University of the Arts Presents CHICAGO, 3/22-25

The long-running hit musical Chicago will be performed by students at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia at the Merriam Theater on March 23, 24 and 25, 2012. In addition to evening performances on Friday March 23 and Saturday March 24 at 8pm and matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm, there will be a preview performance on Thursday night March 22 at 8pm.

Chicago features songs by John Kander and Fred Ebb, whose most recent show, The Scottsboro Boys, just completed a very successful run at Philadelphia Theater Company. This landmark show has been presented on Broadway for over 6,300 performances since it opened in 1996, when won six Tony awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. The original production, directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse, opened in June of 1975 and was nominated for nine Tony awards. 

Billed as "a musical vaudeville," Chicago is based on a play by the same name written in 1926 by Maurine Dallas Watkins. It tells the story of Roxie Hart, who finds herself on Murderer's Row in the Cook County Jail after shooting her lover. Smooth-talking attorney Billy Flynn agrees to take on Roxie's case and manipulates the Chicago press to make Roxie a celebrity. Roxie has rival for the media's attention, however: another Billy Flynn client named Velma Kelly. Chicago is a cynical look at America's celebrity culture and its corrupt judicial system, presented through the highly stylized language of song and dance.

Helming the UArts production of Chicago is director Rick Stoppleworth, Assistant Professor in the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts. Choreography is by Scott Jovovich, Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Dance; Jovovich was featured in the cast of the Broadway revue "FOSSE," where he was privileged to learn the Fosse legacy from Anne Reinking and Gwen Verdon. Nick Embree, Assistant Professor and Head of the Brind School's program in Theater Design and Technology, has designed the scenery, and costumes are by Maggie Baker, also an Assistant Professor in the Brind School.

Appearing as Roxie Hart is Meghan Seaman (Musical Theater '12). Taylor Colleton (Dance '12) plays the role of Velma Kelly, while the lawyer Billy Flynn is played by Andrew Carroll (Acting '12). An ensemble of students from the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts and the School of Dance will be accompanied by an orchestra with many students from the School of Music, conducted by Chris Ertelt.

“Chicago is one of the landmark works of the American musical theater," observes Charles Gilbert, Director of the Brind School. "Kander and Ebb's ability to both entertain and challenge audiences their stylistic signature." As the script of Chicago puts it, "Let's pick up the pace! Let's make the parties longer, let's make the skirts shorter! Let's all go to hell in a fast car and KEEP IT HOT!" 

Chicago runs March 22—March 25, 2012 (press opening: Friday, March 23, 8 p.m.) Tickets (priced at $20, $10 for students and seniors and free to the UArts community) are available online at http://tickets.uarts.edu or by calling 215-717-6450. Seating is general admission and on a first come, first served basis. All performances will take place at the Merriam Theater, 250 South Broad Street in Philadelphia.

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