"Chicago" Comes to USN Stage Next Month

by Catherine Coke, director

Everyone’s excited that our fall musical will be Chicago. More than 50 students came to audition.
After call-backks last Monday, the show has been cast--with 38 women and 13 men. Last week, we had music, choreographic, and blocking rehearsals. Most of the songs have been learned, two dance numbers are complete, and Act I’s blocking is done.  And the production design is starting to become reality: lights have been hung and set construction is underway.
  
A bit of background on the show:
 
Chicago, with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, premiered in 1975 on Broadway, and though it received mixed reviews, it also received 12 Tony nominations (it lost out that year in awards and ticket sales to A Chorus Line). Revived on Broadway in 1996, it became the longest-running American musical in Broadway history (7,486 performances), with 8 nominations and 6 Tony wins. 
 
So why did the original production do okay while the revival was exceptionally well received?  There are lots of reasons, not the least of which was A Chorus Line's being produced in the same season in 1975.  But maybe the main reason is contextual. 

In the original, the creators were really examining some American myths about celebrity culture; they were doing it in subversive yet humorous and entertaining ways, but the show is a bit dark, and maybe we didn’t realize then how much we were being affected by the drive for celebrity.  Maybe the show was ahead of its time in 1975.  But with the 1996 revival following our country’s obsession with the OJ Simpson trial in 1995, it seemed to hold more weight. 
 
So, why is USN HS doing the show?  There are a number of reasons for that as well: 
 
1.  It’s a great show, with wonderful music, memorable songs, and a strong story.
 
2. We’re 20 years past the OJ Trial, but with the rise of the Internet, our insatiable  appetite for celebrity news--especially when they rise and fall and rise again, and fall again--is larger than ever.  We’re all affected by it, including students. With this show, they get the opportunity to engage with that concept in both thought and action. 
 
 3. It’s a women’s show, with many strong women’s roles--something  rare in musicals, even in the year 2015.  We have a large group of strong
young women who are excellent performers, and they need a show in which
many of them can be showcased.  As well, they will get to examine the role
of women in society and American culture through this venture on the stage.
 
So plan to attend Chicago in early November!
 
Performances are Wedneday & Thursday, November 4 & 5 at 5PM;  Friday & Saturday, November 6 & 7 at 7PM;  and, Sunday, November 8 at 2PM. 

Performances are free for students, faculty, staff, and TAP members.  For the general public, tickets are $5. By mid-October, reservations can be made online, and they are greatly encouraged, as audience seating will be limited.
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.