Despite the nation's gloomy economic situation in 1934, people lined up to see "Anything Goes," keeping it afloat on the Great White Way for 420 performances.

The show, which had the fingerprints of a half-dozen scriptwriters on it, featured music and lyrics by Cole Porter. In the movies and in subsequent successful revivals in Manhattan, in 1962 and 1987, scenes and plots were changed, characters were renamed and more Cole Porter songs were added. Why not? Anything goes.

After all, you can never have enough of Cole Porter - he's "De-Lovely."

"Anything Goes" sails into the auditorium of Broadneck High School this weekend. It opens Thursday at 7 p.m. The curtain goes up again on Friday at 7 p.m.; and on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, and $8 for seniors and students.

The production, directed and choreographed by Hana Thornhill, and conducted by Valerie Bennett, has a fresh-faced cast of 35 Broadneck High students. The volunteer orchestra is a mix of adult music teachers and talented students.

In the cast are three seniors, Dorian Jackson, 17, of Revell Downs, as Billy Crocker; Lindsay Espinosa, 17, of Arnold, playing Hope Harcourt; and, as Reno Sweeney, 18-year-old Lauren Behringer, also of Arnold.

"The show has everything!" Lauren said. "It has different types of people, comic relief intertwined with three love stories, great music and it's set in the '30s. It's a cute show. The audience will love it. It's lighthearted and humorous. It's fun and has a lot of cool characters we enjoy playing."

As if he were trying to untangle the latest plot line of "All My Children," Dorien explained his character, a stockbroker, accidentally winds up with the passport of Public Enemy No. 1, Snake Eyes Johnson. He needs a passport to board the ocean liner where he hopes to woo Hope Harcourt who, in turn, is engaged to Sir Evelyn Oakleigh, a slightly dim British nobleman. To stay on board, he constantly disguises his appearance - which confuses and angers Hope. Reno Sweeney, an old friend of his, is enlisted to distract Sir Evelyn so Billy can spend time with Hope. Making things messy, Reno falls in love with Sir Evelyn.

Ms. Bennett enlisted the seniors' assistance in selecting the play. She gave them a pile of scripts to read. "This one stood out," said Dorian. "It makes me laugh."

"It's nice that us seniors can help make some of the decisions," Lauren said. She pointed out the musical has a lot of juicy roles for female performers.

Lauren will be heading to East Carolina University in the fall to study musical theater. Lindsay plans to pursue the same major, but is sorting through acceptances and scholarship offers from several colleges. Dorian is still juggling all his options. Right now, Dorian is more impressed with the music of "Anything

Goes."

"It has a lot of great music that people know," he pointed out. "Like 'It's De-Lovely,' 'I get a kick out of you,' 'You're the top,' 'Take me back to Manhattan,' 'Blow, Gabriel, blow,' 'Friendship' and - of course - 'Anything Goes!'"

The set is impressive, too. "It's huge!" he reported. "It has a double staircase, double doors and a balcony we can stand on. It's really amazing."

Lindsay noted: "There's a lot of references to people that I didn't get, but my dad was cracking up. Last year, we did another musical, 'Crazy For You,' set in this time period. We're calling this one 'Crazy For You On a Boat!'"

Dorian sighed. "The older people will get ALL the jokes." He added the characters exist in a world without iPods, DVDs, laptops, cell phones and FaceBook.

He said: "Even though it's set back in the olden days, these characters were young, they had things to entertain themselves - like a whole cruise ship."

Art among books

Broadneck Library will be the site of an art display from April 7 through 24. Jen Palumbo and her art students at Arnold Christian Academy will be hanging their artworks for bibliophiles to enjoy during the library's regular hours.

Wendi Winters lives on the Broadneck Peninsula. To contact her with story ideas, e-mail her at BroadneckNews@QuantumStep.com.