Heights Drama Club touts biggest production in years

Wisconsin Heights Drama Club is back with the latest spring musical, Anything Goes! Set on a cruise ship in the 1930s, this show is packed full of romance, humor, and amazing music. The story follows a young man going after the girl of his dreams, criminals stowed away aboard, and so much more.  The performance is described by Drama Club Director Faith Fehlen as “one of the biggest musicals Wisconsin Heights High School has put on in the last four years as a program. The motto for this production has become ‘We can do hard things (but we have to work for them)!’ and students and faculty alike are embracing and championing this motto in every part of their work.” Work involved “developing and creating a 3-level set, to learning massive production dance numbers (with tap!), to finessing the 1930’s style costumes, to gathering a full pit orchestra, everyone has had to step up in a big way for this golden-age musical production,” according to Fehlen.  The set alone is a “six-foot structure that can hold almost all of our students, including stairs and ladders for access, the ability to move and travel underneath, and various hidden features that help our set to transform and adapt to our varying settings.” Fehlen added, “This week, ship crates showed up, stenciled with fun easter eggs and silly personal touches--a joyful part of the hands-on nature of this work!” The Star News caught up with members of the cast and asked them a few questions. Emma Adler plays Purity, “one of the Angels, which are the leads’ ‘showgirls,’ she explained. “This is a little bit of a different role for me. [My character] is very spicy, to put it simply. She’s just going through life and enjoying every minute of it, and especially loves supporting the main character, Reno. I don’t think I’m personally very similar to her, but the best challenge in drama is molding your personality to bring your character to life.” Eve Calvert plays Erma. She is, according to Calvert, “a very bold character. She’s sarcastic, loud, and very fun to play. But she is pretty different from me. She’s unlike any character I’ve played before so it was nice to branch out.” Adler went on to explain:   “There are so many pieces that go into making a musical. After auditions, there are tasks of set building, getting into character, learning choreo (in heels for some of us), and working dynamics between scene partners. One specific thing from this show that I’ve really enjoyed is coordinating with my scene partners. There are four of us, and we have to coordinate our outfits, movements, poses, etc. It’s fun to learn the tracks of our characters together because we’re all putting effort into a connected and satisfying support system for our lead.”   Calvert explained about her character, Erma, “having to play such an enthusiastic and playful character has really helped me grow as an actor and stretched my range of roles I know I can play. The process of playing Erma has been long, because she has a different accent and different emphasis on every word she pronounces. So I think in that sense it’s been the hardest.” As Director of the Club, Fehlen’s work is:   “Two-fold: (1) to set our club culture and keep everyone working towards the same production vision, and (2) to guide the scene work and character development of our cast. It is incredible to start every show with a list of unknowns, problems to solve, dream lists, and hopes for our program, to then watch the gifts and talents of everyone brought together collide into something impossible without each person who inevitably says “yes”.    She describes a recent fun time:   “One favorite moment from this production was actually a ‘Homework Club’ day we had together as the eligibility grade check came around just before show time. Students and faculty worked together to study, tutor, and support each other in the many other responsibilities our students are always balancing. During our break time, we enjoyed a beautiful day outside and what started as a walk down Wolf Run Trail, turned into playing tag, pushing swings, and climbing all over the elementary playground. It’s a privilege to work with students as they are learning who they are and developing character traits and skills for adulthood, but also so fun to create and embrace opportunities to freely play and laugh together as friends and a program family.”   Adler describes her experience:   “Something fun that came from the rehearsals for this show have been learning new dance styles. For multiple dance numbers, we have been experimenting with new styles that even our choreographer is new to, one of them being tap. Tap dance specifically is extremely satisfying once you get the steps down, and I’ve become a huge fan of it. Overall, the best part of doing drama through Wisconsin Heights is learning new things. Because we’ve made it our goal to rotate genres and styles, actors get to experience something different and new every year. “   Finally, Calvert describes her most fun experiences as having been “finding the funny that Erma has and method acting has been a joy. Trying to transform myself into someone who cannot only play Erma but that is as similar that I can get to Erma was a process that I nothing but enjoyed. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys watching Erma as much as I’ve loved playing her!”   Shows will be held at Wisconsin Heights High School and showtimes are as follows: March 14th at 7:00 p.m., March 15th at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m., and March 16th at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be pre-ordered with the following URL: http://tinyurl.com/WHHS-2025-MUSICAL