"Anything Goes" in High School Theater Production

“Anything Goes” seems less like a title and more like a warning for a production that requires a cast of 32 to learn how to tap dance, a crew of 12 to construct an enormous ocean liner and an orchestra pit to master the tunes of Cole Porter. 

The cast and crew of Whitefish Bay High School were undaunted by such challenges and will premiere "Anything Goes" on Friday in a five-show run over two consecutive weekends.

Director Amber Kind-Keppel says she selected the play for its unconventional take on romance and its colorful characters.

“The characters themselves are pretty rich, and I think there’s a lot of learning that can be done through them,” Kind-Keppel said. “…You could really work to develop them, and they also gave more opportunities to the kids, which I liked.”

True to its title, the plot of “Anything Goes” concerns the romantic misadventures of a stowaway stockbroker, an evangelist-turned-nightclub singer and a second-rate gangster on an ocean liner bound for London. The musical premiered in 1934 on Broadway.

Because of the musical’s heavy emphasis on tap dance, the cast of 32 — the majority with no previous experience tap dancing — began practice in January.

Kind-Keppel said the cast learning to tap dance was one of the biggest challenges of the production, but also one of the most rewarding.

“It’s challenging, and we’ve just been working to perfect (the tap dancing) and to help them become confident. It’s kind of amazing how well kids can learn these moves, which are complex,” Kind-Keppel said. “I’ve been really proud of my cast and their kind of motivated discipline in taking on the challenge of the show.”

Whitefish Bay senior Marcus Hunter, who plays stockbroker Billy Crocker, estimated the cast took about three to four hours per day to learn the dance moves.

“Learning to tap dance was really a workout,” he said. “It was really challenging.”

Choreographer Rebecca Schmidt was proactive in addressing this challenge. She said she donned tap shoes for the first time since she was five years old and relearned some moves in an intense two-week span before the cast convened in January.

Cole Porter’s score will be recreated by an orchestra pit of about 20, led by Jeff Shoemaker.

The events of the play take place on a London-bound ocean liner, recreated for the stage by technical director John Coleman.

Coleman said the set took about two weeks to build and makes the most of Whitefish Bay’s drop and wagon style theater. Coleman said one challenge he and the crew of 12 faced was finding enough room in a shallow stage to layer the ship and the forestage.