A theatrical portrayal of two murderesses is coming to life on the Muncie Civic Theatre's main stage as the musical "Chicago" opens this weekend.
Taking place during the city's roaring '20s era, "Chicago" tells the story of Roxie Hart, a wife with a secret love affair. After murdering her fling, Roxie is charged and sent to death row, where she battles for the attention of the media in hopes of fame, fortune and dropped charges. She, however, fights with famed jazz star and fellow murderess Velma Kelly for the limelight.
Senior musical theatre majors Alex Van Paris and Carolyn Barry will star in the show, performing as Roxie and Velma respectfully.
Barry said performing as Velma was a challenge for her because the role is different from her usual role. She said she typically has a comedic relief role.
"Velma is a badass and awesome," Barry said. "Being able to have that confidence she has on the stage, to embody her as a person, I think is a big challenge. The entire musical starts with people looking up at me, and I've never had a role that was like that. I've never been the center of attention before. It was difficult for me to get use to and embrace that."
Van Paris said in the productions of "Chicago" she has seen, she doesn't find Roxie as a likeable character. She said she has always rooted for Velma.
"There [are] not many redeeming qualities about Roxie, so that makes it hard to get audiences to like her," she said. "Finding her innocence and na+â-»ve side was a challenge. However, Roxie has a drive and she is conniving and working her way to the top. She fights through Velma and anyone else she has to."
"Chicago" will be under the direction of Michael Daehn, an associate theatre professor at Ball State and a seven-year veteran of Muncie Civic. He said directing this musical, his personal favorite, was part of his bucket list.
Daehn called "Chicago" a dark comedy. He said when the original production was released, it didn't connect well with the audience. It wasn't acceptable to support the bad guy.
"These days, we throw publicity at anyone who has done something considered newsworthy, whether it's for good or bad," Daehn said. "This musical seems to be ahead of its time since the two central characters are criminals and fighting for their names to be in the newspapers. If the audience doesn't walk out talking about the irony of making bad people celebrities then the show doesn't work."
Senior theatrical studies and telecommunications production major Corey Rudell described "Chicago" as a sexy show and said he has learned a lot by being a part of the production.
"Chicago in the '20s, you always think of everything being happy free and awesome, but it was dark," he said. "Women were mistreated and there was so much corruption. The point of the show is essentially saying you can get away with murder."
Rudell has the part of Billy Flynn, a lawyer with the right connections to sway the public's opinion of his clients.
"Billy Flynn is a badass," Rudell said. "He's just cool. He walks into a room and he owns the place. It's about as opposite of me as you can get, so I am living vicariously through this guy. I get to go up there and be the coolest guy in the room for two hours every night. Who wouldn't want to do that?"
Daehn said the biggest challenges of this show came with casting.
"With the Civic, we're always looking for a mix of the community and Ball State. At auditions, there were only three members of the community present and 45 Ball State students," he said. "This show is almost casted entirely of Ball State students. It's a very young cast."
Daehn and the cast members said the movie version of "Chicago" is very different from the stage production. Daehn went on to say the movie version has a lot of "razzle dazzle."
"Razzle dazzle is when someone doesn't know what to do, so they throw something shiny at audience to distract them so they don't realize they've been distracted," Daehn said. "There's a surprise in the stage production that the movie didn't have the courage to do, but that's all I can say about it."
"Chicago" opens at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The other performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 27-28 and May 3-5, with a matinee show at 2 p.m. on April 29. Tickets are $7 for students with an ID and $15 for adults.
For more on "Chicago," visit munciecivic.org or call the box office at 765-288-7529.
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