Production News

Chicago - the High School Version

In the second of our peeks into the life and times of America in the 1920’s we look at the music which features so heavily in the show.  It was a time of great change across the U.S.A, and nowhere more-so that in the America’s ‘second city’.  After over 17,000 buildings in the CBD were raised the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871, the city went through a huge renewal and surge in population growth as people from all around took advantage of land close to the city being available due to the major construction companies rebuilding the city centre. Toward the end of over fifty years of urban renewal and

 expansion, the city became a hotbed for the latest musical stylings of a number of now legendary Jazz figures. Edward ‘Kid’ Ory, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and Joseph ‘King’ Oliver were just some of the giants who performed regularly in clubs and speakeasies across the city, energising the populace with performances of new and experimental types of jazz. Armstrong himself cut over sixty records in the three year period from 1925 to 1928, and would become instrumental in developing, expanding and re-inventing what the entire world knew as jazz.

Taking inspiration from this outpouring of creativity comes our opening number from CHICAGO, where one of the main characters, Velma Kelly, sings about the availability of cold gin, hot piano ‘and All. That. Jazz’.

Tickets for CHICAGO the High School Version are now on sale through try booking, the link is below.

https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=738173 

Ross Pearson