STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTOS BY KIRSTEN SHULTZ
Psssst. The password to an evening of razzle dazzle is “Skidoo.”
Fans of the musical “Chicago” will need to give a secret code as they enter into a Chicago speakeasy and a world of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery—“all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts,” according to the musical’s opening line.
The cast of The Liberty Theatre Company has transformed The Mint in Hailey into a 1920s speakeasy akin to an old-world jazz club full of revelry and life. They’ll take passwords at the door, serve decadent treats upon arrival and outfit audiences with masks noting whether they want to interact with artists or not in this immersive theater experience.
“I hope the audience will join in the fun of the Roaring 20’s world we have created,” said Hannah Nye, who portrays the flapper Roxie Hart.
Nye also hopes the audience will reflect on the darker themes of desire, anger, and greed that she says exist in all of us.
Indeed, playwright Bob Fosse used real-life murders and trials as inspiration for the blockbuster musical, which is the second longest running musical on Broadway.
The musical revolves around celebrity murderess Velma Kelly and wannabe vaudevillian star Roxie Hart as they strive for fame and fortune amidst a media frenzy seeking headlines that will keep Chicagoans on the edges of their seats.
Hart murders her lover and is arrested, despite her attempts to convince her pushover husband Amos to lie for her. She meets fellow murderess Velma Kelly in prison and begins to live the life of fame she always dreamed of when flamboyant lawyer Billy Flynn flips the script and catapults her to stardom amidst a corrupt justice system.
The musical features such showstopping numbers by John Kander and Fred Ebbas as “Cell Block Tango,” “Razzle Dazzle,” the addictive “When You’re Good to Mama” and “Mr. Cellophane.”
Director Naomi McDougall Jones has dreamed of staging “Chicago” since she was 13.
“The music is unbelievable—so catchy and exciting,” she said. “Tess Makena, who plays Velma Kelly, will blow everyone’s mind with her acting, singing and dancing. Hannah Nye is amazing as the murderess Roxie Hart. She hasn’t gotten to play this big a part in the valley yet so this will be many people’s introduction to her.
“Matt Musgrove is wonderful as Billy Flynn, the fast-talking, sexy, sleazy lawyer. Courtney Loving, as Mama Morton, is going to bring the house down. And Andrew Alburger will make everyone fall in love with him as the hapless husband of Roxie Hart.”
The story’s focus on murder and mayhem is part of “Chicago’s” appeal, said McDougall Jones.
“It really speaks to a lot of the darker aspects of human nature but in a way that inducts us into them. It almost gives us permission to explore our own darkness in a way I think people find really appealing,” she said.
The pandemic the world just went through helped her better understand the musical.
“As I thought about this musical, I started thinking about the 1920s--how they’d just come out of a pandemic like we have. I really understand the 1920s differently now, how the manic energy of that period came out of so much death,” she said.
“There was a feeling not only of being pent up in your house, of being pent up in masks, of watching so many people die around you and then getting out of that and having this feeling of, ‘Ohmygod, I’m still alive and I have a body and a desire to live life and dance and drink and have sex.”
The characters in “Chicago” had just lived through World War I and their own pandemic, McDougall Jones noted. And they see life as something not just to be lived but to be devoured.
“They have this hidden hedonistic celebration of what it means to be alive by engaging in everything it’s possible to do, fueled by a new understanding that not one of us will have a body forever.”
Andrew Alburger, who plays Roxie Hart’s husband, saw “Chicago” on Broadway in 1976, shortly after its debut in 1975. He saw it again in 1996.
“I love how much fun it is,” he said. “My character Amos is such a sweet kind trusting optimistic character in a show where there are a lot of liars and murderers and lawyers. I like the music because it’s so up-tempo. And the characters are really interesting—I like the dynamics between Roxie and Velma and the way they work things out. The dancing is tremendously fabulous and we have such a talented cast.”
L.A.-based choreographer Sami Bass said this has been her favorite job in a long time as she’s had the freedom to go beyond the specific syllabus that Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb laid out to look below the surface and examine the human nature that brough the musical to fruition.
“There is something that feels a bit "behind the scenes" about the whole story of “Chicago,” said Musical Director R.L. Rowsey. “For me, this production plays into this feel perfectly. Simple. Direct. In your face. Up close and personal. It exposes the power of the many talents of those who have come together to tell the story, from director and designers to actors and musicians.”
Audiences are encouraged to arrive 15 to 30 minutes early to full immerse themselves in the unique experience of theater that begins at the door. ROOTS Wine Bar & Bottle shop will offer beer and wine for sale before the show begins.
The 90-minute musical starts at 7 p.m. Oct. 4-7, Oct. 12-14, Oct. 19-21 and Oct. 25-28. Matinees will start at 2 p.m. Oct. 15 and 22.
Tickets are available at https://www.libertytheatrecompany.org/events/chicago. Questions? Call 208-582-8388.
THE CAST
Tess Makena appears as Velma Kelly, Hannah Nye as Roxie Hart, Matt Musgrove as Billy Flynn, Courtney Loving as “Mama” Morton, John Mauldin as Mary Sunshine, Andrew Alburger as Amos Hart, Chris Carwithen as Fred Casely, Melodie Taylor-Mauldin as Mona, Eryn Alvey as Annie, Scarlet Pfau as June, Rachel Aanestad as Hunyak, Robyn Fox as Liz and Max Stimac as the drummer.
The production team consists of Director Naomi McDougall Jones, Musical Director R.L. Rowsey, Choreographer Sami Bass, Assistant Director Lizzie Loving, Stage Manager KO Ogilvie, Assistant Stage Manager Megan Mahoney and Scenic Designer Joseph Lavigne.
Others are Technical Director Tim Black, Lighting Designer Steve Koehler, Sound Designer Ernie Trevino, Costume Designer James Haycock, Properties Master Owen E. Parmele, Backstage Crew Caster Sullivan, Production Manager Tess Makena and Marketing Director Chris Carwithen.