August 6, 2025 by Roy Harris
Audiences last weekend were dazzled by Cole Porter’s classic musical “Anything Goes,” Hingham Civic Music Theatre’s latest production. And tickets were said to be selling fast for this weekend’s closing shows, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with a Sunday 2 p.m. closing matinee.
The delightful tale of a 1930s ocean voyage is filled with intriguing characters and classic songs—including “You’re the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Friendship,” “Blow, Gabriel, Blow,” and the rousing title number, among many others. And for the HCMT show’s opening weekend, many singing and acting performances stood out at Hingham Town Hall’s Sanborn Auditorium. Among the standouts, all from the South Shore: Justin Maloney as Billy Crocker; Kelly Geraghty as Reno Sweeney; Alexa Hartman as Hope Harcourt, and James Sullivan as the villainous “Moonface” Martin.
No less impressive were the choral singing and stage-filling dance numbers, all backed by a stunning nine-piece orchestra conducted by Kelley DePasqua.
Nathan E. Fogg DeSisto, one of HCMT’s star directors, has made this one of his greatest hits, with the choreography by Samantha Brior-Jones Sullivan keeping the stage in constant, delightful motion. The director, in his production note, points out in the show’s program that cast members range in age from 18 to 80, and are “very proud of the work they put into making this fun-filled ocean liner romp….”
It’s a romp that certainly kept audiences cheering the first weekend. So much so that tickets were in great demand for this weekend’s closing Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon performances. Tickets may be purchased early—at $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and students—at hcmttickets.ludus.com/index.php —or by calling HCMT at 339-793-19/891. Hingham Town Hall’s Sanborn Auditorium is at 210 Central St., Hingham.
—Roy Harris, a semi-retired journalist and longtime HCMT performer, lives in the World’s End area of Hingham.
