Olivia Cipperman ’19: With the success of last year’s Hairspray and the talk of the revered (yet controversial) musical, Chicago, the EA theater department continues to surprise the EA community in their choice of musicals for the EA community. Chicago is an old Broa
dway favorite including murder, showbusiness, and the power of the media, as the first line says, “all the things we hold near and dear to our hearts.”
Although seen as a classic, Chicago is rarely brought to high school stages for two main reasons. First, it is currently on Broadway and second, it makes frequent use of mature subject matter. However, Domino board members and the EA theater department are confident that the school is capable of introducing Chicago to EA in an appropriate, yet entertaining manner. As Theater Department Chair Dan Clay says, “We know our audience is parents, peers, and friends, and we don’t want to make the audience uncomfortable. We’re going to be very careful about that. We have a way to draw a line and understand where we can push the envelope and where we might have to pull it back a little. And, we have ways to pull it back and still make it interesting and still make it resonate as Chicago..”
Choosing the musi
cal for the EA Upper School each year is a process with many steps. Domino board member Dejah Cosby outlines the system by explaining, “It’s kind of a long process. We started looking last year at what to choose. We come up with a big list collectively, and then at the meetings we go through and choose what we think the school body wants to see.”. Clay elaborated, “It’s got some good momentum going. We announced it at the beginning of the year, so people have been talking about it since the fall. We’re really excited to start rehearsing it, and we think that by the end of the year, it’s going to be a big event.” Dance Director Cara Lavallee agrees, “I think it’s a popular show… I think a lot of people know it, a lot of people know the movie, and the music is very catchy.”
People all around the EA community are excited about the new direction of EA’s musicals. “It seems the tones of the musicals are shifting to be more contemporary, mature, and relatable to high school students” reflected Brynn Doyle, cast this year as Roxie Hart.
Clay echoed, “I think the biggest thing is that it [Chicago] has a lot of contemporary themes. It’s about the spin the media puts on things, it’s about the obsession with celebrity, and it’s about wanting attention whether it’s good or bad.” Music Department Chair Jim Erwin adds, “It’s a thought provoking thing, looking at how we just believe things that are told to us without really investigating it, and what is really fact and what is fiction.”
As well as having relevant themes, Chicago has a unique style of music and dance. Erwin says, “The dancing really isn’t 1920s dancing at all. It’s Bob Fosse, which is very modernesque, almost like a modern painting.” Lavallee explained, “It’s definitely a very different style than, say, what we did in Hairspray last year, just because Fosse is so well known and so specific. We really want to make sure that we’re paying homage and doing it justice to what was originally wanted, while putting a modern twist on it.” She also notes, “I think it’s going to be a challenge for our students, but I think it’s within our grasp.” The tunes in the show draw from the popular musicians of the jazz age. Erwin says, “Chicago brilliantly preserves 1920s jazz, which is a great part of music that hardly anyone listens to except for in the context of the show.” Together, the music and dance in the show can be very evocative.
Although Chicago may be challenging in its modernism and maturity, Lavallee puts it simply: “It’s going to be fun.”
*check e-Scholium for cast list