For months the halls have had signs advertising the theatre department?s most recent production, Chicago, a mature Broadway musical the likes of which is rarely seen in high school drama programs.
The program, however, took on the racy play. With months of rehearsal spanning from early September until the weekend before production in December under their belts, the cast and crew were ready to finally perform for a live audience.
The program scheduled four performances on Dec. 3, 4, 10 and 11, and an understudy production on Dec. 5.
?Despite not acting in the play myself, each performance has been very enjoyable and something for all involved to be happy about,? senior David Wise, a member of the pit band, said.
The drama department has never been one to turn away from professional level plays.
?The play is a little mature, but that is nothing new to Marshall Theater. We have never been shy of professional level scripts because we try to work at the professional level as much as possible,? senior Orla Conway said when asked about the content of the play. Conway played Roxie Heart, one of the major leads for the play.
For the veterans of the department the maturity of Chicago was something they were quite excited about. The enthusiasm of the veterans helped the younger performers in becoming comfortable with the content quickly as well as producing a professional and serious execution of the musical.
Sickness was the only problem that the department encountered during production Conway said.
Senior Johnny Hargrove, who was the head electrician for the production, said sickness was easy to contract because ?everyone?s very close, spending all their time in the same room.?
Tight quarters made it easy for a virus to spread as soon as one member got it.
?It was an inconvenience because people were sick but they still showed up,? Hargrove added. Sickness did not keep the performers from rehearsing at a professional level because ?it was usually nothing worse than a cold,? Hargrove added.
?We want them [the productions] to be the absolute best they can be,? Conway attributed when asked if she felt the play had met expectations, ?We all see now that we have come a long way from day one and we have succeeded with putting on a top level Marshall musical.