As Pierson prepares to debut "Chicago," cast and crew reflect on chance of lifetime.
By Annette Hinkle
Murder, greed, adultery and treachery. Hardly the stuff you’d expect most high schools to tackle in their spring musical. But then again, most high schools don’t get to do “Chicago” and all the unforgettable Bob Fosse choreography that goes along with it.
This weekend, however, the students of Pierson High School will.
Nabbing “Chicago” is a major coupe in the world of musical theater. The rights are rarely granted to high schools — especially those within two hours of Broadway where, in a strange twist of fate, Sag Harbor’s own Christie Brinkley begins an 11-week run tomorrow in the role of Roxie Hart. But after years of applying and reapplying, this year, Pierson’s director Paula Brannon got lucky.
“We were told they give the rights to one in 100 — and they’re more likely to give it to somewhere other than New York,” said Brannon. “Directors are calling me from other areas asking how did you do that?”
“I think they just got sick of hearing from me,” added Brannon with a smile.
The play opens tonight and runs through Saturday in the Pierson auditorium, but the process began with auditions more than six weeks ago when 40 plus aspiring actors turned out for a shot at a role (including nine boys — a record notes Brannon).
It’s easy to see why. This show is pure Fosse, full of intricate dance moves, powerful female characters and a riveting script, which makes it popular among the students. The play is set in 1929, and has just two female leads — Roxie Hart, a young woman who goes to prison after shooting her lover in a fit of rage just as her husband is returning home, and Velma Kelly, a hard-edged cabaret singer who’s serving time for doing in her boyfriend and her own sister after learning they had a “side-act” of their own. The Cellblock Tango is perhaps the play’s most popular number and features Velma and other “bad girls” explaining how they came to murder their two-timing partners. Soon, Roxie is one of the girls and she gets smart about legal counsel — hooking up with Billy Flynn, a smooth-talking lawyer for whom dramatics and front page stories matter far more than the truth.
“This is the other side of the tracks of Millie,” said Brannon, referring to Pierson’s last musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” which is set in the early 1920s.
Given the uncanny amount of talent at Pierson right now, Brannon couldn’t have gotten the rights to this play in a better year.
“It’s a special class — there is a lot of theater ability,” said Brannon. “They’re multi-talented.”
But competition is fierce as was evident during the audition process. The girls did their best to keep up with choreographer Oscar Gonzalez as he quickly showed them one move after another. The front line changed places with the back so he could see everyone’s kicks, turns and positioning. While the hard work of rehearsals was still to come, the tough part in mid-February was figuring out who would get the coveted lead roles.
“If you get a part – please stick with it. No matter what part you get,” said Gonzalez as he finished with the dance portion of auditions. ‘You won’t regret it. You have a chance to perform ‘Chicago.’”
“This is an opportunity that many of you will not have again,” added Brannon as she explained that the two best triple threats would get the leads, while the best dancers would be the cell block girls. Though double casting was discussed, the students roundly rejected the idea.
“I use a scoring system and everyone’s a tenth of a point apart,” confided Brannon at the end of the day. “It’s made it very difficult.
At high noon on February 18, the cast list was posted to both screams of delight and tears of disappointment. Senior Elizabeth Oldak was cast as Roxie and sophomore Emily Hinz got the role of Velma. The next few weeks were filled with hectic rehearsal schedules, readjusted expectations, learning lines, perfecting dance moves and settling into the reality of the show.
“You have to be careful to not mimic when you’ve seen it so many times,” said senior Holly Goldstein, who plays June, a cell block girl. “Everyone knows the movie and is expecting that. But we have to live up to the standard of the show and really create our own character.”
For some of the actors, it’s been hard coming to terms with not getting the role they initially wanted. But it’s an energy the cellblock ladies in particular have managed to channel to their advantage.
“I think maybe the anger toward not getting the part works in the scene,” admitted Sophie Parker as opening night approached. “It helps to think of someone you don’t like while you’re doing it.”
“None of us have killed anyone, so channeling the anger can be difficult,” added Goldstein. “It makes you wonder, what drove these girls over the edge?”
“I think we’re all pulling the play together,” added Shannon O’Malley. “Everyone was stressing out at first, and now we’re all doing it well. I think it’ll be one of the best scenes in the show.”
“It’s an intense scene,” Parker said. “Even though Velma and Roxie are great parts, these girls are so different than what you see in most musicals, which are damsels in distress in need of saving. These girls say they did it. It’s crazy ass feminism."
While some people have raised an eyebrow at the choice of the play, given its mature subject matter, Brannon stresses that the lyrics, dialogue and dance moves have been toned down.
“We did two rehearsals of dancing – and they got it,” explained Brannon. “Oscar has it go the way he feels it should go and then we’ll modify it. Some moves are a little inappropriate for high school. It’s a Fosse show, his dance has overt sensuality to it. This play hits it even more, and we don’t need to do that. We can have just as much fun without it.”
“It’s very close to Fosse’s choreography,” explains Gonzalez. “Fosse has a sexy style, which is good for theater, but not so good for high school. That’s why we combine Bob Marshall’s [film version] and Fosse.”
“As far as the maturity of the material, there are things they did on Broadway with costumes and in the film that we won’t do,” adds Brannon. “We won’t show them in the bedroom. Fosse’s style is about the body, and we’ll still be able to that without having to bare skin. We’ll use see-through tops and scarves wrapped around leotards and we’ll go into full colorful costumes of the era.”
“I think this is on the same level of maturity as Chorus Line.”
For their part the students, many of whom first saw the movie years ago, certainly don’t have a problem with the material.
“Personally I don’t think any of the cast members think it’s inappropriate,” noted Hinz. “This play really shows their talent.”
“Haven’t you seen the Jersey Shore?” added Oldak.
While this is undoubtedly a female dominated show, there are males in the cast as well — notably junior Patrick McKenna who plays Billy Flynn, the lawyer that all the girls want on their side.
“I really do like the show,” said McKenna, a junior. “And I do want to be a lawyer. I love the courtroom scene. I get to wear very nice suits and I look very dapper.”
From a dancing point of view, though McKenna has generally thought of himself more as an actor, he is comfortable with the moves Gonzalez is giving him.
“He’s very descriptive and knows what he wants,” says McKenna. “It’s helped my dancing. Oscar stays close to the original moves. He keeps it guy-like – easy and basic. It comes naturally to me.”
Finally, by last Sunday, everything was falling into place. The costumes had arrived, the two level set (complete with cells) had come together nicely and a row of footlights added a vaudevillian touch to the stage. The live orchestra and the actors were getting to know each other’s cues, while up in the booth, the technicians were sorting through the issues with the cordless mics (always a challenge). But despite the noise and the confusion surrounding them, on stage the cast ran through the first act with a precision that couldn’t be denied. Gonzalez grinned as he watched it all come together.
“They’re going to make it,” says Gonzalez. “Almost every piece is there. I’m very happy.”
“It’s all on target now and going scary good,” added Brannon with a cautious grin.
“Chicago” will be presented in the Pierson auditorium in Sag Harbor on Thursday and Friday, April 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. Shows on Saturday, April 9 are at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the school’s reception desk or by emailing tickets@sagharborschools.org.
Above: Choreographer Oscar Gonzalez teaching he Fosse moves in March.
