LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
“Chicago: The Musical” opened at the Paris Center of Fine Arts Friday, July 12 at 7 p.m. – a funny and entertaining satire of the criminal justice system in the jazz age presented by the Paris Community Theater.
The production will be repeated tonight at 7 p.m., July 13 and at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, July 14. Tickets are on sale now at www.pcofa.net or at Prospect Bank during business hours.
First time PCT director Eric Hendrickson said undertaking the ambitious musical – which includes “a lot of dancing, black, lace and burlesque” – has been stressful but the hard work of both the cast and the production team has helped put everything together.
A trio of women – two of which are returning to the stage and one who is a newbie – will delight the audience with not only their voices and acting but their enthusiasm for the show. Dandi Pruiett, Megan Carroll and newcomer Jessica Hendrickson each admit they are enjoying working together to bring the production to the stage.
Carroll – who plays jail Matron “Mama” Morton - last appeared in a PCT production as the narrator in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Family and the time commitment to her job as principal of Wenz School curtailed her involvement with the exception of two PCT cabarets.
“It feels good to be back, especially with the people,” she said. “It’s a lot of work in a short time.”
Pruiett – who began dancing with Miss Ethel Marie Crabtree as a child and continued at the Terre Haute Academy of Dance – is in a production for the first time since high school when she played Nellie Forbush in “South Pacific.” She is appearing as Velma Kelly, a talented vaudevillian who killed her husband and sister.
Her daughter, London, is a member of the ensemble and is the youngest member of the cast. Pruiett hasn’t performed in a production since high school but has sang at two PCOFA evenings of entertainment.
Hendrickson is the new face on stage – although that description is an overstatement. The director of Mayo and PHS chorus groups and assistant band director, she is also co-director the Mayo drama program with Pruiett and is musical director for the PHS productions. A graduate of SIU and the University of Ilinois, Hendrickson plays Roxie Hart who kills her paramour following an argument. It’s her first on stage performance since she was a student at Charleston High School where she appeared in the ensembles of “Bye, Bye Birdie” and “Guys and Dolls.” Planning a career as a music educator, she gravitated to the pit orchestra. She is also the director of the Paris City Band.
Choreographer’s Darcie Papinchock dances are challenging, Pruiett said, but an important part of the production. “It’s a lot of work in a condensed time to get the show ready,” she noted.
Carroll and Hendrickson both say the show is full of surprises. “There are some new faces in the cast,” Hendrickson said, emphasizing the importance of the ensemble which carries the show. Her brother, Taylor Drake, is also a member of the ensemble. “He’s never been in band or chorus but is having a great time,” she said.
Director Hendrickson noted “Chicago” is something different for PCT and is a PG-13 production. Many of the dances in the Paris production are by the original choreographer and director Bob Fosse. Costumes are by Agnes Laughlin and Johnathon Boren is orchestra director. The simple set is a replica of the Broadway production.
“The flash in the show is in the music and dancing,” he said.
“There are no good guys in this show,” Hendrickson said, noting lawyer Billy Flynn – played by Tanner Laughlin – is successful by making celebrities out of his clients to win sympathy and sway public opinion.
Other characters include Melanie Clark as Mary Sunshine, a journalist and Eric Marlowe, Amos Hart. Ensemble members are Ethan Vice, Seth Worthington, Mason Tegeler, Taylor Drake, Christian Landes, Aaron Rhoads, Millie Arp Hamilton, Christiana Marlowe, Piper Mitchell, Olivia Theirl, Abigail Sanders, Kennedy Graham, Maelynn Redmon, London Pruiett and Danny Rader.
Hendrickson said many of the ensemble members also play minor parts in the show.