A

dam Bernard has 
reached number four 
in counting times he 
has participated in Michigan 
productions of the musical 
comedy Anything Goes.
Number four will be staged 
March 3-5 at The Berman 
Center for the Performing 
Arts in West Bloomfield by the 
Nicely Theatre Group. Bernard 
takes on two roles — a bar-
tender at the beginning and 
a passenger joining ensemble 
numbers throughout.
In earlier versions of the 
play, about shipboard romance, 
Bernard appeared as a sailor 
for both Stagecrafters in Royal 
Oak and Avon Players in 

Rochester. In contrast, he had 
behind-the-scenes responsibili-
ties as assistant director for the 
Grosse Pointe Theatre. 
“This is a fun, entertaining, 
family-friendly show,” said 
Bernard, 58, a Royal Oak res-
ident. “I love the music, and I 
think the script is hilarious. I 
enjoy tap dancing, and there is 
tap dancing in the show. I love 
the era, the 1930s, so we get 
some cool costumes. I’ve done 
dramas and comedies, but I 
always like the band shows 
best.”
With a classic score by Cole 
Porter, the production is filled 
with songs that are still being 
performed albeit with stylistic 

variations. They include “I Get 
a Kick Out of You” and “You’re 
the Top.”
“I especially like ‘
Anything 
Goes’ and ‘Blow, Gabriel, Blow’ 
as the big ensemble musical 
numbers with hummable 
tunes,” Bernard said. “Our cho-
reographer has done an amaz-
ing job pushing us to our limits 
to create a really great look.”
Bernard, associate director 
for competitive intelligence 
at General Motors, has been 
interested in music perfor-
mance since attending high 
school in New Jersey, where he 
was in the choir. 
In college, at the 
Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology (MIT), he took 
tap dancing to fulfill a physical 
education requirement while 
volunteering for backstage 
theater projects that involved 
building sets.

LOVE OF CARS
Construction has been another 
constant in Bernard’s life, but 
that connected him to vehicles.
“I have been a car enthusiast 
since I’ve been 3 years old,” 
Bernard said. “I played with 
Matchbox cars, and I would 
draw cars. I originally wanted 
to be an automotive designer 
and then decided I needed an 
engineering degree as a foun-
dation. 
“While I was at MIT, I stum-
bled into a summer internship 
with General Motors in their 
design organization and real-
ly enjoyed it. I interned for a 
couple of summers and joined 
them when I graduated.”
After working full time 

GM engineer takes on two roles in Anything Goes.
Tap-Dancing Car Guy

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

44 | FEBRUARY 24 • 2022 

ARTS&LIFE
THEATER

BRIAN CRAIG

DOMINIQUE HINDE

Tom Pagano, Erin 
Johnson and Jason 
Bowen in Nicely’s 
Anything Goes