For UNC sophomore Samantha Richmond, choreographing “Chicago” has been a dream since childhood.
Following in her sisters’ footsteps, she started dancing in ballet and tap classes at just three years old. When she was five, she was put on her dance company’s competition team -- it was there that she began serious training in jazz, acrobatics, contemporary and hip-hop.
Her pre-professional training suddenly screeched to a halt with an injury in ninth grade. The doctor told her to stop dancing for six months, so Richmond made the decision to take on dance as a hobby rather than a career. It was then that she turned to the theater at her high school.
When her directors at the school noticed her dance training, they allowed her to choreograph a few numbers in the school musicals.
Now, Richmond is choreographing UNC Pauper Player’s production of “Chicago,” which will be her first full-length production.
“It’s always been part of my plan to choreograph a full-length show sometime before I graduated,” she said. “‘Chicago’ has been one of my favorite musicals since I was 8 years old, so I’ve always wanted to choreograph it.”
The Tony Award-winning musical “Chicago” tells the story of two murderesses, Velma and Roxie, who turn press coverage of their crimes into vaudeville careers. The show is a spectacle of illusion and dance -- it opened on Broadway in 1975 to critical acclaim, and the current Broadway revival continues to dazzle audiences.
A film version was released in 2002, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. It won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Picture and since then has been one of the most recognizable musicals of the century.
After UNC Pauper Players, a student-run theater group on campus, announced in June that this iconic hit would be the fall musical, director Tori Jewell, a junior at UNC, applied to be on the production staff. She already had some ideas to highlight the themes of the show, and she’d been considering directing for Pauper Players since sophomore year.
She said with their small budget, the audience’s expectations are going to be one of the biggest challenges.
“One of the trickiest things about ‘Chicago’ is that people expect this element of ‘razzle dazzle’ and illusion,” Jewell said. “Now that we’re into the actual blocking and figuring out, it’s been a little bit more difficult trying to bring these ideas from page onto the stage and communicate them well.”
Though being in a position of power among her peers can be a little strange in rehearsals, she’s excited to tackle challenges with the student crew and production team. Jewell said the show’s success is contingent on everybody in the 17-person cast working together.
One of those cast members, UNC sophomore Betsy Scarisbrick, has known all the words to “Chicago” since she was 4 years old. So when she got cast, she couldn’t believe it.
Scarisbrick will be leading lady Roxie Hart, the beautiful and self-centered murderess on a journey for fame and public recognition. A host of Broadway legends, such as Bebe Neuwirth and Liza Minnelli, has played the role. Though Scarisbrick has big shoes to fill, she can’t wait to dig into the character.
“I think what I’m most looking forward to is just playing up all of the different facets of Roxie’s personality,” she said. “She’s annoying, conniving, whiny and self-absorbed, but at the same time she’s silly and driven by her ambitions, and you just can’t help but feel bad for her.”
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects for Scarisbrick to master will be the highly recognizable Bob Fosse style of dance.
Eight-time Tony Award-winner Fosse directed and choreographed the original Broadway production of “Chicago,” and his distinct jazz style is riddled with sharp hits and isolated movements.
Richmond said she is going to incorporate Fosse moves into the choreography, but she plans on putting her own fresh spin on it as well.
“I am definitely sticking to the Fosse style, especially in the opening number, ‘All That Jazz,’” she said. “It is iconic for the Fosse, but I’m going to teach the cast a lot of different styles of dancing, which is really going to help them.”
As for the number Richmond can’t wait to see come alive, she said, “Cell Block Tango” is when she’ll be on the edge of her seat.
“I first heard (‘Cell Block Tango’) when I was about 8 years old,” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘I want to be able to choreograph this number one day and see it happen on a stage.’ Honestly, it’s kind of a dream come true to me.”
The cast will be working tirelessly in rehearsals between now and their November opening. Head over to the Historic Playmakers Theatre at UNC to catch this flashy, eye-catching and timeless spectacle. It runs Nov. 10 to Nov. 13, and tickets can be bought online or at the door.
They promise to give you the old razzle dazzle.
@KarenPStahl
