Lights shining, band performing, and just like that, the IHS auditorium slipped into 1920s Chicago. From fast-talking lawyers, fame-hungry criminals, and a “whole lot of jazz,” students took over the stage on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21 at 7 p.m., turning this spring musical into something sharper, sleeker, and more stylish than usual.
IHS’s Chicago: Teen Edition, based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, leans into the idea that everything is a performance. Director Gretchen Obrovac said that this idea shaped the entire production from the beginning. After looking at the cast, she chose Chicago because they “had some really strong dancers” and that she “wanted to do a very dancey show this year.”
Obrovac worked with both the adult staff and a small student design team to shape the production, focusing on a set that suggested a performance venue and costumes that emphasized movement over realism. “All the world is a stage,” Obrovac said. “The truth doesn’t really even matter, it’s just what everybody believes…everything’s just a performance.”
Obrovac described her way of working with students as a mix of technical guidance and personal support. While Chicago’s characters are often self-serving and shallow, she said there were opportunities to help students develop confidence and performance skills. “I had individual sessions with lots of people, soloists, or anyone who asked,” she explained. “We talked through character development, even if it wasn’t super deep, because some characters are very self-centered. But the main characters, especially, we worked on complexity and how to bring them to life.”
Scheduling was another major challenge, Obrovac said, especially in a small school where students participate in multiple activities. “Getting everybody where they need to be, when they need to be there, it’s always tough,” she said. Still, she noted that the attention to detail and effort from the cast made it all worthwhile. “Looking back, I think this is one of the best-looking and best-sounding shows I’ve ever directed. Nothing felt like a clunker. Everything got to where I hoped it would.”
Senior Brooke Vollman, who performed in a lead role of Roxie Hart, said this was more than just another role. After ten years in theater, Vollman said landing a lead role her senior year was a dream come true. “This has been a dream role of mine, so I knew I needed to work my hardest to put on the best performance,” she said. Getting to perform alongside her best friend, Senior Gianna Londrico, who played the “jazz slayer” Velma Kelly, made the experience even more meaningful. “Both of us getting the lead roles brought us closer together,” Vollman added, noting that working with students stepping outside their comfort zones, like members of the football team, was also memorable. Several football players served as members of the lift team and could be seen during pivotal dance moments in the show.
Senior Tillie Averre took on the role of Mama Morton, a sassy character defined less by emotion and more by power. Averre described her role as “technically following the rules, but also a criminal…and she’s a boss,” someone confident and used to being in control. Because the show’s characters tend to be self-centered, she explained that the challenge was figuring out how to make the characters feel real. “I had to create depth and make my own decisions in terms of emotion; it was terrifying because you don’t want to do the wrong thing,” Averre explained. One of her most memorable moments came during tech week, when she first performed her number in full costume. Even though she was nervous, she later realized the nerves didn’t define the performance. By the end of the show, Averre said her favorite moment was simple but powerful: bows, when the show’s full impact finally hit.
Junior Robby Kalman took on Billy Flynn, the confident and evil lawyer at the center of the story. Kalman described the character as “a complete narcissist who views himself as better than everybody else,” which made it fun to explore a personality with such “razzle” and “dazzle”. At the same time, the role came with its challenges, especially vocally. “Singing was the most challenging part this time around…there are a lot of higher notes than I’m really used to,” he said, calling it a push outside his comfort zone.
Performing in front of a familiar audience was also nerve-wracking, but Kalman leaned fully into the role, adding his own comedic touches and energy to make key musical and courtroom scenes stand out. Reflecting on the experience, he said it helped him grow by forcing him to “fill the shoes of a character with such magnitude” and show confidence he doesn’t normally use.
For Obrovac, watching the students rise to the challenge was the most rewarding part. “It’s really fulfilling to see how ready they are,” she said. “They put in the work, paid attention to detail, and it all came together. I hope everyone in the audience felt like, ‘Wow, those kids really crushed it.’”
By the final strong bows, that effort was clear. The performance stayed consistent in tone and style, with each performance fitting into the same controlled, business-minded world. From the bold choreography to the detailed set design, Chicago at IHS proved that even a high school production could sparkle with pizzazz.
