Fort Wayne, who couldn’t use a little “Razzle Dazzle” “Nowadays”? 

Well, if you’re looking for “All That Jazz,” Indiana Musical Theatre Foundation is bringing Broadway’s longest running show to the Summit City with a knockout production of Chicago: The Musical at Arena Dinner Theatre, Sept. 19-29.

Be part of the show

Adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 2002, Chicago is a jazz-age satire on the celebrity of criminals, featuring “merry murderesses” and the celebrity lawyer who defends them. There’s also the press, who are always on the quest for a fresh scoop. 

For those coming to the show that are fans of the film, IMTF Artistic Director Andrew Sherman does have some surprises up his sleeve. 

“The Chicago movie adaptation was wonderful, and it’s one of the best adaptations out there, but it does leave a little bit of the story out,” he said. “So there’s a little bit more to the story that is told on stage that is not told in the movie.”

One of the highlights unique to the IMTF production that fans of the film, and even the stage show, can expect is an immersive experience.

“I love the immersive experience that Arena Dinner Theatre offers its audience members, and that’s why we are so blessed to go there year after year for our fall production,” Sherman said. 

“With Chicago, as with our past shows (American Idiot in 2022 and Rent in 2023), we’ve been able to maneuver and utilize the space to not just have you sitting in the audience, watching a show on stage. The audience is going to feel as though they are part of the story, through the blocking, through the choreography, through the immersiveness and just that intimacy that the space at Arena has to offer.”

Getting in step

Speaking of choreography, Chicago is a very dance-forward show, which was a somewhat daunting task. 

“Ninety-seven percent of the show is dance,” Sherman said. “Britney Lombardo, who took on this monster and said yes, probably regrettably to me when I asked her to choreograph, she is so much more than the choreographer for this production.” 

Despite the amount of work the show takes, Sherman is over the moon with what Lombardo has been able to achieve. 

“While Alex Leavell and I are listed as the directors, there have been, I would confidently say, 60 percent of the rehearsals completely led by Brittany, almost to the point of an assistant director or directorship of choreography credit for this show,” he said.

In preparation for the extensive amount of choreography, in June IMTF offered a two-night masterclass on the choreography featured in Chicago in the week prior to auditions. 

“So the (famed choreographer Bob) Fosse workshops were intended for those who are interested in not only auditioning for Chicago, but also just wanting to get an introduction to the style of Bob Fosse, which is very specific and peculiar,” Sherman said. “It’s a very distinct form of jazz dance that made its way to Broadway through Bob Fosse in Chicago and Pippin and all sorts of other productions that he worked on. It’s very intricate and it’s very stylistic, and it’s not the common form of jazz dance that you see in a typical musical theater piece.”

Dedicated cast

When it came to those auditions, Sherman was impressed with what he saw. 

“It was an extremely hard show to cast, simply because really the script only calls for about 16 people,” he said. “And we knew we wanted to fill that out a little bit more and really maximize the talent.” 

The pool of actors to choose from was impressive, drawing from the Fosse workshop and the general public. 

“I would say probably 40 percent of the people that attended those workshops did the audition for Chicago,” Sherman said. “So we had over 60 people audition for the show, which is a lot for a community theater show at the adult level. We were able to select 24 individuals, but all for different reasons. It was one of the hardest casting processes that we have ever had to go through.”

According to Sherman, the cast has really come together to form a community. 

“It’s been amazing to see some of these blue-collar people that are friends and a part of this artistic creativeness come in and just lay it all on the floor, literally,” he said. 

There is also a great diversity to the cast which Sherman is very proud of. 

“We have all different skill sets, all different abilities, all different walks of life making up this cast,” he said. “Some of them are dancers by trade and teach it as a living. And some of them are nurses by day and dancers by night.” 

One of the most exceptional examples of dedication from Sherman’s cast is Kristin Giant who is playing Velma Kelly and has been doing a unique type of multitasking during rehearsals. 

“Kristin is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, executive director by day, and a full-time mom,” Sherman said. “She brings her lovely, beautiful baby girl to rehearsal sometimes. And the baby is attached to Kristin in a harness while she dances. It is so awesome to watch her, and the baby is so just involved with what’s going on, and she’s so quiet. It’s been a great little addition to our process by having her there at rehearsal.”

But this dedication doesn’t stop with the leading ladies, which includes Chrissy Borne as Roxie Hart.

“I’ve been saying to a lot of friends, they’re all working so hard,” Sherman said. “We have cast members leaving with bleeding toes, and I do not say that as a joke. That actually happens. And they have come every day and are laser-focused on doing justice to this very hard piece of theater, and also stepping outside of their comfort zones at the same time. It’s been really inspiring to just see them, night after night, go the extra mile and take the extra leap.”

Fort Wayne, don’t be caught singing the “Cell Block Tango” for missing out on this show stopper. If you do, “you’ll have it comin’!”