06/21/2015
Lowell Sun
By Nancye Tuttle
LOWELL -- Musical theater fans adore Cole Porter's light, sophisticated tunes and Stephen Sondheim's witty, groundbreaking shows.
Jack Neary and Leon Grande, co-founders of Greater Lowell Music Theatre, counted on that when they chose Porter's Anything Goes and Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the company's summer lineup at UMass Lowell's Durgin Hall.
Anything Goes, Porter's ocean voyage classic, sets sail June 26-28. A Broadway hit, it features Porter's frothy "You're The Top," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," "I Get A Kick Out of You," and the timeless title tune. The song-and-dance marathon is a bright start to summer.
"We both love Anything Goes -- it's hard to find anyone who doesn't like it," said Grande, GLMT's music director.
"The music's attractive, and it's got terrific comedy and fabulous dancing. No one will leave without humming a tune or laughing at the lyrics."
Television's Eddie Mekka (Laverne and Shirley), who starred in last season's Fiddler on the Roof, returns July 31-Aug. 2 to make 'em laugh in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
A classically funny American musical, Forum melds Sondheim's music and lyrics with Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart's clever book, inspired by the farces of the Roman playwright Plautus. Mekka stars as Pseudolus, a role he's performed before.
"When Eddie said he'd be available, we took him up on it, since he was a hit here," said Grande.
Neary loves this lineup.
"We pick shows to draw audiences, and these both have funny books and fabulous music. Plus, we think Eddie will come through again," he said.
Grande, Neary and fellow co-founder Phyllis George launched GLMT in 2012 with The Music Man in concert, followed in 2013 with a spring concert and summer production of Guys and Dolls. Last year, they did another spring concert, plus Chicago and Music Man.
"It's been an outstanding cultural collaboration," said Paul Marion, UMass Lowell's executive director of community relations and co-director of the Center for Arts and Ideas. "Begun as an artistic start-up with three UML alumni as founders -- Jack, Leon and Phyllis -- along with another alumni Donna White, now serving as managing director -- the productions drew 4,000 people to performances last year."
GLMT utilizes the local talent this season that audiences expect, including crowd-pleasers Jessica Dee and Dave Sullivan (Guys and Dolls, Chicago), Jerry Bisantz (Chicago) and John Manning (Fiddler on the Roof). Local choreographer Lisa Pilato-Fuller also returns.
But it also reaches out to the greater Boston musical theater community this season.
"Two stunning new performers -- Dallyn Vail Bails and Kelly Berman -- and our Anything Goes director, Shannon Lee Jones, are from Boston Conservatory of Music," said Neary.
Grande used his Boston Pops connections to bring Rich Kelley, a Pops trumpeter, to Anything Goes.
"You need a great trumpeter for 'Blow, Gabriel, Blow,' and Rich nails it," Neary said.
This summer's shows are a "huge leap" for the company, said Neary, who produces Anything Goes and directs Forum.
"We're thrilled with what's happening on stage; musically, we're exceptional. We have strong performers, a real set and our orchestra in a pit," he said.
Grande agrees.
"We're taking a big leap with both shows, and we're sure people will love them," he said.
'Anything Goes' and 'Forum' at a glance
- Anything Goes, first produced in 1934, involves the madcap antics on an ocean liner bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. Anything Goes is being performed on Friday-Saturday, June 26-27, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 28, 2:30 p.m.
- A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, first produced in 1962, won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Set in ancient Rome, it tells the story of a bawdy slave named Pseudolus who tries to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. A farce, it features puns, mistaken identities and satirical comments. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is on Friday, July 31, and Saturday, Aug. 1, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 2, 2:30 p.m.
Both shows will be performed in Durgin Concert Hall, 35 Wilder St., Lowell. Ticket prices are $30-$35 at www.glmt.com or 978-319-8867.