"Anything Goes" at Rosary High School
It's something you don't hear every day.
This weekend Rosary High School presents “Anything Goes,” a musical comedy set on the high seas.
In addition to hearing the sounds of the 32-piece Rosary Symphony Orchestra, audience members will get to enjoy a toe-tapping chorus during the show's several tap-dancing numbers.
“Anything Goes” sets sail at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. All performances will be at the Rosary High School McEnroe Auditorium, 901 N. Edgelawn Drive, Aurora.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for those older than 65 and younger than 12.
Tom Jesse, chairman of the Rosary Fine Arts Department, was first drawn to “Anything Goes” because of the show's dance element.
“We wanted do a show that had tap dancing because it's fun; it's something different that a lot of our students don't necessarily have an opportunity to do to,” Jesse said.
“We decided to throw in a show that relies so much on the dance part of it and let those kids (performing) experience what it's like. There were a number of kids who never had tap shoes on their feet before and they were able to take to it very fast.”
The show centers on a stowaway aboard a luxury cruise liner headed to London who falls in love with an heiress.
“The show itself is a great musical romantic comedy with funny jokes and great songs that people are familiar with. Just great tunes that people know,” Jesse said.
The cast began rehearsals eight weeks ago. While some cast members had tap danced before, a lot of time was spent going over the routines to get everything just right.
“(‘Anything Goes') is something really special because there are so many tap numbers and there's actually a lot of pretty complicated tapping,” said Rosary senior Claire Ziegler of Yorkville.
Nonetheless, Ziegler feels the extra work is worth the end result.
“Mainly (rehearsal) was difficult because for many of us this was our first experience tap dancing. We had to learn the basics and that did take a lot of extra time and effort. (The show) looks really cool and it's so much fun to perform too,” she said.
Others in the cast agree.
“The fact that (‘Anything Goes') is a tap show gives it a lot of potential,” Rosary senior Anne Spoden of Aurora said.
“Learning the dances was a little stressful … but once (the cast) got it we started to perform well overall.”
While the tap element gives the show a little something special, all can agree that the music is what makes “Anything Goes” and must-see (and hear).
“My favorite part is the music,” Ziegler said. “It's so much fun. It's light; it's … a lot of fun. There's nothing really too serious about it. It's silly, it's lighthearted and a great way to take a little time off school work.”