10 Weeks to 10 Years: Part 2

Anything Goes!

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In the fall of 2007, CenterStage presented its first musical revue. Anything Goes was a collection of songs spanning years and genres to showcase the talents and versatility of this new group.

The show consisted of 23 numbers. The band played 4 numbers including selections from the movie Happy Feet and “If I Only Had a Brain” from The Wizard of Oz.

The full chorus performed 8 numbers including “Proud Mary”, “Seasons of Love”, and “Anything Goes” from the musical of the same name.

Fun Fact: “Proud Mary” and “Seasons of Love” were performed in more recent CenterStage shows (2014 and 2015) as small ensemble numbers.

The theme that year gave a freedom to present songs that may not have a common thread on the surface, but were connected through stories, memories, and an overall passion for performance.

In the spirit of “Anything Goes” I asked a few performers (past and present) to pick ANY song they would like to see CenterStage tackle in the future. Here are some of the suggestions I received:

“One Day More” from Les Miserables

“Into the Fire” from The Scarlet Pimpernel

“Light Up” – Styx

“It’s all Right” – Huey Lewis and the News

“I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing”- New Seekers

“Come Fly With Me” – Frank Sinatra

Some members were not able to choose just one song, but they know anything chosen would need to live up to CenterStage’s glowing reputation:

“Anything that would let us pull out all the stops–band, orchestra, voices, lights, special effects, people dancing in the aisles–something that would let us draw the audience right into the fun on stage.”

With so many great songs, it is nothing short of impressive to see a group piece together visions from 30 different people in a seamless and exciting way. Anything Goes was the perfect way to introduce CenterStage and they have been raising the bar on musical entertainment ever since.

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While the themes and members have changed over the years, one thing remains the same: a dedication to quality. Maintaining that quality means a lot of practice. Within the last couple of years our performers have been able to record rehearsals for members to study and watch over the week.

That technology may have evolved since CenterStage’s first year, but trying to stay sharp throughout the season has always been there. In 2007, my mom, a CS performer, asked me to video tape some choreography practices to help her better prepare for the upcoming show.

As I started to put together this post my mind filled with questions. “I wonder if I still have that practice footage? Who keeps tapes from a practice they aren’t even involved in? If my mom needed this, why would I even have it? Even if I did find it, how do I get a video tape to my computer?”

Well, being a nostalgic pack-rat has finally paid off.

After only a few hours of frantically rewinding and re-watching tapes, I found these preparations for 2007’s Anything Goes! 

Ten years ago I was able to catch a glimpse of this magic and now I get to share it with you!

Check back next week as I get to relive my first time on stage with CS during Part Three of my 10 Weeks to 10 Years series.

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