The wait is over! On April 18, the Legacy Theatre, Atlanta’s only full-time professional theatre will present the Tony Award winning musical, “Chicago.”
Boasting a popular score with songs like “And All That Jazz,” “Mr. Cellophane,” “Cell Block Tango” and “Me and My Baby,” the Legacy’s production marks the first time “Chicago” has been seen on a local Atlanta stage in over 10 years.
“We are beyond thrilled for the opportunity to produce ‘Chicago’ at the Legacy,” said executive producer, Bethany Hayes Smith, who also stars as Roxie Hart in this production.
“After the success of ‘Pippin’ two years ago, we were looking for a way to bring Bob Fosse’s choreography back to the stage, and ‘Chicago’ is the perfect show for that. It’s just been unfortunate that the national tour kept making it impossible for regional theaters to obtain the rights. This year the tour isn’t going through Georgia, so we snatched up a license as quickly as we could.”
In addition to playing the role of Roxie, Smith also choreographed the show based on Bob Fosse’s original choreography.
“Audience members will not just be completely entertained, they’re going to see a piece of theater history,” says Smith, “and they get to see this stellar cast and live orchestra kill it in an intimate, close to home, theater.”
Boasting their largest cast ever for a spring show as well as an eight member orchestra, The Legacy truly is pulling out all the stops for their second to last production in their eighth season.
“We’ve brought in talent from all over for this one. New York, Illinois, Florida, and Georgia are represented in our cast,” said artistic director Mark Smith. “We always joke that we’re not just doing ‘Chicago’—we’re doing CHICAGO!! When we talk about bringing Broadway to South Atlanta, this is the kind of show we’re talking about. I’m so excited for our audiences to see this one. I get excited every night just watching the rehearsals.”
“Chicago” is based on actual events and tells the story of two murderesses, Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, whose rise to celebrity due to their sensationalized murder trials, mirrors many of the news headlines we see today. It’s catchy score, witty book, and dark subject matter made it the perfect source material for an Oscar-winning movie starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Renee Zellweger, and Richard Gere.
“Most people know ‘Chicago’ because of the movie,” said Mark Smith. “The stage show is even more entertaining because it’s really a theatrical experience. Its edginess and dark sense of humor really work well on stage, and you just can’t beat seeing these incredible, high energy dance numbers from only a few feet away! However, you definitely want to leave the young kids at home for this one.”
If you’ve never seen “Chicago” and you wish you had or even if you’ve seen it a dozen times and can’t get enough, you won’t want to miss the Legacy’s production. “Chicago” is rated PG-15 for language, violence and sexuality. “Chicago’ runs April 18-May 11, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. Call 404-895-1473 for tickets or go online at www.thelegacytheatre.org.
