HHS to present “Anything Goes”

When you mix the music of Cole Porter and a comic love triangle involving an evangelist-turned-lounge singer, a lovelorn stock broker and Public Enemy No. 13… anything goes.

This weekend, Holton High School’s drama department will present the Tony Award-winning comedy-musical “Anything Goes,” under the direction of HHS vocal music instructor Randall Bond, in the HHS auditorium. Saturday’s 7 p.m. performance includes a 5 p.m. dinner theater, and there are two performances on Sunday, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

This may not be the first time the HHS stage has hosted “Anything Goes,” Bond noted, but for many of the students involved in the production, it may be their first exposure to Porter’s music.

“They’re handling it really well,” he said. “We talked about the history, the time period the musical’s set in, the style of the songs — it’s all been a lot of fun for them, especially for the freshmen.”

Set aboard the S.S. American, “Anything Goes” centers on the antics of lovesick Wall Street broker Billy Crocker (Ethan Teter), a stowaway in pursuit of his beloved, Hope Harcourt (Lyndie Copeland), who is enganged to stuffy British nobleman Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Tel Wittmer). Billy’s old friend, evangelist-turned-nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Anne Bowser), who offers to help Billy win Hope’s heart.

Also on board are Moonface Martin (Torin Kaboudan), a hapless gangster known as “Public Enemy Number 13,” and his moll, Erma (Bre Teter), who get caught up in Billy’s quest while masquerading as missionaries. Mistaken identity, blackmail and a few compromising positions are thrown into the mix.

And, of course, there are Porter’s songs which have, over time, grown their own “sea legs.” Those songs include “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Let’s Misbehave,” “You’re the Top,” “It’s De-Lovely” and the title song.

Alexis Sanchez serves as the stage manager for this production. Other featured cast members include Emma Wittmer, Brandon Lehnherr, Carson Meerpohl, Justin Pool, Draven Wahwassuck, Walker Sheldon, Sonora Sheldon, Taylor Stevens, Sydney Snyder, Tabor Barta, Braidey Hooper, Jonah Torres, Mary Gorden, Ethan Brownell, Kaitlyn Schlodder and Trasen Snavely. 

Also appearing in the production as passengers, sailors and ship crew members are Megan Rhule, Emma Reith, Sophia Mellenbruch, Kylie Hulse-Nelson, Cole Herring, Nathan Haefke, Danielle Adcock, Creighton Baxter, Josh Clark, Ethan Deegan, Katelyn Hards, Karissa Herd, Abby Hundley, Shawn Kramer, Savannah Phillps, Sydney Prine, Carly Raney, Ashlyn Robinson and Celana Zehner.

The musical, with its original book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse along with Porter’s songs, was first presented on Broadway in November of 1934 and has undergone various revivals, in addition to being made into a feature film twice. Bond said two songs were cut from Holton’s production — and not because of potentially risqué lyrics that are part of Porter’s repertoire.

“There were two songs that had about 180 measures of dance, and I’m the choreographer,” Bond said. “If it’s got dancing that isn’t going to do anything to carry the storyline, we’re going to cut it down or cut it out. But there’s still some dance involved in the show.”

One of the challenges of bringing “Anything Goes” to the HHS stage this fall, Bond said, has been making room on the stage for rehearsals while renovation and installation of a new lighting system was going on in the HHS auditorium.

“When we first started in here, all the chairs were up on stage, and we had to figure out how to put them back in a way that the work crews could still get to the lights. It took about three weeks to get the lighting installed,” he said.

As a result, some rehearsing was done in the HHS commons area, which Bond said was advantageous because it gave the students a work area that was as big as the stage.

“It also gave the kids the chance to see the show, where they’re not in the wings,” he said. “When we get back into the auditorium, I can explain to them how it’s all put together while they’re waiting in the wings.”

The production will be the first to take advantage of a digital lighting system, which Bond said has been a challenge to learn on short notice.

“We had about an hour and a half of training after it was installed,” he said. “If I wanted to know more, they said, ‘Just download the owner’s manual’ — all 387 pages of it. But it’s been fun to mess with it.”

Some of the auditorium seats were removed for the renovation work, and at rehearsals on Monday, a few rows of chairs were still uprooted from their rows. However, Bond said he expected all the seating to be back in place for the first curtain on Saturday.

Tickets for Saturday’s dinner theater are $15, and reservations are required; call HHS at 364-2181 to make reservations. Tickets for Sunday’s performance — $5 for adults and $3 for students — will be sold at the door.