Glitz, Glamour, Murder – Greenbrier Valley Theatre presents ‘Chicago’

Greenbrier Valley Theatre (GVT), the State Professional Theatre of West Virginia, is proud to present the award-winning musical Chicago, a tale of murder, fame and corruption guaranteed to entertain. Running June 11-13, 17-20 and 24-27 at 7:30 p.m. with a Pay-What-You-Can Preview June 10 at 7:30 p.m. and a Matinee Performance June 20 at 2:30 p.m., Chicago is a show you can’t afford to miss.
Tickets are $27 for general admission, $24 for seniors and $20 for children/students. For tickets or more information, call the GVT Box Office at 304-645-3838 or visit www.gvtheatre.org.
John Kander and Fred Ebb’s scintillating score featuring “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango” and “Mr. Cellophane” is the cat’s meow! Follow Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, both on trial for murder, as they vie for attention from the press and from the celebrated defense attorney Billy Flynn. With its lively singing and dancing, Chicago has everything that makes a musical great.
“Chicago really captures and satirizes the characters of the 1920s with an entertaining premise and everything that keeps an audience interested – great music, terrific dancing, a little murder and mayhem and fun characters,” said Cathey Sawyer, artistic director.
The characters, with their cold determination and cut-throat attitudes, prove to be interesting roles for the actors.
“I love Roxie because she is hopeful, gritty, has so much gall and is determined to find happiness,” said Lilly Tobin, who will portray the ambitious murderess Roxie Hart.
The two leading ladies of Chicago are based on Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan who were on trial for murder in the 1920s. Prominent lawyers William Scott Stewart and W.W. O’Brien were the inspiration for Billy Flynn, the smooth talker hired to free the accused murderesses. Reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins covered both murder trials for the Chicago Tribune and wrote the play Chicago in 1926.
Bob Fosse, Fred Ebb and John Kander adapted Watkins’ work into a musical. They modeled the show after vaudeville acts or characters. The music they created and their adaptation of Watkins’ play truly stand the test of time; Chicago has been entertaining audiences ever since its first performance in 1975.
Kim Morgan Dean has been preparing for her role as Velma Kelly by learning as much as she can about the man who made Chicago what it is today.
“Chicago has such a distinct style so I spent time researching its director/choreographer/ co-author Bob Fosse. He had such a specific vision for this musical, and the choices he made inform so much of how the material is handled even today,” said Morgan Dean.