©Vero Beach Press Journal Feb. 28, 2003 On Résumés of Show's Cast, 'Anything Goes' By Bill DeYoung correspondent
They may not be household names, but you've seen them before. The cast of "Anything Goes," the classic musical opening tonight at the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, includes several performers who've enjoyed steady success in theater, television and the movies. Jeanna Schweppe spent three years filling in for Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields and others on Broadway and on the national tour of "Grease." She was "first cover" for the smash musical -- when the actress playing Rizzo, Sandy or Cha-Cha couldn't go on, whatever the reason, Schweppe suited up and took to the stage. "The cover," Schweppe explains, "has to be ready at all times. And I went on a lot." She played Peggy in "42nd Street" on Broadway and on the road, and had a small role on the soap opera "Another World," as "Megan the Soho Landlady." Schweppe will soon be on the big screen, in an extended dance number in the Marisa Tomei comedy "The Guru." Schweppe, who plays Erma in the Riverside production of Cole Porter's shipboard comedy, says the entertainment business "is basically like other jobs. It's got its ups and downs, its stresses and its joys. You love it when you're doing it, and you have a hard time when you're not." For almost two years, Natalie Cortez sang and danced in the national touring company of "Cinderella," which featured Debbie Gibson in the title role and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. Cortez was also Gibson's understudy. And when Gibson went on the road as opening act for 'N Sync's Pop Odyssey tour, she selected Cortez for her onstage dance company. "It was so different from the theater world," Cortez recalls. "You're talking about stadiums full of 70,000 screaming girls. You can imagine. It was crazy." In "Anything Goes," Cortez plays Hope, one of the story's central characters. The actress is also dance captain for the production, which means she works closely with director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge. "My job is to know what everyone does, and where everyone stands," Cortez explains. "So that when she forgets, I remember. She has a lot to think about." Tom Beckett spent four seasons on American Movie Classics' "Remember WENN," the comedy series about radio's golden age. Beckett starred as Mr. Foley, the sound effects wizard who never spoke. Although "Remember WENN" went off the air in 1998, fans still recognize Beckett on the street. "I always expected it had a fan base of a lot of older people, who either remembered the time of radio or were more interested in those days," he says. "But it actually had a lot of young people watching the show religiously. "It lacked the sort of nasty irony that a lot of today's shows have. I think that drew a lot of people to it." A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Beckett won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his work Off-Broadway in "Travels With My Aunt" in 1993. "I played a dog, and I didn't speak," Beckett recalls with a chuckle. "It was the first thing I got out of Yale. And the next thing was 'Remember WENN,' which went on for four years. And I didn't talk there. "So I'd gone through three years of intense theatrical training; I was ready to get on the stage and use my Shakespeare voice to its full effect. And I ended up not speaking for five years. It was very odd." In "Anything Goes," Beckett stars as Moonface, the hapless gangster who can only manage to become Public Enemy No. 13. "This is a time when gangsters are romanticized and famous," says Beckett. "It's a big deal to him to become Public Enemy No. 1. But I have a feeling he's not a very good gangster." Moonface is also not much of a dancer, which suits Beckett just fine. "The singing and the acting are no problem," he says. "So you'll see me at the back of the stage, waving my hands a lot. But at least I get to speak." Other members of the "Anything Goes" cast have similarly impressive pedigrees. Michael Gruber, in the lead role of Billy Crocker, was on Broadway in "Cats" (he played Munkustrap). Ruth Gottschall, who plays the singer Reno Sweeney, appeared as Eulalle in "The Music Man" on Broadway. Wynn Harmon (as Sir Evelyn) appeared as The Detective in "Porgy and Bess," on Broadway and on the "Live From Lincoln Center" TV production. And Eric Hayden, who plays a sailor aboard the SS America, spent much of the last year impersonating a rock 'n' roll icon, touring America in the title role of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story." main Anything Goes 2003 page

©Vero Beach Press Journal
Feb. 28, 2003

On Résumés of Show's Cast, 'Anything Goes'
By Bill DeYoung correspondent

They may not be household names, but you've seen them before.

The cast of "Anything Goes," the classic musical opening tonight at the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, includes several performers who've enjoyed steady success in theater, television and the movies.

Jeanna Schweppe spent three years filling in for Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields and others on Broadway and on the national tour of "Grease." She was "first cover" for the smash musical -- when the actress playing Rizzo, Sandy or Cha-Cha couldn't go on, whatever the reason, Schweppe suited up and took to the stage.

"The cover," Schweppe explains, "has to be ready at all times. And I went on a lot."

She played Peggy in "42nd Street" on Broadway and on the road, and had a small role on the soap opera "Another World," as "Megan the Soho Landlady."

Schweppe will soon be on the big screen, in an extended dance number in the Marisa Tomei comedy "The Guru."

Schweppe, who plays Erma in the Riverside production of Cole Porter's shipboard comedy, says the entertainment business "is basically like other jobs. It's got its ups and downs, its stresses and its joys. You love it when you're doing it, and you have a hard time when you're not."

For almost two years, Natalie Cortez sang and danced in the national touring company of "Cinderella," which featured Debbie Gibson in the title role and Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. Cortez was also Gibson's understudy.

And when Gibson went on the road as opening act for 'N Sync's Pop Odyssey tour, she selected Cortez for her onstage dance company. "It was so different from the theater world," Cortez recalls. "You're talking about stadiums full of 70,000 screaming girls. You can imagine. It was crazy."

In "Anything Goes," Cortez plays Hope, one of the story's central characters. The actress is also dance captain for the production, which means she works closely with director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge. "My job is to know what everyone does, and where everyone stands," Cortez explains. "So that when she forgets, I remember. She has a lot to think about."

Tom Beckett spent four seasons on American Movie Classics' "Remember WENN," the comedy series about radio's golden age. Beckett starred as Mr. Foley, the sound effects wizard who never spoke.

Although "Remember WENN" went off the air in 1998, fans still recognize Beckett on the street. "I always expected it had a fan base of a lot of older people, who either remembered the time of radio or were more interested in those days," he says. "But it actually had a lot of young people watching the show religiously.

"It lacked the sort of nasty irony that a lot of today's shows have. I think that drew a lot of people to it."

A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Beckett won the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for his work Off-Broadway in "Travels With My Aunt" in 1993.

"I played a dog, and I didn't speak," Beckett recalls with a chuckle. "It was the first thing I got out of Yale. And the next thing was 'Remember WENN,' which went on for four years. And I didn't talk there.

"So I'd gone through three years of intense theatrical training; I was ready to get on the stage and use my Shakespeare voice to its full effect. And I ended up not speaking for five years. It was very odd."

In "Anything Goes," Beckett stars as Moonface, the hapless gangster who can only manage to become Public Enemy No. 13. "This is a time when gangsters are romanticized and famous," says Beckett. "It's a big deal to him to become Public Enemy No. 1. But I have a feeling he's not a very good gangster."

Moonface is also not much of a dancer, which suits Beckett just fine. "The singing and the acting are no problem," he says. "So you'll see me at the back of the stage, waving my hands a lot. But at least I get to speak."

Other members of the "Anything Goes" cast have similarly impressive pedigrees. Michael Gruber, in the lead role of Billy Crocker, was on Broadway in "Cats" (he played Munkustrap). Ruth Gottschall, who plays the singer Reno Sweeney, appeared as Eulalle in "The Music Man" on Broadway. Wynn Harmon (as Sir Evelyn) appeared as The Detective in "Porgy and Bess," on Broadway and on the "Live From Lincoln Center" TV production.

And Eric Hayden, who plays a sailor aboard the SS America, spent much of the last year impersonating a rock 'n' roll icon, touring America in the title role of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story."

main Anything Goes 2003 page