Evita.<\/em> Director Steve Ray, chair of the Theatre Performing Arts, says performing a musical as opposed to a straight comedy or drama is \u201cdifferent in almost every way.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cThe first way is financially, the budget. It takes a lot more money, usually, probably three to four times as much money to produce a musical than a straight play because you have to pay for choreographers; you have to pay for musical directors and musicians, and costumes are usually more extravagant and there are more of them because you usually have a large cast. Then the sets are usually bigger.<\/p>\n
In addition, he says, buying the rights to perform the play at all \u201care usually about three times as much as the rights for straight plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
But beyond finances, a musical is far more demanding for the actors, who must not only learn their lines, they must learn the words to the songs and choreography, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rehearsals themselves are a lot more demanding,\u201d Ray says. \u201cThey’re usually at least two weeks longer than we normally do for a straight play. A straight play we usually rehearse for four, 41\/2 weeks, and we add two weeks to that for the musicals because you have to learn music. Then you learn dance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ray also must take into consideration that\u00a0Chicago<\/em> is famous as both an onstage musical and as the movie that won the Best Picture Oscar in 2002. There\u2019s a tightrope act between pleasing audience members who know only the play and those who know the movie. The two not quite the same.<\/p>\n\u201cA well-known musical like Chicago<\/em> is an advantage in a number of ways,\u201d Ray says. \u201cIt’s an advantage because people like to come and see what they’re familiar with. That’s great from a promotions standpoint, from putting people in seats and selling tickets. It’s fantastic.<\/p>\n\u201cNow, the flip side of that is there are certain expectations. You have to go through with a finetooth comb, \u2018What expectations do we want to give the audience?\u2019” Then, \u2018What do we want to reinterpret of our own?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
As up-and-comer Roxie Hart, who\u2019s willing to do almost anything to be a star, senior Rachel Shannon sees Chicago<\/em> as a chance to \u201cto tell these stories of these women who act on impulse and know what they want, but they’re dreamers, which so am I. Who doesn’t want to tell a story about a dreamer? I do.\u201d<\/p>\nShannon has played Ava Perone in Evita<\/em> and Ado Annie Carnes in Oklahoma!,<\/em> so the strain of singing, dancing and acting is familiar. And Chicago,<\/em> she believes, tells a universal story.<\/p>\n\u201cThe musical examines \u201cthe search of humanity, the search of the American dream, and the exploration of self that I really feel that each one of our cast mates are doing and what Roxie is doing. She’s exploring herself, figuring out who she is.<\/p>\n
\u201cWatching her achieve her dream, but becoming herself is really, really wonderful. As an actor, I’m really blessed to be able to flourish alongside her.\u201d<\/p>\n
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