Fisher grabs the baton in the pit of the Stephen Sondheim Theatre Dec. 15-22 to sub for the show's primary music director James Lowe, who has taken a brief leave to conduct The Nutcracker for Houston Ballet. The last time Fisher physically conducted in a Broadway pit, he said, was in 2006 for The Apple Tree at Roundabout's Studio 54.

"Anything Goes is the first Broadway show I've supervised without ever conducting, and I'm fixing that," he said about his fill-in appearance with the Anything Goes orchestra of 15 players. "When [James] asked for the time off, I looked at my calendar and thought, 'Now's my chance!'"

The job includes a rose-toss to one of the actors in the musical comedy. "I'll be rehearsing the rose toss…the only part of the show for which I have questionable qualifications," Fisher told Playbill.com.

Pianist, music scholar, arranger and music director Fisher is former music director of the City Center Encores! concert series, and a busy Broadway, recording and concert music director/supervisor. His current Broadway credits include Chicago and Anything Goes.

Fisher will curate a March 24-26, 2012, Lyrics & Lyricists concert called In Perfect Harmony, devoted to the impact of vocal groups on popular song (expect the DiGiallonardo Sisters and New York Voices celebrating the Boswell, Andrews and Pointer Sisters, among others). It's a program of the 92nd Street Y. On April 24, he will be musical director/conductor of a staged concert of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall.

For more about the 2011 Best Revival Tony Award-winning Anything Goes, which will spawn a national touring company in fall 2012, visit www.anythinggoesonbroadway.com.

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