National Tour of Anything Goes Has Fred Applegate, Erich Bergen, Alex Finke, Joyce Chittick On Board

By Kenneth Jones
August 7, 2012

Rachel York will be in good company on the national tour of Anything Goes. Fred Applegate (Young Frankenstein, Sister Act) will play Moonface Martin, Erich Bergen (Jersey Boys tour, Hero in Chicago) is Billy Crocker, Alex Finke is Hope Harcourt and original Broadway cast member Joyce Chittick (The Pajama Game) plays Erma.

Roundabout Theatre Company announced additional casting for the tour that launches Oct. 2 in Cleveland. Kathleen Marshall directed and choreographed the revival of the Cole Porter musical. It won the Tony as Best Revival of a Musical in 2011, and Marshall won the Choreography Tony.

York, previously announced to play singer-evangelist Reno Sweeney, starred in Broadway's Victor/Victoria, City of Angels and Les Miserables.

The tour begins at Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare.

The principal cast also includes Jeff Brooks as Purser, Dennis Kelly as Elisha Whitney, Vincent Rodriguez III as Luke, Marcus Shane as John, Sandra Shipley as Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt, Edward Staudenmayer as Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, and Chuck Wagner as Captain.

The ensemble includes Jeremy Benton, Jacqueline Burtney, Jan Leigh Herndon, Kristie Kerwin, Gary Lindemann, Dionna Thomas Littleton, Michael Milton, Ashley Peacock, Bobby Pestka, Courtney Rottenberger, Vanessa Sonon, Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, Aaron Umsted, Mackenzie Warren, Sean Watkins, Audrey Cardwell, Alexandra Matteo, Sean McKnight, and Tony Neidenbach. Additional casting will be announced soon.

Anything Goes, set aboard a transatlantic liner, first appeared in 1934, boasting music and lyrics by Porter ("You're the Top," "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow") and a book by P.G. Wodehouse & Guy Bolton and Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. In the 1960s, it was revised for an Off-Broadway run, and had a larger makeover (with new book by Timothy Crouse and John Weidman) in the 1980s, when Lincoln Center Theater revived it to acclaim. It's that last version of the show that Roundabout has revived. Sutton Foster won the 2011 Best Actress Tony Award for playing Reno — and tapping her way through the eight-minute title number at the close of Act One. Ghostlight Records released the cast recording.

The creative team includes music direction by Phil Reno with additional orchestrations by Bill Elliot, original scenic design by Derek McLane, costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting design by Howell Binkley and sound design by Brian Ronan.

The tour is dedicated to the memory of Martin Pakledinaz, a beloved member of the Roundabout Theatre Company family, who died earlier this summer.

Anything Goes will travel to more than 21 cities — including Nashville, Memphis, San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and more — during the 2012-13 season. Additional engagements will be announced at a later date.

The list of cities on the national tour so far includes:

Cleveland, OH, PlayhouseSquare Oct. 2-14
East Lansing, MI, The Wharton Center, Oct. 16-21
Nashville, TN Tennessee Performing Arts Center Oct. 23-28
Wilmington, DE, The Dupont Theater Oct. 30-Nov. 4
Tempe, AZ, ASU Gammage Nov. 13-18
Tucson, AZ, Music Hall Nov. 20-25
Los Angeles, CA, The Ahmanson Theatre Nov. 27, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013
San Francisco, CA, The Golden Gate Jan. 8-Feb. 3, 2013
Las Vegas, NV, The Smith Center Feb. 5-10, 2013
Dallas, TX, The Winspear Opera House Feb. 13-24, 2013
Memphis, TN, The Orpheum Theatre Feb. 26-March 3, 2013
Naples, FL, The Philharmonic March 5-10, 2013
Tampa, FL, The Straz Center March 12-17, 2013
Durham, NC, Durham Performing Arts Center March 19-24, 2013
Fayetteville, AR, The Walton Arts Center April 9-14, 2013
Pittsburgh, PA, Heinz Hall April 16-21, 2013
St. Paul, MN, The Ordway May 7-12, 2013
Grand Rapids, MI, Devos Hall May 14-19, 2013
St. Louis, MO, The Fox Theatre May 28-June 9, 2013
Washington, DC, The Kennedy Center Opera House June 11-July 7, 2013
Schenectady, NY, The Proctor’s Theatre July 9-14, 2013

For more information, visit anythinggoesthemusical.com.