CCPA Celebrates Second Birthday with Cole Porter's Anything Goes

Coralville - "The Coralville Center for the Performing Arts will celebrate its second birthday with a special benefit production of Cole Porter’s Broadway hit Anything Goes on Friday August 23 at 7:00 p.m. & Saturday August 24 at 2:00 p.m.

On an ocean journey from New York to England, unlikely romance, comic mistaken identities, dancing sailors, good old-fashioned blackmail, eminently hummable songs, and unlikely happy endings come together for a fast-paced, fun, classic musical theater event.

This minimally-staged production features a 16-piece orchestra, placing the emphasis on Porter’s unforgettable music including It’s De-Lovely, Friendship, I Get a Kick Out of You, You’re the Top, and the title number. There will also be special dance numbers courtesy of Leslie Nolte and Nolte Academy. This production is directed by Josh Sazon, with music direction by Edward Kottick.

The Center will serve birthday cake to the audience following each performance.

Tickets ($22; $17 for students/seniors 55+; $12 for children 10 and under) are available by phone at 319.248.9370, online at coralvillearts.org, and in person at the CCPA box office (1301 5th Street) and Coralville Rec Center (1506 8th Street). Special premium sponsor tickets ($50) are available for the August 23 performance and include premium seating, program recognition, and a pre-show reception at the Luxe Zone. Patrons should call 319.248.9370 or visit the box office for those tickets. This production is sponsored by Hills Bank.

Performers include Kristen Behrendt DeGrazia as Reno Sweeey, John Muriello as Moonface Martin, Megan Keiser as Hope, Joe Mosher as Billy Crocker, Megan O’Brien as Erma, and Ken Van Egdon as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Brett Bordon, Trista Carlson, Jon Cryer, Jean Grewe, Emily Hill, Brian Lawler, Susan Manuel , Mike Nelson , Christine Pernetti, Glen Schmitz, Jerry Stamp, Raiden Takeuchi, Rex VanDorpe, Audrey Wagner, Teresa Wagner, Lisa Warren, and Sheila Wayson round out the ensemble.

The orchestra includes Adam Balling, Dan Berkowitz, Melissa Brobston, Bill Colby, Laura Kastens, Laura LaComble, John Lake, William Laubengayer, Paul McNally, Ron Mirr, Tom Nelson, Nathan Platte, Suzanne Smith, Brad Thayer, Beth Villhauer, and Paul Weach.

Kristen Behrendt DeGrazia is a supporter of and frequent performer with Corridor area theatre. She has performed in 5 seasons of Iowa Summer Rep and many productions with Riverside Theatre. Before moving to Iowa City, Kristen performed with various theatres in Chicago and spent 5 years performing on Broadway in musicals including Sunset Boulevard, Side Show and Les Misérables. She also toured the nation playing the role of Fantine in Les Mis. Kristen holds a B.F.A in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan. Her favorite role (in which she co-stars with husband, Jordan DeGrazia) is that of Mom to Mason, Maia and Tess.

John Muriello has carried on a varied performing career in opera, operetta, musical theatre and concert work. Stage credits include Tartuffe in Kirk Mechem’s Tartuffe, the Lecturer in Argento’s A Water Bird Talk, Ko-Ko in The Mikado, Marcello in La Bohème, Voltaire in Candide, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Muriello has concertized in London at The Wigmore Hall and in Moscow at the Moscow Conservatory, as well as throughout the lower forty-eight. Concert and oratorio solo credits include Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vaughan William’s Five Mystical Songs, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and the Brahms Requiem. Muriello has performed with several contemporary music festivals, at the Union of Composers Autumn Festival in Moscow, the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, at the University of Michigan, the University of Iowa, and James Madison University. He has worked with the Skylight Opera Theatre, Opera Carolina, Lyric Opera Cleveland, L’Opera Français de New York, Ohio Light Opera, Seaside Music Theatre, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, and La Gran Scena Opera di New York (as Miss Sylvia Bills, America’s most beloved retired diva). Muriello’s directing credits include H.M.S. Pinafore for Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, and The Fantasticks, She Loves Me, and A Little Night Music for the University of Iowa School of Music.



Owned and operated by the City of Coralville, the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts is dedicated to enriching the community and contributing to the vitality of Coralville by offering an accessible, affordable venue for a variety of performances, presentations, and public and private events. The 472 seat theater opened August 26, 2011 and has hosted performances from City Circle Acting Company, Orchestra Iowa, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Dan Knight, Lola Astanova, Lorie Line, Judy Carmichael, Jim McDonough, Nolte Academy of Dance, and many others. Coralville schools are also able to use the Center free of charge up to three times per year; 16 school events took place at the Center in the 2012-2013 school year. The Center was named 2012 Member of the Year by the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau."



source: CCPA press release