Chicago is the Glenbrook Musical for 2025, and is all about the crime, jazz, and pizazz of the 1920’s city culture. The performances’ dance-heavy production numbers replicate the chaos and vivacity of the Roaring Twenties, junior Maddy Preston, Featured Dancer, said.
The cast, which consists of students from both South and North, have been working diligently, rehearsing scenes, practicing stage positioning, and maintaining a focus on choreography, which the musical is famous for, Preston said. The choreography, which takes inspiration from the famous original Chicago choreographer Bob Fosse, stands out from Glenbrook musicals of the past, Preston explained.
“A lot of the body positioning is very awkward and unnatural, but it looks good [on stage],” Preston said. “[The dancing is] something new to get used to because it’s very different from what most people [normally see].”
Adapting to Fosse’s precise, calculated choreography is not an easy feat, but the cast has been working hard for the past two months, Chicago director Mandi Corrao, Fine Arts Teacher, said.
“[The cast] really took [the choreography] and ran with it, and they seem to understand how stylistically different this is from what they’ve done in the past,” Corrao said.
Chicago Choreographer Stacia Soeldner teaches the cast how to incorporate Fosse’s dance style into the production. Soeldner has studied Fosse’s intricate movements, gestures, and poses to make the musical as exact as possible, Preston said.
“[Soeldner] had a lot of big ideas, especially [on] the first day [of rehearsals],” Preston said. “She relays her ideas [to the cast], and then the next day she’ll have them a little bit more fine-tuned.”
The combination of both Glenbrook high schools create an opportunity for collaboration that fosters a sense of community amongst the singers, dancers, and actors, senior Anna Pataky, Featured Dancer, said.
“It’s cool [that], there’s completely different [schools] we come from, but we’re all coming together to do the same thing,” Pataky said.
After two years of doing high-school-based musicals such as The Prom and Mean Girls, Chicago is a big but welcome change, Pataky said. As a senior, closing out with Chicago is an amazing experience and opportunity, Pataky explained.
“[Chicago] is everything I wanted to do,” Pataky said. “I am really happy that I got to be a featured dancer again for my last year.”
After several years with high school themes being incorporated into Glenbrook musicals, Chicago provides its performers an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in a uniquely themed production, Corrao added.
“[Chicago] is such a great educational experience,” Corrao said. “Not only [is the cast] exploring a totally different musical style, which is jazz, they are also exploring a totally different style of storytelling and a much more adult [theme].”
