Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Running to Places Theatre Company (R2P) is set to open its 2011 season with the Broadway favorite: Anything Goes. The old-school romantic comedy runs January 14-16, Friday and Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 2pm at The State Theatre of Ithaca and is chock full of some of Cole Porter’s most beloved songs (Delovely, Friendship, You’re the Top, Blow Gabriel Blow, I Get a Kick out of You, and the title song).

Anything Goes, according to Director Joey Steinhagen, “is a door-slamming farce, complete with mistaken identities, ridiculous costumes, and fake beards. And for my money, a fake beard is reason enough to go see any play.”

The plot follows the passengers of a trans-Atlantic pleasure cruise including young would-be lovers Billy (St. John Faulkner of Ithaca) and Hope (Sarah Beckwith of Lansing). “Billy and Hope are very much in love, but she’s supposed to marry the wealthy Englishman,” says Co-Artistic Director Gail Belokur (who also serves as Production Stage Manager for the show). She adds, smiling, “It’s a bit like the plot of the movie Titanic, but with a much happier ending.” The wealthy Englishman (James Palmer of Ithaca) has secrets of his own, as does stowaway gangster, aka. Public Enemy Number 13, Moonface Martin (Kevin Hilgartner of Ithaca) who is a master of disguise, though not much of a criminal. At the middle of all of these plots is Reno Sweeney (Sari Koppel of Trumansburg). This evangelist-turned-night-club-singer belts her way through troubleshooting everyone’s love-life, including her own.

At the helm of the production are some familiar and new faces. Todd Peterson, as R2P’s Resident Choreographer, has worked hard to lead the cast through many challenges. “Act 1 ends with an enormous production number,” says Peterson, who has choreographed dozens of shows with area teens. “We decided to go for it and have the entire cast onstage tapping.” Of course, the cast, consisting of high school students from across Tompkins County, has only a few experienced hoofers – so Peterson taught everyone to tap from scratch. “They’re all doing time-steps, wings – the works! [In R2P,] we provide the opportunity and the tools, and they bring the passion and the drive to make it happen.”


Other members of the artistic team include R2P newcomers Tom Peters (Music Director), Danny Moss (Set Design), and Kathryn Vega (Costume Design). Laura Krassowski is returning as Lighting Designer.

Director of Music for R2P Erica Steinhagen reflects on the growth she’s witnessed among the company members: “Running to Places has only been around for a few years, but in that time, we’ve seen so many young artists blossoming. Sari, for example, started as a middle-schooler in the chorus, but last year sang the soprano ingénue role of Marian the Librarian [in The Music Man] and now is blowing the doors off in a role made famous on Broadway by Ethel Merman and Patti LuPone.”

Performance Dates:
Fri, Jan 14 at 7:00pm
Sat, Jan 15 at 7:00pm
Sun, Jan 16 at 2:00pm

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