A fresh take on "Chicago" you don’t wanna miss

On March 4th, I was invited to Youth Theatre Northwest to observe a tech rehearsal for their production of Chicago: Teen Edition. The show was so fun and well-crafted. I was lucky to also interview the director, music director, and six actors about the production. From cast to crew, every person talked with so much love for their craft; love you can see beaming through the production. 

Chicago is part of YTN’s teen conservatory. The process includes a ten-week acting, singing, and choreography intensive, followed by eight weeks of rehearsal, and two weeks of tech. YTN stands out for being an educational theatre, and the entire show is developed to educate the actors and staff. Director Cory Southwell has been teaching at YTN for fourteen years, learning a new role at the theater every year that has elevated his ability to make great theater. Teen actors have similar experiences. When Cory and his team put together the two alternating casts, their goal was to challenge actors to grow their acting, dancing, and singing while building a successful show.

Chicago is a beautiful-sounding show that relies on its ensemble. Egija Claire, the music director, did a fantastic job bringing this to life. Coming from a choral background, Claire understands the importance of an ensemble. In rehearsal, she separated harmony groups around the room, making sure everyone understood their individual parts. You can see the intentionality in every song. “Somebody said that this is the best ensemble [they had] ever heard in an organization like this. That made me really proud, because I really do think that ensemble is important. Of course, we have all the solo numbers and main roles. But I feel like we were really successful because of the way I [taught] them the skills they need.” I agree, this was the best ensemble I’ve heard in a teen production; each ensemble song almost made me cry.

YTN’s Chicago set is a small courtroom, with barely any set changes throughout the show. Staging such a grand show in this small space left Southwell having to be creative. “Within the design concept of keeping everything in the courtroom, we got to have some discoveries and see the material in a different way that we might not have otherwise gotten to see.” Some of these creative choices include using the judge's gavel in the courtroom scene as a gun; the chairs coming out of the jury box for ‘Cell Block Tango’; and having characters peek through the seal of the Supreme Court of Illinois on the courtroom wall. Having an intimate space allowed for some of the most memorable moments in the show. The seal opening added a new level of fun and campiness to the performance and, most importantly, these choices were seamless, never taking away from the story at hand. 

Chicago is a mature show, with a plot centered on murder and sex. I was curious how this would work for a teen cast. Southwell did an excellent job reworking this. A specific choreography change I enjoyed was on the song ‘We Both Reached for The Gun’. “The traditional staging is Roxie sitting in Billy's lap like a ventriloquist. One of the first things I said to the choreographer was, I don't want to do that for these youth actors. We started brainstorming other ways to activate that song. And maybe not a huge leap, but we got to Marionette puppets pretty quickly. That opened up a lot of physicality and storytelling for that number that I haven't seen when it's been a ventriloquist puppeteering staging. That was really cool to see.” This choice of marionette instead of ventriloquist worked on many levels. Not only is it more appropriate for youth actors, as Southwell noted, it brings fresh choreography to the production in a creative way while still highlighting Billy’s manipulative nature. I think any classic show like Chicago can benefit from innovative choreography changes like this one.

From lead to ensemble, all the actors had their heart in this show. When I asked the actors about their inspirations and preparations, they all answered thoughtfully. Some of the cast talked about feeling connected to their characters and their pursuit of attention, while others talked about feeling nothing like their characters but enjoying playing someone conniving. Alon, who plays Amos Hart, had a deeper take on his character in cast Jazz. “Me and Amos had a very love-hate relationship… It wasn't clicking [until]… I sat down and listened to Mr. Cellophane [and] realized if you put aside the happy sounding tunes and the fun melody it's a really sad song. He [says] I'm so unimportant that I don't even deserve a name, you can look right through me and walk right by me, and I don't make any impact on you. That's when I realized that the hardest part about playing this character wasn't that I couldn't relate to him, it's that I was scared of relating to him. Portraying my own fears on stage was what helped me open up and become confident about it.” These actors genuinely care about their characters and the effort put in to portraying them fully and accurately. These actors are actively encouraged to learn how to do this in YTN’s Conservatory, and within this process are able to create fun, honest, and powerful performances. 

From the set design, to the music, to the movement, to the acting, this show is campy and fun while being serious and emotional, and I really enjoyed seeing it. Having been in youth productions myself, it was very special to be on the other side of this rehearsal. Seeing the joy and effort put into every scene, knowing that this is someone’s love project, just as my productions have been mine. YTN is a special kind of theatre and I encourage you to see this show for yourself. 

Chicago: Teen Edition at YTN runs through March 6th-22nd.

Lead photo by Cory Southwell.

This article was written by a TeenTix Newsroom member on special assignment through the TeenTix Press Corps.

The TeenTix Press Corps promotes critical thinking, communication, and information literacy through criticism and journalism practice for teens. For more information about the Press Corps program see HERE.