Woodside Community Theatre Presents CHICAGO, Now thru 10/25

Woodside Community Theatre (WCT) is proud to present Chicago, composed by John Kander with lyrics by Fredd Ebb and book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse.

The show will run now through October 25, 2015: Friday, 10/16, at 8pm; Thursday, 10/22, at 7:30pm; Saturdays at 8pm; and Sundays at 2pm. All performances will take place at the Woodside Performing Arts Center on the campus of Woodside High School, loc ated at 199 Churchill Ave, Woodside, California. Tickets are $15-$28 each, and are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1777962.

Synopsis: Broadway's longest-running American musical, Chicago is a dazzling and satirical look at fame, justice, and the media machine. Set in 1920s Chicago and based on real-life murders and trials, Chicago follows Roxie Hart, a wannabe vaudevillian star who murders her lover and is arrested, despite her attempts to convince her pushover husband, Amos, to lie for her. In the Cook County Jail, Roxie meets her hero, the famed double-murderess and nightclub performer Velma Kelly. When both acquire the same lawyer, the greedy and lustful superstar, Billy Flynn, tensions come to a head as they vie for the spotlight-- though instead of onstage, they're mugging for the flashbulb of the newspaper reporters. With catchy, sexy music and timeless lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, and a funny, intelligent, and utterly engaging book by Kander and Bob Fosse, Chicago is a musical spectacular that is as addictive as gossip rags and as unforgettable as any trial of the century.

The original Broadway production opened in 1975 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 936 performances until 1977. Bob Fosse choreographed the original production, and his style is strongly identified with the show. Following a West End debut in 1979 which ran for 600 performances, Chicago was revived on Broadway in 1996, and a year later in the West End. The Broadway revival holds the record as the longest-running musical revival and the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, and is the second longest-running show in Broadway history, behind only The Phantom of the Opera, having played its 7,486th performance on November 23, 2014, surpassing Cats. The West End revival ran for nearly 15 years, becoming the longest-running American musical in West End history, and it has enjoyed several tours and international productions. The Academy Award-winning 2002 film version of the musical was directed by Rob Marshall and starred Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, and Queen Latifah.

Woodside Community Theatre's Chicago:

Professional Director/Actor/Playwright, Stephanie Renee Maysonave, will direct this dazzling Broadway musical at the beautiful Woodside Performing Arts Center. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College in NYC and went on to work, teach, and direct in the Dance and Theatre Department of Meredith College in North Carolina. In 2007, she received her Master's Degree in Classical Acting from Central School of Speech and Drama in London before attending a short course at the historical Moscow Art Theatre School.

Maysonave explains that Chicago is filled with beautiful choreography and show stopping performances which are all influenced by the legendary Bob Fosse. The WCT creative team has managed to create a new adaptation of the show that truly respects the integrity of the original production. " For our production, we returned to the original concept for the show - a musical vaudeville. That is actually the original title; 'Chicago, a Musical Vaudeville'. Even more interesting is how the themes of this musical are so much more relevant today. Criminals glorified in the news. A town obsessed with the infamous. Fame hungry people doing whatever it takes to rise to the top. I know these ideas will resonate with our audiences and they have influenced me and my ideas for this production."

She will be supported in bringing this vision to the stage with Choreography by Kim Harvath, Musical Direction by Richard Gordon, Vocal Direction by Kristin Pfeifer, Scenic Designs by Akio Patrick, Lighting Design by Don Coluzzi, and Costumes by Karen Patrick and Lyndesay Adams.

Starring in the leading roles are Adrienne Herro as "Velma Kelly", Arielle Rothman as "Roxie Hart", and Steve Wilner as "Billy Flynn".

Adrienne Herro has performed across the Bay Area with recent credits including Carnival and Du Barry Was a Lady with 42 Street Moon,Anything Goes and Oliver with Broadway by the Bay, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change with Coastal Repertory Theatre, and numerous shows with Hillbarn Theatre, including Holes, City of Angels, Will Rogers Follies, and Ragtime.

Arielle Rothman, a Woodside native, has been singing since she was a child, starring as a child and teenager in Annie, Les Miserables, The Wiz, and Little Shop of Horrors, winning the San Francisco Musical Concerto Award at age 10, at age 16 was a finalist for the best vocalist in the Beach Blanket Babylon competition, and has gone on to co-write and produce multiple singles and a music video.

Steve Wilner is a Bay Area native who has performed leading roles throughout the Bay Area over the past 25 years, including "Sky Masterson" in Guys and Dolls, "Billy" in Anything Goes, "Tommy Albright" in Brigadoon, "Joe" in Sugar, "Billy Lawlor" in 42nd Street, and "Vernon" in They're Playing Our Song, along with recent roles at Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre.

Rounding out the leading characters are Mike Fatum as "Amos Hart", Marisol Urbano as "Mama Morton", and D.L. Pias as "Mary Sunshine". A very talented group of local and regional actors complete the cast and ensemble.

Woodside Community Theatre is a non-profit community theater organization with the goal of promoting the theatrical arts for the mid-peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area and the surrounding area. WCT has been entertaining audiences for over 50 years and currently offers one major Broadway musical each year. http://woodsidetheatre.com/

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