All-singing, all-dancing, Anything Goes is great show.
The Cowichan Musical Society truly has a hit on its hands, as it prepares for the second weekend of the run.
The fine performances of Sarah Lane as Reno Sweeney, Grant Mellemstrand as Billy Crocker, Jim Cleough as Moonface Martin, Alison Bendall as Hope Harcourt, Connor Lacmanec as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh and many more made an instant connection with the audience and the cast never looked back.
Lane looked ready to take on the world as Reno, the lovely, feisty nightclub singer. In fine voice and really enjoying her role, she was the bright glue that held together the several stories that were being enacted simultaneously.
Everyone in the cast has obviously been dancing day and night to get ready for this production. There was a sureness to their movements, even on opening night, that only comes from constant rehearsal.
And, considering that not all the performers would have known anything about tap dancing at the start, the result was a tour de force for all concerned.
The music, too, was professional from the get-go. Marshalled in the pit below the stage, the band took full advantage of the great classic tunes and kept the show jumping.
Of special note to those who have followed her through the years is the emergence of Alison Bendall, who has cast off the last of her chrysalis and is flying free, showing the world her great voice as Hope Harcourt, and, a nimble turn on the dance floor in a Fred-and-Ginger number with Grant Mellemstrand.
Next up, the whole gang takes the show to the Port Theatre in Nanaimo on March 3-4. If you missed it in Duncan, be sure to see them there.