‘Chicago’: and all that jazz...

By Monica Kreber
kreberm@mytjnow.com

The cast has been rehearsing since Fall semester classes started, and all cast members are required to be able to sing, dance and act. Last Thursday night they rehearsed the song “We Both Reached for the Gun.” Photo by Claire Von Ostenbridge • vonstenbridgec@mytjnow.comThree hours a day, six days a week, for over three weeks and counting...

Students and faculty in the theater department have been working on the upcoming musical “Chicago,” set to debut from Oct. 5-8.

This is the fourth musical production for associate theatre and dance professor Stephen Gundersheim, who said the department wanted to do something “with name recognition” and good music.

“We started rehearsals right after classes started,” Gundersheim said. 

Gundersheim said auditioning for the musical required cast members who posed a “triple threat”; everyone has to be able to sing, dance and act.

“I think people are going to enjoy the music, and it’s not an old school musical,” he said. “It’s not ‘Oklahoma’ or ‘Anything Goes.’ It’s darker.”

The musical, set in 1920s Chicago, focuses on murderess Roxie Hart, who attempts to gain fame during her murder trial.

Junior theatre major Philip Calabro will be playing Roxie Hart’s “slick” lawyer Billy Flynn, who he describes as “a sleazeball” who has never lost a case.

“We’re trying to keep that cold, sleazy feel to it (the play),” Calabro said. “I’ve never had to do a character that is such a sleazeball, and that’s the biggest thing for me; it’s a challenge to do this because it puts me out of my own character.”

The poster for the musical will be labeled with “adult content” because of the dark story – and the theatre department is not censoring any of the songs or dialogue.

“I would say the show is what it is,” Calabro said. “We’re not trying to take anything out of it. We’re not censoring anything at all.”

Senior theatre major Kayla Piscatelli plays Velma Kelly, Roxie Hart’s rival, in the play. Piscatelli said she likes her character because of “how smart” she is.

“(Velma) is hard and tough,” Piscatelli said. “She is also self-sufficient and independent.”

Piscatelli said the play has been somewhat modernized from the original production.

“We’re a different version of what we were in the ‘20s,” she said.

Gundersheim said the musical is timely now with Casey Anthony trial that wrapped up in July; he said the trials of Roxie Hart and Anthony have similarities.

“There are things about the play that reverberate that (the Anthony trial),” he said. “I think people might have conversations in the car on their way home.”

Senior theatre performance major Cecily Bigham, who will be playing Matron “Mama” Morton, said she loves the rehearsal process and the time she gets to experiment with her “powerhouse” character.

“My biggest challenge for this play is really getting my physicality to match the time period of Chicago,” she said. “Like every role I’ve been cast in, I have to change the way I stand and the way I walk, talk and dance. It’s all very exciting and challenging.”

Roxie Hart will be played by senior theatre performance major Jesse Powers.

“I love the fact that she is a very real, tangible character,” Powers said. “She and I are different in a lot of ways, and it’s hard for me not to judge her for her actions or emotions. Character development is definitely the hardest thing about this show at the moment.”

Powers also said time management is an obstacle. 

“With the small amount of time to learn all of the songs, blocking, lines and choreography, I’m struggling to get a good grip on who she (Roxie) is,” she said. “Having such a fantastic group of dedicated and talented directors, musicians, technicians, actors and stage managers really helps the process run smoothly and successfully.”

Sophomore theatre performance major JT Rider will play Amos Hart, Roxie Hart’s husband. Rider said he likes his character because he is the “only pure, good character” in the show.

“I am excited about the smaller cast that this show calls for, giving all of us more of a family bond,” he said. “The friendships born during the rehearsal process are so strong, and in my experience, have never fallen apart.”

Rider said students should come see the show because it will both entertain and share a powerful message about the facts of life.

“And, of course, cultural credits,” he said.

To keep the dark style of the musical intact, the cast is dressed in black lingerie. Associate theatre and dance professor Janet Gray, who is in charge of costumes, said the department has two classes working on the wardrobe of the musical.

“Each student works four hours a week,” Gray said. “Teacher assistants that help with the class also work outside of class. It’s 28 hours of student work.”

Gray said the costume design for “Chicago” was “new and different.”

“I’ve done shows with people in underwear before,” she said, “but it’s different – not this kind of dark, sexy kind of show.”

Most of the set design is black as well. Associate theatre and dance professor Anna Sartin, who is in charge of set design, said the stage “may have texture,” but for the most part it is a dark setting.

“The challenges tend to be time and space,” Sartin said, “but I feel like we are in pretty good shape.”

Sartin said the crew is excited about opening night.

“Part of the fun about a show is coming in to see how the set has progressed every day,” she said. “You never know what you got until the lights go on.”