‘Anything Goes’ sets sail at South Allegheny
South Allegheny High School students will present three performances of the Tonywinning musical by Cole Porter.
All aboard!
Set sail with South Allegheny High School’s spring musical “Anything Goes” this weekend.
Packed with music, comedy, dancing and entertainment, the Broadway classic will take place 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee in the high school auditorium.
Student tickets are $5, adult tickets are $10 and tickets will be sold at the door.
“Anything Goes” is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.
The story concerns madcap antics aboard an ocean liner S.S. American bound from New York to London, where Billy Crocker stows away to woo heiress Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to a wealthy Englishman.
Aided by nightclub singer Reno Sweeney and gangster Moonface Martin, Billy uses disguises to win Hope, resulting in chaotic mistaken identities, jazz-age songs, and a romantic, happy ending.
“It is a classic, Broadway show about multiple love interests and all the mess that comes with that – being stuck on a boat,” said director and choir teacher Cole Ramsey. “Billy is trying to hide from the authorities because he snuck onto the boat. It’s a really fun show that highlights a lot of really great soloists.”
In his third year directing, Ramsey said they have been practicing for the show since November. He said practices have been going well as students prepare for opening night.
The production has 32 students involved this year in the show, five crew members and a pit orchestra, according to Ramsey.
According to senior Isaac Niecgorski, “Anything Goes” the musical features a lot of love “situationships,” and a lot of dancing.
“I think people should see our wonderful, 32 (member) cast because we all worked separately on different parts and different things to come together in the end to pull it together,” Niecgorski said.
Niecgorski, who plays Moonface Martin, said this is his first show on the stage, and since it was his senior year, he wanted to try to perform with his friends. He added this is his first time dancing as well.
“It being my first time, it is actually kind of amazing to see how much work you can start so early in the year, and then progress to this point,” he added. “Hard work pays off.”
Senior Mia Cregan, who plays Eliza J. Whitney, which is a male role, said this is her third year doing school musicals. This is also her second male role.
The first musical she performed in 2024, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” only had 10 characters in it. She said the school productions have grown ever since. Cregan finds the shows fun to do.
“I would like to go to law school, so public speaking is really important for that,” Cregan said. “I’m usually a really shy person, so I know that I wanted to do something that involves having to speak in front of a lot of people and putting myself out there.”
Cregan added the show is hilarious, and the cast has put a lot of work into it –so she encourages the public to come to the show. She said it is an “unforgettable” show, and has gained respect for people performing on the stage.
Senior Aubrey Pacewicz, who plays Virtue or Angel #4, said last year was her first production, and she wanted to do the show again for her senior year as she had bonded with her fellow castmates.
“It’s a very fun show,” Pacewicz said. “There are a lot of fun and goofy songs, and there are some people here that are really good at playing their characters.”
Junior Justin Dyer, who plays Billy Crocker, said the show is wacky and funny. While the show is an older classic, he said the show is still a good one that resonates with people today, and every lead role has a solo, which Crocker said he loves.
Senior Chloe Dixon, who plays the ship’s female captain and has been on the crew for a few years, was convinced by her friends to do the show.
She agreed “Anything Goes” is a very fun show that can be chaotic and dramatic at times. Dixon added that the dance breaks are going to be the parts of the show that people will love.
“The people in it are the best,” Dixon said. “We pulled it together very well, it’s a great show. There’s going to be a lot of energy in here, people are going to love it. We perform it very well.”
According to Ramsey, he always wanted to do this classic Broadway show, but never had the opportunity. He said it was a good year to try it out with the wonderful cast he has this year, and encouraged people to come check them out.
“This is something I always really enjoy doing. It’s always fun working with kids who really love theatre, and so there was no hesitation for me to try to give them the opportunity to (perform),” Ramsey said. “The arts are an extremely important part of a well-rounded education. A community that has a thriving arts scene is a community that works for everybody.”
Cast List
“Anything Goes” cast members are: Savannah Mance (Reno Sweeney), Avery Wilson (Hope Harcourt), Justin Dyer (Billy Crocker), Selena Kirkwood (Erma Latour), Mia Cregan (Eliza Whitney), Isaac Niecgorski (Moonface Martin), Mariah Okert (Evangeline Harcourt), Madison Ziak (Lord Evelyn Oakleigh), Chloe Dixon (Ship’s Captain), Kira Zilch (Minister), Amethyst Rhoades (News Reporter), Chloe Martin (News Photographer and ensemble member); Lyla Bennett and Ali Muic (Spit and Dippy); Madison Zadnik & Azalea Gouker (FBI Agents); Corrine Elton, Jaylee Cooke, Madison Crosby (members of Sailor Quartet), Zoe Ziak (Ship’s Purser and member of the Sailor Quartet), Reno’s Angels, the backup singer/dancers for the character Reno Sweeney, are Aubrey Pacewicz, Emma Jackson, Maleah Ball and Sarah Pacewicz.
The rest of the ensemble, which may add more boy cast members by show time, are Bella Obusek, Amayah Shogan, Izabela Andrew, Riley Dilts, Kaylee Rager, Jacob Harris and Kali Nemes.
