“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery, and treachery. All those things we hold near and dear to our hearts,” (Chicago)
It’s official, Independence High Schoolers! The 2026 Spring Musical is Chicago: Teen Edition! Choir teacher and musical director Mrs. Gretchen Obrovac had a unique and startling approach to the announcement of the musical, this year, in the third period choir class October 3rd.
Obrovac decided on directing Chicago a week before the announcement, but she has been interested in producing this show for four years. She also considered: The Prom, Once Upon a Mattress, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and Frozen; however, she returned to Chicago after considering factors like the set, orchestra, technical design and the content. Not only that, but she explained that when picking a show with a select group of people means she gets the “the privilege of knowing what [their] strengths are” so she tries “to pick a show where [she] can get the most amount of people to shine”.
Following her decision, she made plans of crafting an interview with junior Robby Kalman, where she would publicly reveal the musical after he posted the video on “indy.dramaclub,” the drama club’s Instagram account. She admits that she was honest in telling people it took a while to purchase the rights for Chicago, and that she didn’t want to film anything until it was legal, but when Robby set the date, she decided she’d “bomb [the choir kids] in class” so everyone would be surprised at once (and she hopes Robby can forgive her)!
For those who weren’t in attendance, Obrovac decided to prank the choir by playing out one of her “worst fears” in the weeks leading up to the announcement. She was terrified one of her students would see an email on her computer with the title of the show in the subject line, but decided it would be the perfect execution in the prank. That Friday, she “ripped off the band-aid” and “prematurely” presented a slide reading “Our 2026 Spring Musical is Chicago: Teen Edition”.
At first, people assumed she intended to pull up something choir-related on her computer, and there was a malfunction, so when they gasped and pointed, she played along, confused, and turned backwards to look at the screen. The tension was high. But when she turned around smiling and exclaimed “I got you guys,” the tension in the room released and soon everyone was laughing, excited for the vision of the spring show.
Looking ahead, Obrovac said anyone interested in auditioning December 8th should prepare by listening to the soundtrack (although the songs will be modified for the Teen Edition), listening to the audio tracks for auditions when she posts them on the Google Classroom, warming up for the dance call if one wants a dance role (and researching the Fosse style of dance), then picking up the audition information packet once it’s assembled. Also, she explained that one should watch the movie with the understanding that it will be slightly more explicit than the musical.
Ultimately, Obrovac is most looking forward to “the journey… where we start, and then working it together, watching you guys come together, the cast, the orchestra, the crews, the whole production!” Furthermore, this musical has a “fun ensemble part”, so those who are considering joining, should!
Finally, she declared that everyone mark their calendars, and come see Chicago: Teen Edition March 20th and 21st, 2026!
