Theater Review: "Anything Goes" decks the halls differently

Norrell Moore shines as Reno in "Anything Goes."

"Special" is the word of the moment on sports radio. Meaning, a player is a few cuts above the usual talent it takes to make it, say, into the NFL. (For instance, might Broncos running back C.J. Anderson be special?) The word has taken the place of "intangibles" from a few seasons back.

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Of course, football fans aren't the only ones hungering for the special this season. Families are gathering in theater lobbies with hopes of a holiday outing that proves a bit transcendent.

More often, they'll be met with the warmly comforting, the satisfyingly nostalgic. Even winking and nudging fare like "The Santaland Diaries"or "Santa's Big Red Sack" are starting to have the glow of the known.

So went the thoughts dancing in my head returning home from "Anything Goes," at Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton.

Director/choreographer Nick Sugar and his game cast deliver a mostly sparkling outing with a few bursts of the special.

Like the Arvada Center with "She Loves Me," Town Hall has avoided the 34th streets, the bah-humbugs and ho-ho-hos and gone with an expanded notion of the festive.

Cole Porter's tart 1934 musical decks the halls differently yet hits nostalgic notes. It also hits notes with the help of Donna Debreceni and her quartet de-lovely and delightful. A number of tunes here have become staples in the Great American Songbook, starting with the opener "I Get a Kick Out of You" and gliding into "You're the Top," "Easy to Love," "It's De-Lovely" and "Anything Goes."

If those sound like the contents of a jukebox musical, it's because composer Porter was so darn hot.

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Theater Review: "Anything Goes" decks the halls differently