CHICAGO Comes to City Theater Company in December

City Theater Company (CTC), now in its 32nd season, will give adiences “the “old razzle-dazzle” this December with Chicago, one of the most popular American musicals of all time. 

With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Ebb, Chicago first took the world by storm in 1975 and has endured ever since. Its iterations include an Academy Award-winning film and the current N.Y.C. production, which is the longest running American musical in Broadway history. Chicago is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, with a script adaptation by David Thompson, and presented here by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

Artistic Director Kerry Kristine McElrone directs and promises a whole lotta grit with a little bit of glam, as CTC transforms their performance home at The Black Box in The Delaware Contemporary into a speakeasy for this tale of murder, moxie, and mayhem in 1920s Chi-town.

McElrone chose Chicago, in part, as a response to the current times. “We are a century removed from the era of the play, but in our Roaring Twenties timeline, the power of ‘celebrity' under the ever-changing ‘rule of law' are remarkably similar. Times are hard and chaotic, everyone has an angle, and some of us are cashing in where they can.” says McElrone. “The media circus that surrounds every new scandal consumes the public — and ‘nowadays' we too move on from yesterday's news in an instant when some fresh outrage shows up.”

She continues, “There's good reason for Chicago's enduring popularity. Beneath all the glitz and fun of that other ‘20s is a laser-focused commentary on society's response to turbulent times. These characters — the flappers and the clubmen, the lawyers and the press — are living lives of unquiet desperation in an unhinged society. In 2025, these stories resonate, and we can tell them in CTC's trademark up-close-and-personal style.” 

Dylan Geringer stars as Roxie Hart, the bored housewife-turned-murderess with wannabe chanteuse dreams. Dana Michael stars as Velma Kelly, seasoned vaudeville star and fellow accused killer. 

Both Philadelphia-area actresses are long-time CTC performers and have appeared onstage together in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Bat Boy: The Musical. They are elated to be tackling these dream roles opposite one another.

Says Geringer “I was first introduced to Chicago as a 14-year old, when my mother and grandmother took me to see the recently released movie in theaters. I was truly blown away by it, all the more so because I went in cold without any real knowledge of the show beforehand (and because, at that age, I was at the absolute height of my musical theater geekdom!) Chicago will always hold a special place in my heart because of that experience, and I'm so thrilled to have a chance to be a part of it on stage 20+ years later. To be able to do so at my home base of CTC, alongside Dana, is the cherry on top.”

Michael laughs, and wisecracks in character “After hanging up my fishnets long ago, I made a deal with CTC to finally return to the stage in exchange for my testimony against Dylan – and I am excited to shimmy ‘til my garters break.”

Joining Geringer and Michael is a notable who's who of CTC fan-favorites: Tonya Baynes (Love's Labour's Lost, Nine), Daryan Borys (Dancing At Lughnasa, Cabaret), Jolene Cuisine (Diva Baby Does Delaware), Tommy Fisher-Klein (Xanadu, Hair), Autumn Jewel Hudson (Spring Awakening), Mary Catherine Kelley (Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, Les Cages Aux Folles), and Paul McElwee (Gypsy, Assassins.) Making their CTC debuts alongside these veterans are CTC newcomer Jonathan Frazier and CTC Board Member Scott Frelick.

Chicago is a bucket-list show for McElrone as well. “I grew up loving Chicago, like every musical theater kid, and always dreamed of getting to do it at CTC. Staging our take on this classic at CTC, with this particular group of amazing actors and designers, in an era not unlike that of the show, is the cat's pajamas.”

CHICAGO stars Tonya Baynes, Daryan Borys, Jolene Cuisine, Tommy Fisher-Klein, Jonathan Frazier, Scott Frelick, Dylan Geringer, Autumn Jewel Hudson, Mary Catherine Kelley, Paul McElwee, Dana Michael, and Dionne Williford (Mama Mia!); featured musicians are Don Brill, Robert Diton, Josh Dowiak, and Kanako Neale.