“This trial…the whole world…it’s all show business,” crows flashy lawyer Billy Flynn near the end of Chicago. From November 8-10, the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association (HDA) presented Kander and Ebb’s musical—a tale of “murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery.”
Chicago tells the story of Roxie Hart (Addie Cirulis ’25) who is on trial for the murder of her lover. Roxie seeks out celebrity defense lawyer Billy Flynn (Jack McCarthy ’26), hoping he will save her from hanging. Fellow murderess Velma Kelly (Stella Del Mazza Rocha ’25) vies for the attention of the media, Billy, and Matron “Mama” Morton (Abby Broome ’25), who runs the jail where Velma and Roxie are being held. Roxie’s loyal husband Amos (Tyler Rosenblum ’27) must decide whether he will remain by her side.
The HDA board and Ms. MK Lawson, instructor in theater and humanities and director of Chicago, chose the play in part for its connection to this year’s celebration of coeducation. She said, “I trust people will notice the deeper messages and themes of the play: how little has changed between 1924 and 2024 in terms of how women are viewed in society. The media landscape of the 1920s was a direct predecessor of the ‘attention economy’ we live in today. We want people to consider what happens when we live in a culture that prizes going viral above all else.”
Chicago Tribune crime reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins wrote the original play in the 1920s after reporting on a string of scandalous murders committed by women. In the 1960s, Tony award-winning performer Gwen Verdon believed it would make a strong musical production and brought it to celebrated choreographer Bob Fosse, whose Chicago: The Musical became a huge hit in 1975.
Fosse’s distinct style of jazz dance has been a feature of the numerous iterations of the play ever since. The school’s production embraced the iconic look of Fosse’s moves in choreography by Amber Cameron. Ophelia Cham ’25, member of the featured dance ensemble, said, “We used some of Fosse’s signature moves in our choreography. We had to do a lot of drip hands and the broken doll positions, which are motifs that Bob Fosse used.” Featured dancer Jiyani Bharvad ’27 said, “Since Chicago is dance-oriented, I feel like it was more fun to do because it’s dancers who sing instead of singers who dance.” Del Mazza Rocha, who said, “I’m not a dancer primarily; I’m more of a singer,” learned to do a full split for her final routine.
Although Roxie and Velma ultimately escape the noose, not all of the women in the jail are so lucky. As a reimagining of a character originally portrayed as a Hungarian immigrant (whose only line in English is famously, “Uh uh— not guilty!”) Hermione Wu ’27 played Hong Ya, a Chinese immigrant who continually expresses faith in “Uncle Sam’s” justice. Wu said, “I translated all of the character’s lines into Mandarin to include an immigrant experience and the language barrier.”
As Billy Flynn, McCarthy pulled out some special skills to dazzle the press and win the public’s sympathy. He said, “I was the only member of the cast who knew how to tap dance, so I got that little segment of tap dancing that is not always Billy Flynn’s job. It’s something that I’ve been doing since I was six, and I’ve been waiting to do a show with tap dancing my entire time at Hotchkiss. Tap dancing with the orchestra really solidified the role for me.”
“I’ve done theatre since 1st grade, and this is the most talented cast and group of people I have ever worked with,” said Ryan Lee ’28, who played ensemble member Harry. “It was a fun and welcoming beginning to my Prep year with this community.”
Audience members gave the play several standing ovations. Steven Hicks ’26 said, “This is one of the best shows I’ve seen in my life.” Finn Grainger ’28 said, “It was an exquisite production.”
Auditions for the winter mainstage, True Love Never Hides, will begin on Sunday, November 17.
