By Elisabeth Palacios

The McCaskey musical of the 2023-24 school year is the updated version of Anything Goes written by Cole Porter. The story takes place during the 1930s-1940s, overseas aboard the “S.S American.” It follows charismatic nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Annika Locke), pining businessman Billy Crocker (Jared Groff), and sly gangster “Moonface” Martin (Keagen Laureano-Roman) accompanied by his conspicuous partner-in-crime, Erma Latour (Celia Keener). They try to help Billy win the girl of his dreams, the spirited heiress Hope Harcourt (Anya Eden). 

Directed by Ms. Wolanin, this cheesy, exciting, and humorous love story is a super engaging rollercoaster. The problem afoot is that Billy has to stowaway on the ship to follow Hope, and attempt to hide his identity from everyone else, including his boss who is onboard. Meanwhile, Hope is unhappily getting married to wealthy and eccentric Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Titus Newswanger) simply to satisfy her mother, who wants Hope to marry rich for the sake of their family. 

The songs vary from engaging and up-beat to emotional and heartfelt, and the dance numbers that accompany them match them perfectly. It will be inevitable for anyone to see the show and leave the auditorium without multiple of them stuck in their head on repeat. From songs like “You’re The Top” to “Easy To Love” to “Buddy Beware,” there is truly something for everyone to enjoy when it comes to the amazing music of this show.

The dances in the musical mostly consist of tap-numbers, which makes them so much more catchy and satisfying to watch. When there isn’t tap dancing, beautiful and slow contemporary numbers take place instead. None of the dances failed to mesmerize me and keep me invested in the show. Along with the songs, the dances do a great job of displaying the talent of so many students at McCaskey that can’t be seen in such a way anywhere else. 

It is extremely evident that this show had so much work put into it, not just by the cast, but also the remarkable director herself, Ms. Wolanin.

She is extremely passionate about theater, and the way she described her reasons for loving it is just as inspiring. “I love that I am able to be creative all of the time. I love problem solving. I love thinking outside of the box. I love giving an escape to people, to entertain… I love sharing those passions with my students and watching them grow. I love watching the first rehearsal to closing night and what happens. It’s magic. It literally is magic.”

Ms. Wolanin directed the past two musicals at McCaskey including, Newsies and High School Musical which she states was crucial for this show to happen. “I chose the show on purpose for this year because of what I’ve put the students through the last two years. We could not have done this show two years ago. That’s why. I have prepared them.”

She has also heavily expressed her love for the musical in general, regardless of how challenging it is to produce. Anything Goes is a huge ‘Americana’ classic, giving this year’s show an entirely different energy from our past musical productions. When asked to describe it, Ms. Wolanin used lyrics from the show itself and nothing else can describe it better: “It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely.” Furthermore, she told me “It’s a great escape, all the students behind the scenes and on the stage do a remarkable job, and it’s just worth your time. It’s worth coming to see.” This show will be a theatrical experience to remember. Don’t miss it!

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For more information, or to order tickets, go to https://sdlancaster.org/news/anything-goes-mccaskey-high-school-musical/.