Cappies Review: 'Chicago: Teen Edition' At Quince Orchard High School

By Daniel Qiu of Langley High School

"It's all a circus, kid." Led by a hypnotic Velma and Roxie, Quince Orchard High School's sensational production of "Chicago: Teen Edition" stunned and dazzled.

Bang! Adulterating chorus girl Roxie Hart shoots her lover Fred Casely in 1928 Chicago, Illinois. Faced with the threat of being hanged, Roxie seeks help from suave lawyer Billy Flynn while meeting fellow murderess Velma Kelly as they fight for top billing in the ever-changing headlines.

Chicago was originally directed in 1975 by stylistic icon Bob Fosse, who also wrote the book with Fred Ebb, and includes music by John Kander. Since its critically acclaimed revival in November of 1996, Chicago has remained a musical theater classic in professional and high school productions.

Ava Turley's portrayal of Roxie Hart was equally conniving and endearing. Her furtive glances and performative smiles had all the two-faced nature of a wannabe starlet, and her charm enamored both her jury on the stage and the audience in their seats. Turley's voice was rich and sly through her lower notes and soared with strength on her high notes. Despite her character's questionable morals, her dolled-up face and wholesome dresses made her a criminal to remember.

Turley's Roxie was contrasted by Maren Lewis' purely magnetic performance as Velma Kelly. From her opening strut during "All That Jazz," to her shimmies, leaps, and splits during "I Can't Do It Alone," Lewis commandeered the stage with her velvety tone and captivating facial expressions. Her voice held the tenacious grit of Velma's character, and her slightly unhinged yet comedic performance captivated from start to finish.

Playing a parasitic lawyer, Jordan Richard's Billy Flynn was impossible to look away from. Richard glided across the stage from the courtroom to the office, dressed in a dapper suit and red tie. His warm vocal tone complimented his electrifying charisma, and his bewitching performance in "We Both Reached for the Gun" was phenomenally done with intricate and meticulous charm, an uproarious applause flooding the room after the song's end.

In a show full of stars, the lighting done by Alexa Rosenthal, Maddie Schully, Luke Atkinson, and Coco Mazzarino was equally impressive. Throughout different numbers, the stage lighting shifted from a rosy pink into a brash red, showing Roxie's shift from wannabe starlet to full-fledged superstar. The dramatic use of silhouette and shadow accentuated the actors' performances, creating beautiful stage pictures throughout the show.

Quince Orchard High School's production of "Chicago: Teen Edition" ended with Velma and Roxie standing on opposite sides of the stage in fading spotlights, a provocative ending illustrating the fleeting nature of fame.