really fortunate to do this role. 

Jimmy, you have a different role at San Pedro Playhouse now. Is that correct?

I am now the Artist in Residence. I stepped down from my role as Artistic Director about a year ago. This new role has opened up some new avenues for me as a contractor. For example, I actually set-designed this show as well. So, it has been a lot of fun to direct something on a set that I conceived in the first place. Being able to conceive a world with my specific production in mind and the way that I wanted it to work has been really unique and exciting. The shop is working overtime to make this the most beautiful ocean liner that you’ve ever seen sail across the stage in San Antonio! It’s a big set that lights up. It’s a farce, so there are lots of doors on a ship that is actually based on The Queen Mary. It’s got a lot of New York Art Deco vibes to it. It’s a glimpse at life the way that it really isn’t anymore, during a time when things were a little more polished and glamorous. It’s a really fun place to spend an evening!

Have either of you worked on this show before, and if so, how is this experience different?

Jimmy: I saw this show for the first time in high school, and I completely fell in love not only with the show and the music but with the style of it. Both in terms of its glamor and its broad comedy. I wanted to do it for years. Patti LuPone was in the 1987 revival cast recording of the show, and that was when I fell in love with her. She’s always been one of my favorites because of how passion-energetic she is in her performances! She brought that to the role, and it really made me fall in love with the show. I wanted to do it for years, and I never understood why we couldn’t do it…now I know. It’s such a big show! I also got to perform in it when I was a graduate student, and I always say that when I die, I hope I get to go and live inside of this show. It’s a role that I could’ve played for years and years, so I always knew I wanted to direct it at some point. This was part of the last season that I helped put together, so it was really nice to have this title here. My history with the show is very long as a fan, but it’s my second time actually working on it.

Paige: I have seen it in all the ways you really can see it--even some clips of Jimmy performing in it! But, I have never done it, so I am excited to be working on it for the first time!

What do you hope audiences leave with after this show?

Paige: I have one word: Joy. We’ve said it over and over, and it really is our biggest hope. 

Jimmy: Exactly, Paige. I hope they leave the theatre lighter and more full of joy than when they came in. That’s our job as performers is to give people a mini vacation from their day-to-day so they can return more ready to take on what the world has to offer them because they’ve had the opportunity to laugh and relax with us and with their fellow audience members. I hope that people leave wanting to check out other Cole Porter music and other classic musicals, such as “My Fair Lady,” “Oklahoma,” or “Showboat.” Maybe they leave wanting to see more of these shows that are just as big but don’t get produced as much because there isn’t always an audience for them. I hope this causes them to want to support live theatre in San Antonio, at whatever theater they choose. To make their families into theatre supporters and have live theatre as part of their family’s rituals and the way they entertain themselves. It’s a huge honor to have someone see a show and come back for more because they loved what they saw, and so we hope that our audiences for Anything Goes fall in love with theatre in that way.