Chicago Production Leaves Audiences In

Alyssa Sheffy ’19, Drew Landaiche ’19: Chicago, performed at EA in April, left audiences in awe. Helena Bryant ‘17 and Brynn Doyle ‘18 starred in the musical as the leading female roles while Greg Smith ‘17 and Ryan Schiller ‘17 played the musical’s leading male roles. The musical, which is set in 1920s Chicago, follows the story of Velma Kelly (Helena Bryant ‘17) and Roxie Hart (Brynn Doyle ‘18), two murderers locked up with dreams of making it big on stage. Their only hopes of being set free depend on the help of prison warden “Mama” Morton (Anaya Cherry ‘18) and lawyer Billy Flynn (Greg Smith ‘17). The show opens up to Roxie killing a man she is having an affair with (Jeff Coote ‘17) and landing herself her in prison after her failed attempt at framing her husband, Amos Hart (Ryan Schiller ‘17). In prison, Roxie meets many other dangerous women whoare also locked up for murder. These interactions are shown in “Cell Block Tango,” in which Grace Hennigan ‘19, Mackenzie Lee ‘19, Bryce Nabulsi ‘19, Theresa Lemke ’17 and Kelly Flynn ‘17 displayed their musical talent as they revealed the intriguing ways they committed murder to the audience, landing them all in prison. However, some would say that they are “Not Guilty!” Billy Flynn, Roxie’s only hope of leaving prison and becoming famous on stage, tells her that in order to get him as her lawyer, she has to pay him $5,000. Desperate for money, Roxie goes to her husband Amos and declares her love for him, presenting the ultimatum that he must pay the $5,000 if he ever wants to see her again. Billy is initially mad at Amos’s inability to pay off the full $5,000, however, Billy sticks to his promise to represent Roxie and prepares for her trial despite not receiving all the money. Billy’s flamboyant BILLY AND HIS GIRLS: Greg Smith nature and overall ease despite his dealing with ’17 as Billy Flynn rolls on top of his dangerous murderers is shown in Smith’s girls in “All I Care About.” Photo amazing performance “All I Care About is Love.” courtesy of Michael Leslie and Maggie As a result of Billy’s skilled representation of Mengel ’17 Roxie, she begins to grow accustomed to the spotlight, constantly fighting with Velma along the way. However, both women ultimately fail to achieve their desired fame when a new mass murderer becomes the new center of the public’s attention. Cat Spellman ‘19 said that the musical was “well produced” and did a “great job of catering to each of the cast member’s strengths.” When asked about her favorite part, Spellman said she “particularly liked the musical numbers, especially the duets between Velma and Roxie [because] they made it seem effortless and it flowed together really well.” Amanda Jones ‘20 was also blown away by the professionalism EA exemplified. She says “From the dancing to the singing and costumes/set, it looked like a professional broadway performance.” When asked which part was most memorable to her, Jones said she loved “‘Cell Block Tango’ and ‘Roxie’ by far. The ‘Cell Block Tango’ had such an intriguing set and all the girls who sang were really talented. ‘Roxie’ was especially interesting because of Brynn’s emotions and squealing throughout the entire song; it made it seem real. It sounded better than the actress on the original Broadway soundtrack.” Jones had no clear favorite between Chicago or Hairspray, last year’s musical, stating that she “liked each musical equally.” Eloise Nimoityn ‘17 was proud that Chicago is last musical she would see at EA. “I have tried to attend all the musicals at EA during their opening nights, even when I was in Lower and Middle School. I love seeing the talent and hard work the actors put into this production. Being friends with Helena, it made me so happy seeing her and ALL THAT JAZZ: Brynn Doyle ’18 and seeing how much she enjoyed taking part in the Helena Bryant ’17 lead the cast of musical. Overall, I couldn’t have imagined a Chicago in their last performance. better last musical at EA and I am going to miss Photo courtesy of Michael Leslie and watching the musicals so much.” Maggie Mengel ’17 Chicago was a phenomenal show and anybody who was not able to see it, truly missed out. When asked about next year’s musical, Daniel Clay, Theatre Department Chair and Teacher, said “The first play we did in the Upper School on this stage was Grease and because next year will be the 10th Anniversary of being on the Main Stage and on this campus, we’ve applied for the rights to Grease and we hope we can do it as a 10th Anniversary celebration. However, we haven’t received the rights yet so unfortunately we can’t officially announce next year’s musical. If they don’t grant us the rights, we have a few musicals on the backburner. We are very hopeful and regardless of what musical we do next year, I am very excited for next year’s production.”.

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