The announcement of the spring musical has been heavily anticipated among the Chamblee High School community since students are eager to audition and participate. The selection was made public at the end of October, and students will be going to Chicago.
Many students had strong opinions regarding their hopes for the musical. Thespian Troupe President Olivia Grove (‘24) hoped the chosen musical contrasted with last year’s show, Fiddler On The Roof.
“[Fiddler On The Roof] is such a beautiful show, and I enjoyed being part of it, but it was kind of a bummer. [To balance that], I feel like [this year’s musical] should be something that’s very high energy and very dance-heavy. I just hope it’s something happy,” said Grove.
The year before Fiddler On The Roof, Chamblee performed the show Newsies, a musical that some students such as Thespian Troupe Vice President Tiller Johnson (‘24) particularly enjoyed due to its exciting musical numbers.
“I really liked Newsies. I thought it was a lot of fun [because it was] high-energy and entertaining to watch and to be in. I think we need to find another show kind of like that, [one] that people know or have at least have heard of, but still engages them,” said Johnson.
Many students hoped that Linda Lirette, the producer of Chamblee’s musical, would choose Mean Girls for the school musical. While it was her original choice, she decided not to select it.
“For a large part of last year, I thought we were going to do Mean Girls, but Lakeside scooped it up within a day of [the rights] becoming available,” said Lirette.
Finally, after months of narrowing it down and struggling with licensing rights, Lirette announced that the spring musical is going to be Chicago The Musical: Teen Edition. According to Lirette, choosing the school show was more complicated than it seemed.
“We actually narrowed it down to a completely different set of three, before I realized I didn’t want to do any of [those options]. Then, I started with the whole process over again,” said Lirette.
Chicago is a high-energy show about Roxie Hart, an aspiring chorus girl, and Velma Kelly, a fading Vaudeville star. Both women face trial for murder and attempt to outperform the other for the attention of Billy Flynn, a talented lawyer who wins countless cases by making women into a spectacle. The exciting dance numbers in this show satisfy the wishes of many cast members such as Omandee Karunanayake (‘26).
“I like that the songs in the show are really upbeat and jazzy. I think that our cast this year can pull it off,” said Karunanayake.
Cast member Wyatt Wright (‘26) is excited to begin working on Chicago because of the range of characters that those auditioning have the prospect of portraying.
“It’s a fun musical because [all of the characters] are basically terrible people, and that’s exactly what I aspire to be,” said Wright.
While Chicago is a fun show with lots of energy, the subject matter is rather dark.
“This show has criminals as main characters. While it does not glorify their crimes, it does put a sheen to them. It might seem to glamorize them at first, but it actually does the opposite [in the end],” said Lirette.
The sultry manner of the show poses an issue for Lirette, as many cast members may feel uncomfortable portraying certain characters.
“Whenever you have a show where some characters are sexy, the danger is becoming objects who are sexualized. I feel that [the adults involved in putting on the show] hold a special responsibility to protect students from objectification, even self-objectification, while also being true to the time period,” said Lirette.
Though some characters and lines may seem uncomfortable for some cast members, others such as Frida Nieves (‘25) don’t view the content of the show negatively.
“I think it’s more empowering than degrading, and that [the directors] will handle it well,” said Nieves.
Lirette encourages students to participate in the musical due to the camaraderie and quality of the performance.
“It’s going to be a blast, as it always is, and we’re going to learn a lot. We’re going to work really hard and we’re going to put on a high-quality production that will challenge people to grow, and that they’ll be really proud of being a part of,” said Lirette.
Audition materials has been available on the Chamblee OnStage website. After auditions on November 3, rehearsals will begin in late November, with the performances following in February. Students are looking forward to participating in and attending the musical.
“I love theater so much and I know it’s just gonna be a fun experience,” said Mary Lynne Traynellis (‘26). “I’m just so excited to start the process.”
