“Who is this woman and how does she fit into Chicago history?”
“Who is Bob Fosse?” – this is the question that was asked in week two of rehearsal. Our cast was playing a version of Chicago trivia. The stakes were high; a pizza from Duane’s House of Pizza during EM break, so I was horrified to discover that less than a dozen cast members recognized his name. I was even more shocked to discover that no one recognized the actress whose photo accompanies this post. My work was cut out for me. . . which is good. . . after all, this is educational theatre!
In the past week, we’ve had a crash course in Bob Fosse, Vaudeville Theatre, and the origins of Chicago. My actors worked to decode the 1920’s including jargon: “Sheba Shimmy Shake”, “Lucky Lindy”, “Silk Cravats”; dances: turkey trot, charleston, the shimmy; stars: Sophie Tucker, Al Jolson, Burns and Alan; and history: prohibition, Broadway, and “the new woman”. Still, we have barely scratched the surface of all there is to know about this fascinating time in American history.
Perhaps the most fun will be conquering the 1920’s style. Our costumers, Phaidra Yunker and Alyssa Miller are up to their knees in drop waist dresses, fedoras, sequins, and black fishnets. We’ve also created our MHS 1920’s style Pinterest page. Check it out to see the styles we hope to put on the MHS stage. (www.pinterest.com/meylar0107) If only all learning could be this much fun!Show dates have been scheduled for November 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 29 at 7:30 p.m., plus an extra Saturday matinee on November 29 at 2 p.m. (Thanksgiving Weekend – two shows on Saturday!!!). Tickets will be available for easy, online purchase as we approach the show dates, in addition to ticket sales at the high school activities office.
