The Actor’s Charitable Theatre, a community theater company for actors of all ages, held its first performance of the musical “Chicago” on Friday.
The musical is a satire that follows women in the 1920s who achieve temporary fame by committing murders in the city of Chicago.
Exploring the fleeting nature of fame, the musical depicts a group of imprisoned women as fame-hungry murderers who thrive on attention from the media and are inevitably crushed when a new murder ends their short-lived notoriety. As said by lawyer Billy Flynn, a pivotal character in the play, “This is Chicago, kid. You can’t beat fresh blood on the walls.”
The John Kander and Fred Ebb musical premiered on Broadway in 1975 but was far more successful upon its revival in 1996. It has since become the longest-running show that is still on Broadway, with performances continuing to this very day along with a movie adaption released in 2002.
The ACT brought Kander and Ebb’s combination of jazz, dancing and comedy to local audiences with incredible performances by the cast and live orchestra.
Colton Crowe, who plays Billy Flynn, has been performing with the ACT since 2016 when he starred in “Rock of Ages” as Joey Primo. Outside of his acting career, Crowe is a senior manager of marketing and events at AFFLINK, a company in Tuscaloosa.
“I don’t do this for a living, but it’s a good outlet for local actors to have that kind of creative expression outside of our daily lives,” Crowe said.
While the show will continue to run until Sunday, Crowe said that opening nights have a different energy, as it’s the first time a full audience sees the show.
“We get used to doing a show over and over again, but it’s a new audience, and so we need to treat it like a show they’ve never seen before to kind of get out of that complacency,” Crowe said. “I think that’s maybe the biggest challenge, but it’s a good challenge.”
Jordan Harper, who plays Matron “Mama” Morton, said the audience tends to be more lively on opening night. She added that it’s especially exciting because the performers finally get to hear reactions, knowing what will get a laugh and how to adjust during the following performances.
In addition to the talented cast, the orchestra, costumes and set design play important roles in the production.
The 1920s attire immerses the audience into the time period, with the set involving two elegant staircases and vintage chairs that are unforgettably intertwined with the choreography. The staircases lead to a grand balcony containing the orchestra, whose members even have some comedic lines in the show, reminding the audience that it’s all a production.
Tickets can be found on the ACT’s website.
“I don’t think you’ll leave without a song stuck in your head,” Harper said.
