Any performance, whether it’s a choir concert, a music recital, or a play, takes weeks of rehearsing and practicing. The production of this year’s musical Anything Goes was no exception. The preparation for this musical, for the first time, involved collaboration from three teachers of choir, drama, and band, working together to produce the show.

“With a musical, there’s a lot more stuff to do and you have the same amount of time [as a regular show],” Drama teacher Kristen Lo said. “You have dancing and singing and music, and everyone wants their area perfect.”

Although choir coach Michael Najar and Lo have worked together twice before on musicals, it is the first time Paly band teacher Jeff Willner has worked on a Paly-produced musical.

“It’s big. It’s a huge thing to coordinate all this,” Willner said. “It’s definitely something every year would be rough on the program [but] the process has been positive.”

Because the theater is fairly old, there is very little backstage room. Lacking an orchestra pit, the band must squish in the back winds, which takes up room that would have been used for props, dressing changes and the other flurries of the backstage.

“It’s always a big problem with this theater. We have no wing space; no room for the band, no room for the set pieces,” Lo said.

Although many choir students are in the musical, it was not required to join and every prospective actor or actress had to audition. With choir students in the cast, it brought unknown faces to the theater department.

“Everybody likes new blood in the theater on stage and not the same people in every part,” Lo said. “A lot of choir people are in the cast. Everybody had to audition, there was nobody who was just ‘in’.”

Lo says that the school should anticipate a great show filled with stupendous singing, acting, and music.

“I’m really excited to see the musical this weekend because the trio of the band, choir and actors is going to be a phenomenon,” Senior Christine Young said.

The collaboration is also a new experience for everyone involved in every aspect of the production.

“I think it’s really good because they [Lo, Najar, and Willner] are all specialized in their different areas, but sometimes they’ll all tell you different things,” Kelly Hafner, who has a main part, said.

Overall, the cooperation of the three have been a good thing, despite some predicted difficulties. However, all three, Willner, Najar, and Lo agree that the group effort has been a good thing.

“Usually I’m putting together a play by myself,” Lo said. “They [Najar and Willson] have great creative input to the project.”

Najar also agrees that the different view points of singing, acting and music “takes the musical to the next level.”

“To share with each other makes all of our arts better,” Najar said.

The play has its opening gala tonight at 8:00 p.m. in Haymarket Theater.