Anything Goes in Concert  | 

Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana in 1891 and died in Hollywood 73 years later. In between, he wrote some of the most memorable songs ever heard on stage or screen, among them “Night and Day,” “Begin the Beguine,” “You’re The Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Love For Sale,” and “Just One of Those Things.” During the 1930s, his most productive decade, he provided a series of sparkling scores for such hits as Gay Divorce, Anything Goes, Jubilee, Born to Dance and Red, Hot and Blue. Despite a crippling riding accident in 1937 which left him in constant pain, he achieved his greatest commercial success in 1948, with Kiss Me, Kate. His name remains synonymous with wit and sophistication to this day.

Guy Bolton (1884-1979) was born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, England, on November 23, 1884. Bolton famously collaborated with Jerome Kern and P.G. Wodehouse on a series of buoyant musicals for the 299-seat Princess Theatre, including Have A Heart; Oh, Boy!; Leave It To Jane; Oh, Lady! Lady!; Sitting Pretty, Oh, Kay! and Rosalie. In the twenties, Bolton forged a partnership with George and Ira Gershwin. All six of their collaborations, including Girl Crazy, resulted in hit shows. Bolton wrote or collaborated on more than 50 shows between 1915 and 1965, including Anything Goes. He died in London on September 5, 1979.

P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) and Guy Bolton (1884-1979) were both born in England. They were introduced by Jerome Kern, and he suggested they all work together. They did, tirelessly, and in the beginning of their collaboration wrote nearly one show per month: the famed Princess Theatre musicals. Bolton and Wodehouse went on to write more than 20 musicals together. Usually, they collaborated on the book, and Wodehouse wrote the lyrics. Both lived into their nineties, and both, together and individually, were astoundingly prolific. Bolton, with one collaborator or another, or on his own, had a hand in well over 100 musicals and straight plays as well as numerous film scripts and novels. Wodehouse wrote 97 books, most notably, the Jeeves novels and countless short stories, articles, essays and films. In 1975, he was knighted side by side with Charlie Chaplin. In addition to Anything Goes, their work together includes Have A Heart; Oh, Boy!; Leave It To Jane; Oh, Lady! Lady!; Sitting Pretty, Oh, Kay! and Rosalie. They remained friends and neighbors (in Remsenburg, New York) throughout their final days.

Howard Lindsay (1889-1968) was an actor, stage manager, director and playwright before teaming up with Russel Crouse. Lindsay and Crouse’s partnership stands today as the longest collaboration of any writers in theatrical history, lasting for more than 28 years. The two men first joined forces in 1934, when the producer Vinton Freedley brought them together to rewrite the libretto for Anything Goes, which Lindsay directed. Two years later, they wrote another Cole Porter show, Red, Hot and Blue. Their first straight play, Life with Father, opened in 1936 and holds the record for the longest running play on Broadway, at 3,224 performances. Lindsay and his wife, Dorothy Stickney, created the roles of Clarence and Vinnie Day, performing them for five years. Among other shows, Lindsay and Crouse also wrote The Sound of Music (score by Rodgers and Hammerstein); the Pulitzer Prize winning State of the Union; Call me Madam and Mr. President (scores by Irving Berlin); The Prescott Proposals and The Great Sebastians. They produced The Hasty Heart, Detective Story and Arsenic and Old Lace.

Russel Crouse (1893-1966) was a newspaperman, a press agent for the Theatre Guild, the author of several books and a librettist before partnering with Howard Lindsay. Lindsay and Crouse’s partnership stands today as the longest collaboration of any writers in theatrical history, lasting for more than 28 years. The two men first joined forces in 1934, when the producer Vinton Freedley brought them together to rewrite the libretto for Anything Goes, which Lindsay directed. Two years later, they wrote another Cole Porter show, Red, Hot and Blue. Their first straight play, Life with Father, opened in 1936 and holds the record for the longest running play on Broadway, at 3,224 performances. Among other shows, Lindsay and Crouse also wrote The Sound of Music (score by Rodgers and Hammerstein); the Pulitzer Prize winning State of the Union; Call Me Madam and Mr. President (scores by Irving Berlin); The Prescott Proposals and The Great Sebastians. They produced The Hasty Heart, Detective Story and Arsenic and Old Lace. In addition to his work with Linday, Russel Crouse later reproduced, in collaboration with his wife, Anna Erskine Crouse, a son, the writer Timothy Crouse, and a daughter, the actress Lindsay Crouse.

Annie Tippe is a director and creator of new work, music theater and film.  She directed the world premieres and subsequent productions of Dave Malloy’s Octet (Lortel Award for Best Direction), Three Houses and Ghost Quartet. Recent: Britta Johnson’s Life After (Mirvish Toronto; Goodman – Jeff Award Nominee), Gabriel Kehane’s Magnificent Bird/Book of Travelers (Playwrights Horizons), Julia May Jonas’ Your Own Personal Exegesis (Lincoln Center), Molly Beach Murphy + Jeanna Phillip’s COWBOY BOB (Alley), Selina Fillinger’s Potus (Berkeley Rep) and Tony Meneses’ The Hombres (Two River). Her film “HELP ME MARY” won Best Narrative Short at LESFF. Former Ars Nova Director-in-Residence, Drama League and Williamstown Alum. Upcoming: World Premiere of Huzzah! at the Old Globe Fall ’25.  www.annietippe.com

Some Like It Hot (Broadway – Shubert Theatre); Motown the Musical (Broadway – Nederlander Theatre); Jelly’s Last Jam (New York City Center – guest conductor); Yemandja the new Angelique Kidjo musical (world tour – music supervisor); Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ (Pre Broadway engagement – The Old Globe); Encore! On Disney+ (Ragtime episode); The Color Purple (Broadway tour and Paper Mill Playhouse); Wicked (Pantages Theater – substitute conductor ); Memphis (Broadway tour); La Cage aux Folles, Ragtime, Little Shop of Horrors with M.J. Rodriguez (Pasadena Playhouse); Fiddler on the Roof (The Muny); Dear World with Tyne Daly (VPAC); Two By Two with Jason Alexander (Reprise); Passion (Boston Court); Jonathan Dove’s Innocence (Banff Centre). Full bio at DARRYLARCHIBALD.COM

Ayodele Casel, a Doris Duke Artist in the dance category, is an award-winning, critically acclaimed tap dancer and choreographer. Casel is hailed as a “tap dancer and choreographer of extraordinary depth” (The New York Times). Known for her skilled and imaginative improvisation, Casel’s projects include her concert and Bessie Award-winning film Chasing Magic, and Drama Desk-nominated work as tap choreographer for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, Casel was a 2019-2020 fellow at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, an artist-in-residence at Harvard University, and is recipient of a United States Artist Fellowship, Herb Alpert Award, Doris Duke Artists award, a Bessie and Flo-Bert award. In 2021, Casel was depicted on a U.S. Postal Service Forever Stamp celebrating tap dance.

Tickets for Anything Goes in Concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium can be purchased directly through ticketmaster.com.

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