As the fall semester of the 2023-2024 school year comes to an end, the Tiger Theatre Company will work up until the last week before final exams in preparation for their musical “Chicago.” “Chicago” rehearsals started in mid October, and will continue to run for the remainder of the month.
“We got the cast list in the middle of October,” senior Tyler Unger said. “The following week, we started rehearsing, and it’s just gone up from there.”
For “Chicago”, the rehearsal process proves to be a more rigorous and fast-paced schedule in comparison to past musicals put on by the Tiger Theatre Company.
“We rehearse everyday after school from four to seven,” senior Riley White said. “It’s super fun. We try to work on as many things as possible, [and] to clean things up that need work.”
Due to the rehearsal schedule being cut much shorter than members are used to, all actors and technical crew face day to day challenges, and are tasked to work around them.
“It’s definitely a struggle trying to get everything together,” Unger said. “We have to put in extra hours to ensure that the show goes smoothly.”
Not only does the shortage of time to prepare challenge the cast members, the controversy of the show “Chicago” is another setback the cast faces. Although this show will be performed as a Teen Edition, the maturity of the production is a lot to adjust to for the cast.
“I really enjoy the mature aspect of Chicago,” White said. “It’s different than past shows we’ve done, and it’s very fun.”
Despite the setbacks and difficulties the cast faces on a daily basis, many students claim that Chicago is one of their favorite shows they’ve been a part of.
“Chicago is such a good way to end off my senior year musical,” Unger said. “My character is really fun, and I think I’m leaving TTC on a good note with this show.”
Consisting of over 30 songs and 10 group dances, the show runs at about a two hour pace. This large amount of material to learn in addition to their dialogue is no walk in the park, but the cast attends daily rehearsals ranging from two to 10 hours depending on the day.
With such a large amount of rehearsal time, the company expects the show to have a full audience. In order to ensure that the audience for the musical will be large, the Tiger Theatre Company is using multiple methods of advertising. This includes the use of multiple different show posters that the cast broadcasts around town, a banner to hang outside of the Sullivan Center and a documentary of the show created by the film class.
“The methods of advertising are really unique in comparison to other local schools,” Unger said. “Having our faces on the actual posters will bring more of our friends and family in because it’s much more personable that way.”
TTC hopes for the show’s success. Tickets go on sale on Dec. 4 on the Tiger Theatre Company website. Viewer discretion is advised for the show due to its mature content.
“I love being both a cell block tango girl and ensemble,” White said. “I’m really looking forward to the performances of the show.”
