Way Off Broadway Theater Presents CHICAGO, 9/9 - 11/5

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre's blockbuster 2012 Season continues this fall when the criminally entertaining Kander and Ebb musical Chicago opens at the theatre on Friday evening, September 9th. This year, Way Off Broadway's audiences have been taken to New York City with the area premiere of The Drowsy Chaperone, followed by a visit to the islands with Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, then a summer visit to 60's Baltimore with the mega-musical Hairspray. For the fall, it is off to the Windy City!

In roaring twenties Chicago, Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband 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. Both are out for fame, fortune, and an acquittal. A sharp, edgy, satiric masterwork that centers on the corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the idea of the "celebrity criminal." Currently, one of the longest running shows on Broadway, Chicago is set to razzle dazzle Way Off Broadway audiences!

Chicago premiered on Broadway in 1975 with a star-studded cast including Jerry Orbach as Billy Flynn, Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly, and Gwen Vernon as Roxie Hart. The current Broadway revival of Chicago has been running since the fall of 1996 for over 6,000 performances making it one of the longest running shows in Broadway history. The revival's original cast was also a who's who of Broadway veterans including Bebe Neuwirth as Velma, Anne Reinking as Roxie, James Naughton as Billy Flynn, Joel Grey as Amos, and Marcia Lewis and Matron Mama Morton. The revival was such a hit with audiences it took home six of the eight Tony Awards for which it was nominated including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

The show had become so popular that in 2002 Miramax Films released a movie version of the musical starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma, Renee Zellweger as Roxie, Richard Gere as Billy Flynn, and Queen Latifah as Mama Morton, along with a list of other celebrities taking on various smaller roles. When Chicago won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2003 it became the first movie musical to win the film industry's highest honor since Oliver! in 1969. Keeping with the Broadway revival, Way Off Broadway is ready to bring Chicago to its stage for the very first time.

Taking on the roles of the "Merry Murderesses" Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart are Staci LaRue and Jaimie Hoover, respectively. Genevieve Williams returns to Way Off Broadway as Matron Mama Morton after bringing down the house as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray. Jeffrey Davis, who brought The Drowsy Chaperone to life earlier this season playing Man in Chair, now takes on the role of Mister Cellophane himself, Amos Hart, with Hairspray's Edna Turnblad, Jordan Stocksdale, giving up his heels to dawning a tuxedo to play Billy Flynn. Completing the principal cast as Mary Sunshine, Chicago's criminal gossip columnist, S. Tephabock.

Playing the various other characters and dancers in the show will be Jordan C. Allen, Leah Bebee, Chelseas Bondarenko, Amanda Brandenburg, Gus Glatzel, MerRick Jensen, Trey T. Kiska, Shawn Nakia, Michael Rostek, and Arthur J. Whittenberger.

Chicago has music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. The show is based on the play Chicago by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Way Off Broadway's production is directed by Bill Kiska, with choreography by Amanda Patten and musical direction by Jordan Stocksdale.

The show will run September 9 - November 5, 2011 with performances every Friday and Saturday evening, matinees on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday of each month, and select Sunday evenings. Tickets for the Friday and Sunday performances are $42, with Saturday's $46. Tickets may be purchased by visiting the Box Office in person or calling (301) 662-6600.

For additional information about Chicago or Way Off Broadway, including all of its productions and events, visit www.wayoffbroadway.com.

ABOUT THE WAY OFF BROADWAY DINNER THEATER:

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre has been a leader in the region's performing arts community since it first opened in 1995. Under the direction of the Kiska Family since 2002, Way Off Broadway has produced such productions as A Funny Thing . . . Forum, Guys & Dolls, Steel Magnolias, Oklahoma!, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Odd Couple, A Chorus Line, Lend Me a Tenor, The Sound of Music, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Evita, Cats, The Full Monty, South Pacific, and Hairspray, as well as the regional and/or area premieres of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl - The Musical, Jerry Herman's La Cage aux Folles, the musical comedy The Wedding Singer, Mel Brooks' The Producers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and The Drowsy Chaperone. Located along Route 40 West, the Golden Mile in Frederick, the theatre also produces a one-of-a-kind children's lunch theatre, as well as a number of special events throughout the year. For more information, visit: www.wayoffbroadway.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.