Star talent announced to lead Anything Goes

Star talent announced to lead Anything Goes
The Civic, THE EDGE, Auckland, 29 September - 22 October 2011

NEW ZEALAND’S most versatile artist JACKIE CLARKE together with Australasia’s hottest star of stage TYRAN PARKE will star in the glorious screwball classic - Cole Porter's musical ANYTHING GOES - taking to the stage in Auckland during the Rugby World Cup.

Former NZ Idol judge Clarke will play nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (a role made famous by stage legends Patti LuPone, Elaine Paige and Ethel Merman) while Parke will be heartthrob stowaway Billy Crocker, the pivotal character bought to life on celluloid by none other than Bing Crosby!

Clarke’s stage credits include Sweet Charity, Spelling Bee, A Christmas Carol, Porgy and Bess, Little Shop of Horrors, Mum’s the Word, and Josephwhile her television credits include judging NZ Idol and Showcase, co-hosting Saturday Live, comedy shows Skitz and The Semisis and presenting the documentaries Here To Stay and Anzac Songs. She also sings with The Lady Killers and Jubilation Gospel Choir.

Parke, a graduate of the prestigious Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, has established himself as a leading man in Australia and New Zealand. His professional credits include Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, The Sound of Music, Carousel, Only Heaven Knows, Miracle City, Assassins, Oliver! (Australia and Asia), Eurobeat(Australian and Korean tours), Into the Woods, Rosie, Listen to My Heart, Nostradamus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,Evita, Putting it Together, Sunset Blvd, Madame De, The Hatpin, Angels in America (two separate productions), Funny Girl, Jekyll and Hyde, Anything Goes, Mack and Mabel, South Pacific, In a Pink Tutu and his award winning portrayal of 'George' in Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George.

The pair will head a world-class, 36-strong, cast of performers in the three-week season of this madcap Cole Portermusical that escapes into the world of luxury cruising, where gangster meets priest, revivalist turns nightclub singer, and chaos ensues onboard a cruise ship sailing the high seas.

Tickets are now on sale for the musical to be staged at Auckland’s beautiful Civic theatre from September 29. This is a strictly limited season brought to The Civic stage by Auckland Music Theatre and Amici Productions - the team behind the critically acclaimed seasons of 42ND STREET, CATS and RENT.

Tickets, priced from $35* - $85*, are available NOW from:
www.buytickets.co.nz
0800 BUYTICKETS

This hilarious, madcap musical features enduring Cole Porter hits such as I Get A Kick Out Of You, All Through The Night, You're The Top, It's De-Lovely and Anything Goes.

Telling the age-old tale of boy-meets-girl and the complications that ensue, ANYTHING GOES will delight and intrigue every audience. Set in the early 1930s onboard a cruise liner, the S.S. American, bound from New York to London, it carries an unusual group of passengers. Included amongst them are a gangster (Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin), a wealthy debutante and her mother (Hope and Evangeline Harcourt), a nightclub singer (Reno Sweeny), and a wealthy New York businessman and his stowaway assistant (Elisha Whitney and Billy Crocker).

When Billy falls in love with heiress Hope, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh, he stows away, setting off a chain reaction of comedic consequences that has passengers and crew singing and dancing their way across the Atlantic. This crazy comedy is replete with disguises and mistaken identities and, eventually, four happy couples - a perfect mix for any classic Broadway musical.

Showcasing an all New Zealand cast and full orchestra, ANYTHING GOES will treat audiences to a journey of toe-tapping fun and frivolity, featuring sublime characters and stunning, all original, sets and costumes. This all new production of the American classic will wow, young and old alike.

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