After months of rehearsal and preparation, Ironton High School’s annual musical got rave reviews from the students and staff that put it all together.

Last week’s presentation on “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” is the latest in a long tradition of musicals dating back to 1974.

“It was a great success,” Kathryn Price, the musical’s director, said. “The kids were wonderful.”

Dylan Markins has acted in the musical for the past four years.

“I loved this year’s,” he said. “It was a great experience. I think we went through a lot to get to where we were and we did a fantastic job.”

For David Markins, being in the annual productions has been one of the best memories of high school. This year he played a company owner’s nephew.

“This was my favorite part I’ve had in a play,” he said. “I got to act like I owned the place. It was a fun part to play.”

The students had been practicing for the show since auditions in February.

All the work was worth it, said Nick Diamond, who performed in the play for the second time this year.

“I thought it was an amazing experience,” he said. “It took a lot of hard work and many, many hours after school. I think in the end it paid off. I just loved the entire thing.”

Not only did the actors put in long hours, so did the stage crew, Diamond said.

“They don’t get as much credit as they should,” he said.

Sophomore Abbie Crowe acted in the musical last year as well as this year, when she portrayed a TV announcer and a secretary.

While the production was fun, she said it is also more work than it looks.

“It’s really time-consuming,” Crowe said. “A lot of people don’t think that but it really is. We worked and worked and worked until it was performance time.”

For the past two years, the school has held the musical at Raceland Worthington High School while construction of the new high school was ongoing. This play marks the first one in the new 600-seat auditorium.

“The auditorium itself (audience members) talked about how comfortable the seats were and how there’s not a bad seat in the house,” Price said. “It was a great experience for the kids and the public too.”

For a senior like Dylan Markins, the auditorium and the musical were a great experience.

“It was a fantastic place,” Markins said. “It’s great. I love the old auditorium better but if there’s anything to replace that auditorium, this would be it.”