By Maddie Coate
Staff Writer
Mira Costa Drama premiered its spring musical production of “Anything Goes” on April 19 in the Costa Auditorium.
Senior Elissa Wells and sophomore Cameron Boyer starred in the show as Reno Sweeny and Billy Crocker, respectively.
“It was an honor to work with the unbelievable cast, crew, and orchestra,” Wells said.
The ‘‘Anything Goes’’ cast performed in seven shows total from April 19 to April 27.
“The play was a challenge for the students because it is such a classic piece of musical theatre from the 1930s, but I think all their hard work paid off, and they really enjoyed the show,” Director Carol Mathews said.
Students performed the play’s original music by composer Cole Porter throughout the musical in the play’s orchestra.
“Cole Porter put the songs he wrote together in a plot line,” orchestra Director Mark McCormick said. “It was difficult for students to learn to play the music in the correct style.”
In the two weeks leading up to opening night, the cast rehearsed after school until 9 or 10 p.m.
“‘Hell week’ and ‘tech week’ are more stressful because it’s our last time rehearsing together,” Wells said. “There is a lot of last-minute bonding while working out the technical difficulties.”
The rented set of the play took place on a boat. The Mira Costa Theatre Tech Team, coached by Auditorium Manager Cary Jordahl, started assembling the set on March 30.
“Renting the stage this year took a large portion of our budget,” crew member junior Megan Heutmaker said. “However, ticket sales should cover the cost.”
Costume Director Alison Gerber and the crew re-used a few costumes from previous plays, sewed new dresses and bought the other costumes from local thrift shops.
“We put in many hours making a lot of skirts and blouses for the costumes for this play, and Alison Gerber also made many elaborate evening gowns for the lead roles,” assistant to the director junior Elizabeth Hartman said.
The cast held its final performance of “Anything Goes” on April 27. Overall, the cast believes the show was a success.
“The audience loved watching the show,” Boyer said. “Everyone was really supportive and gave us a standing ovation at the end.”
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