CHICAGO at South Tahoe High School

As of late, I've become a huge fan of school productions. The talent, earnestness, and confidence is enviable.

When I saw this poster for South Tahoe High School's production of CHICAGO: Teen Edition, I knew I had to attend. Also knowing that this particular show wasn't Steve's idea of the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, I alerted other eager theatergoers.
Cyndi and Kay joined me for an afternoon of surprise, delight, and awe. What fun.
Paula at South Tahoe Now said it best, "Dare I say…this is probably the best production that I have ever seen on the stage of South Tahoe High School in 25 years of stellar performances. Wow. Where do I start? I am still swirling and whirling over Saturday Night’s performance.  When the lights turn on, this show grabs you, and you are in for the ride!"

From the first note of this 'teen edition' we were hooked. This is my second 'teen addition' musical in the last couple of months. I had to find out what that meant. "Adapted in collaboration with iTheatrics, Kander & Ebb's legendary and award-winning musical about fame, fortune and acquittal is now widely available to be performed by high schools around the world. Specifically designed to be content-appropriate and flexible, Chicago: Teen Edition has been adapted to remove overtly sexual references and adult language, and can be performed by larger and smaller casts."

I thought the changes made for the Teen Edition were interesting: the removal of adult language and overtly sexual references, the removal of the songs "Class" and "A Bit of Good", and keys were transposed to better accommodate teen voices. Who knew?!

Even with the removals the show is still pretty 'adult'. In “Roaring Twenties” Chicago, chorus girl Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap... until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess," Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream": fame, fortune, and acquittal. Heady stuff for teenagers but they did a fabulous job with it all. I am so thoroughly impressed. This was a show not to miss. Brava to the entire cast!
"Come on, babe, we're gonna brush the sky.
I betcha Lucky Lindy never flew so high 'cause
in the stratosphere how could he lend an ear
to all that jazz."
-Velma Kelly, Chicago

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