S T E W A R D ARTS
Chicago: High School Edition
Steward became one of the
first schools in the nation to
put on a production of the high
school edition of Chicago.
With Steward’s schedule of three theatre
productions per academic year, theatre teachers
Craig Smith and Susan Sanford are always on the
lookout for new and exciting shows to bring to the
school. They frequently approach the play publisher
Samuel French to hear about the latest scripts and
rights becoming available. So when Mr. Smith heard
last fall that Samuel French might be releasing
a high school edition of Chicago, both he and
Ms. Sanford (who directed Chicago: High School
Edition) were thrilled. “If you’re a musical theatre
aficionado or a student of musical theatre, you have
an appreciation for Chicago,” Ms. Sanford said.
When the rights to Chicago: High School Edition
were released to the public in January of 2018 and
Steward secured the script right away, students in
Steward’s theatre program were just as enthusiastic,
if not more. The longest-running musical currently
on Broadway and the longest-running American
musical in Broadway history, Chicago first debuted
in 1975. The original musical was written by John
Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and
Bob Fosse. The Broadway version had a revival in
1995, so between this and the 2002 movie starring
Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Upper
School theatre students were very familiar with the
musical. “The kids were really excited about it,” Ms.
Sanford said. “Most of them had seen the movie
and knew the music.”
According to both the teachers and the students,
the script adaptation for a younger set of actors and
audiences was relatively seamless. “I think they did
a really nice job of showcasing the original musical,”
said Evelyn Dumeer ‘19, who played Velma Kelly. “I
had to look really hard to find the places where they
cut songs. It flowed really well.”
Some of the challenges and opportunities for
creativity became clearer as rehearsals began. For
example, the vocal range for Roxie Hart (played
by Corinne Brager ’19) was transposed up for a
younger voice. “It was definitely a challenge at first,
since it’s such a famous score and I knew the music
so well,” Corinne said. “But [music teacher Samson
Trinh and I] worked through it and by the end, it felt
completely natural.”
Decisions had to be made about content that
was cut from the score for length, as well. “Mary
Sunshine’s song was cut,” Ms. Sanford said. “And
we actually put it back in because we wanted
Kendall Shamus ‘20 to have a song to show off her
incredible vocal range.”
The dance numbers, too, were altered to
accommodate a cast of less experienced dancers,
but Ms. Sanford felt strongly about incorporating
some of the choreography from of the original
Broadway production. “Keeping the integrity of the
[Bob] Fosse style while also keeping it appropriate
for the kids and the audiences was certainly a
challenge,” Ms. Sanford said. “As was creating
choreography that was achievable without requiring
ten years of dance background while keeping it
challenging for the kids who were experienced
dancers.”
Some of the most rewarding moments for the cast
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The Colonnade
came from remaining committed to the lightning-
fast pace of the original show. Corinne recalls the
quick costume change that almost wasn’t. “In the
middle of the number ‘Nowadays,’ I had to run off
stage and change from my black dress into a sparkly
silver dress, jacket, hat, and cane all in about 20
seconds,” Corinne said. “The first three times we
tried to do it, we failed monumentally. But with
the help of some amazing cast members (Morgan
King ‘19, Nancy Walker ‘22, Zoe Macgill ‘22,
Hailey Wharram ‘21, and Leah Weinstock ‘20) we
eventually got it done, and it was the best feeling!”
After seven weeks of rehearsal, Steward’s
production of Chicago: High School Edition debuted
on October 18, 2018 and ran through October 20.
The musical broke the record for largest audience
attendance at any Steward theatre production, and
received praise from the entire community. For
many of the students, including Corinne, performing
in this musical was fulfilling a dream. “The best part
of the show was the last week when everything
came together, from the intense choreography and
songs to the costumes and set,” Corinne said. “It
was an amazing experience to play one of my dream
roles on the Steward stage.”