By james art 
During their freshman year of high school, two Ryle High students took the stage together for the first time in their performance of “My Fair Lady.”
Flash forward to January 2024, they were once again cast together in their college performance of “Anything Goes”.
Two longtime friends, James Lindemann and Cody Combs, will take the stage on November 15th in roles they have never played together before. During this time of preparation, they considered their relationship as friends in the theater.
After playing several roles together, one of their more challenging roles as good friends was Judas and Jesus in the show Jesus Christ Superstar. The opposite roles go back and forth throughout the show with high-voltage songs and ballads.
“We have an ongoing streak of playing against each other and I’m really excited to work with him as close as we are. We used to spend a whole show yelling at each other, and now we’re being little jerks,” Lindemann said.
Knowing them helped the two actors to experience the industry not only in a light-hearted way but also in a constructive way.
“James is great to work with. It’s really fun offstage when we’re in a similar field of work that we have to do for a show. It’s nice to be able to talk to him because James is really smart and always knows what he’s talking about,” Combs said.
Combs and Lindeman will play Billy and Moonface Martin in “Anything Goes.”
Anything Goes follows Rhino Sweeney, a nightclub singer who sails from New York to England. Reno must help his close friend Billy win his love because she is currently engaged. Reno, Billy and the other heroes and sailors dance high-energy taps to get through the drama aboard the SS American.
The two characters are famous for their duet “Be Like the Bluebird”, in which Moonface Martin cheers Billy up with a silly song while Billy is in prison.
Lindemann and Combs are similar in their relationship.
“Billy takes risks and is funny, and Moonface is off the rails and a terrible influence. We get each other into a lot of trouble just like the characters,” Combs said.
Sharing the excitement is something the two still feel genuinely surprised by to this day, even after multiple roles together.
Similarly, Lindemann memories during his time with fellow cast member Marlo D’Acenzo.
(Adeline McCollum)
Lindeman and D’Ascenzo grew up together in musical theater and look forward to being on stage together again. Because D’Acenzo was homeschooled, she didn’t have a high school theater program to rely on. She got into theater through the Cincinnati Children’s Theater and met Lindeman there.
Lindeman and D’Ascenzo did shows like “Footloose” and “Clue” together. In “Anything Goes”, the two will play secret romantic lovers, and they have never done this before.
“It’s definitely a lot of fun when you already know that person you’re interacting with and you can have fun together making these new characters while dancing together,” said D’Acenzo.
The three co-stars are eager to begin full rehearsals for the show and work together again.
“Anything Goes” will hit the stage on November 15th and run until November 23rd. Tickets are available at