During the school day, San Marcos High School is home to roughly 2,000 students. But once night falls and the stage curtain rises, a select few of these 2,000 Royals are able to convincingly transform into completely different people. In the upcoming spring musical Singin’ in the Rain, these talented students will seamlessly transition into young actors and musicians living in Hollywood in the 1920s, navigating love and the ever-changing film industry. Four Royals in particular will be taking on starring roles, a milestone in their respective careers as musical theater students at San Marcos.

Seniors Star One Last Time

Milo Bustany as Don Lockwood

Singin’ in the Rain follows the journey of 1920s silent-movie star Don Lockwood as he maintains his stardom and falls in love with aspiring actress Kathy Selden. Portraying this lead character is senior Milo Bustany, a long-time member of San Marcos’ Theater Department who has made countless appearances in school productions throughout his high school career. 

Bustany’s love for the performing arts started when he began to play the piano at age six. Then, in seventh grade, he joined La Colina Jr. High’s performing arts program Outburst.

“I had some theater experience and a lot of prior music experience, so when I saw [Outburst] I was like ‘this is just sort of putting together these two things that I really like.’”

In the time since, he has starred in one San Marcos production and played named roles in many others, making the role of Don Lockwood his second lead role. The role of Don Lockwood is also a more serious one as compared to the more comical characters he has played in the past such as Uncle Fester in the 2023 spring musical The Addams Family. 

“I got to have experience with a more serious role earlier this year with The Curious Incident [of the Dog in the Night-Time],” said Bustany. “When I went into auditions I was sort of expecting to be type casted as Cosmo (Don Lockwood’s comical best friend), but as I went through the process of auditioning I realized that it was really fun to get to be Don. It’s different but I wouldn’t say that it is less rewarding at all. You focus on different skill sets.”

After high school, Bustany plans to continue acting in college, likely at University of Michigan’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program for acting. 

Elise Tsoukalas as Lina Lamont

In Singin’ in the Rain, Lina Lamont is a glamorous and successful actress who stars in silent-films alongside Don Lockwood, often as his love interest. She is the main antagonist in Don’s storyline. Taking on this role is accomplished musical theater student, senior Elise Tsoukalas. Throughout her time at San Marcos, Tsoukalas has played characters ranging from Puglsey in The Addams Family to Siobhan in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. 

Like Bustany, Tsoukalas’ love for musical theater began in Jr. High. 

“Growing up I was really shy and I didn’t like to do any of the performing stuff,” said Tsoukalas. “Then in Jr. High I started doing choir and I realized how fun that was.”

The first San Marcos theater production Tsoukalas was a part of was The Little Shop of Horrors, and she has worked numerous plays and musicals since. 

For her very last role at San Marcos, Tsoukalas is portraying Lina, who is a complicated, conniving, and comical character. Besides being the main antagonist, Lina is known for her harsh and shrill voice, which does not match her polished on-screen image.

“Going into theater, the thing I was most insecure about was accent work, and doing different voices,” said Tsoukalas. “I did a one-act production where I played a girl from the Bronx and so I had to learn how to do a comedic overly-done New York accent. When auditions for Lina came around, I realized I could just pitch that voice really high up and really nasally and have that accent.” 

Lina’s character contrasts sharply with the last character Tsoukalas played, Siobhan from San Marcos’ fall 2023 production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

“Siobhan is this kind, warm, motherly figure to Christopher, the main character,” said Tsoukalas. “After playing her I decided ‘okay, I did my nice sympathetic character, it’s time to be someone who is funny and horrible.’”

As opening night for Singin’ in the Rain draws closer, so does the end of Tsoukalas’ journey with San Marcos’ Theater Department. 

“ I feel like this year has just been such a great last hoorah for theater for me,” said Tsoukalas. “We did the fall play which was such a fun role for me to play and such a great play to really dig into, we had our senior show, and then we have the last musical and I get to just have fun. I’ll definitely be sad when it’s done but it’s a nice sort of cap on everything.”

Tsoukalas plans to attend college to study either psychology or environmental science. 

Rising San Marcos Stars

Naomi Voigt as Kathy Selden

Kathy Selden is a chorus girl living in Hollywood in the 1920s with dreams of becoming an actress. In the musical, she ends up falling in love with movie star Don Lockwood. Freshman Naomi Voigt will star as Kathy in the musical, Voigt’s first major role at San Marcos. 

Voigt’s passion for the performing arts stems from her upbringing in New York City. 

“I was born in New York City, so I was always surrounded by Broadway and musical theater,” said Voigt. “I was lucky enough to always know what I wanted to do; I always wanted to be a performer and I always wanted to do music.”

Voigt began her career at a young age, participating in regional theater, Off-Broadway productions, and even making appearances on PBS Kids and KidzBop. She took singing classes at The Juilliard School and practiced her acting skills with professional coaches. 

In elementary school, she moved to Santa Barbara for two years before moving back to New York City. Just two weeks into the 2023-2024 school year, she moved back to Santa Barbara and started school at San Marcos as a freshman. 

At the time that auditions for Singin’ in the Rain began, Voigt was a part of The Adderley Conservatory’s production of Chicago. When she was cast as Kathy, she quit Chicago to fully commit to Singin’ in the Rain. 

In the past, it has been rare for an underclassman– let alone a freshman– to be cast as a leading role in a San Marcos production.

As Voigt prepared to take on the role of Kathy, she began to notice things about Kathy’s character that she wanted to change for her adaptation. The original Singin’ in the Rain was released in 1952 and takes place in the 1920s, so it is dated, especially in the portrayal of gender roles. 

“Kathy was written as a very stereotypical damsel in distress, her main story is her and Don’s love story, and I really didn’t want that to just be her,” said Voigt.

In Voigt’s portrayal of Kathy, Kathy prioritizes her career, wears pants, and is in love with Don Lockwood without depending on him. 

“I wanted to give her more than just what meets the eye,” said Voigt. “I wanted to give her depth. I wanted her to mature into love instead of just ‘oh my god, I’m in love, he’s so cute,’ I don’t think that’s really her.”

In the future, Voigt hopes to pursue her career as a musical artist. She is currently signed with a label and has released music on streaming platforms such as Spotify. Her music can be found under the name Naomi Jane. 

“I love theater and I feel like I would do it in the future, but I have a love for songwriting and telling my own stories rather than portraying other peoples’ and I think that that is very powerful,” said Voigt.

Sebastian Marin as Cosmo Brown

Cosmo Brown is Don Lockwood’s childhood best friend and works in Hollywood as a studio musician, although he is far from the stardom his best friend has reached. His character plays a comical supporting role, best known for his song “Make Em’ Laugh.” Sophomore Sebastian Marin is set to star as Cosmo Brown, and like Voigt, it is his first big role at San Marcos. 

Marin originally tried musical theater in Jr. High, but it was not until high school that he became more involved. 

“I didn’t have much of an interest in musical theater until high school, I tried it in eighth grade only because the class itself looked easy, but my teacher encouraged me to keep going in high school and I ended up being really into it.”

Last year, as a freshman, Marin worked on ensemble for The Addams Family musical. Then, in just one year, he made the jump from ensemble to one of the leading characters in Singin’ in the Rain as a sophomore. 

“Getting the role was really exciting, it was unexpected because it is unusual for sophomores to be in starring roles here,” said Marin. “I would’ve been happy with ensemble, so when the cast list came back I was just a little shocked, but it was really really exciting and I was just really happy to get the opportunity to try it.”

To prepare for the role of Cosmo, Marin started taking tap dancing practice alongside Bustany. The comical side of Cosmo, however, has come more naturally to Marin. 

“My teacher says I’m a lot like Cosmo already,” said Marin. “I think that the comedy itself has come pretty naturally for me, I haven’t had to try very hard in that aspect.”

Opening night for Singin’ in the Rain will be on May 2, and tickets are on sale now for May 2-5 and May 9-11. With so much talent in San Marcos’ theater department as exemplified by these four students, this last show of the year will be one you do not want to miss. 

Click this link to purchase tickets: https://gofan.co/app/school/CA23116_1