The Roaring ‘20s At Full Throttle
East Production Of Chicago Pulls Out All The Stops
By Reid Neureiter
For the GPHN
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It was big and flashy, glitzy and a little raunchy — Chicago as it should be.
In March, more than 100 student actors, dancers, singers, musicians from the East High Theatre Company put on four enthralling performances of the Broadway musical Chicago. The shows, directed by theater teacher and East Company Artistic Director Deborah Voss and student Director Lillian McGlothlen, with choreography by Paige Farlow, were an impressive demonstration that the theatrical arts remain strong at East High.
Set in the roaring 20s, Chicago tells the story of the fame-crazed Roxie Hart, who is sent to Chicago’s Cook County jail after murdering her faithless lover and ends up in a cell block with the calculating Velma Kelly, Matron Mama Morton, and a felonious group of Merry Murderesses. Velma and Roxie are competitors for the spotlight, both in prison and out, and their tales are told to the gullible public and the easily swayed juries by the flashy criminal defense lawyer Billy Flynn.
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The production ran over four nights, from March 2 through 5. Voss had to step away during preparation of the production for health reasons but was able to return to see the final performance. She described the extraordinary effort that goes into putting on a Broadway-level production at East High.
“The process begins in November with auditions and callbacks,” she noted. “Before winter break, we meet as a cast and hand out scripts and read through additional parts for casting. Once students return for the second semester, we hit the ground running. We are in rehearsal each school day from 3:45 to 6:45 every day for two months.”
Voss explained that East’s annual musical is one of the largest co-collaboration events at the school. In all, 65 cast members, 30 technical students and 45 orchestra students, plus various other student volunteers, worked together to pull off the production. The cost — including the elaborate sets that were built by students — is in the range of $40,000. The expense is covered by students’ activity fees, ticket sales and donations. Voss said an estimated 2,500 people came to see the production.
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Voss singled out two students for special praise. Director “[McGlothlen] was the driving force behind the organization, vision and creativity of the production.” And, senior Macy-Caroline Matens played the only lead role that was not double cast. “Not only was [Matens] a lead but she was also one of the main choreographers of the production,” Voss said. “[She] is extremely talented, a kind person and brilliant young performer. I can’t wait to see what she accomplishes in the coming years.”
Voss noted that the February shooting and death of East High student Luis Garcia cast a pall over the school, including the preparation for and production of the musical. Garcia had not been a part of the Chicago production. However, his fellow students in the performing arts community, Voss said, “realized that they had the job of most entertainers in trying times; give the audience and community a departure from the negative.”
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Student Director McGlothlen included this reminder in the program notes about the satirical melodramatic musical: “The world around us is turbulent, but if there is ever a silver lining it’s this: for every deadly sin, immoral person, or act of evil — there’s always someone and something that can bring hope and love into your world.”
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