‘CHICAGO: Teen Edition,’
42 strong, is set by FHS-APAC for Dec. 7-9
The production is open to the public, and tickets are $15. They can be purchased at knoxcountyschools.org/farraguths
“There are 42 people in the cast and 40 people in the crew, with some overlap, along with student volunteers making up a good part of the pit band,” said FHS junior Hayden Toon, a cast member and student marketing captain for the company. Additionally, 16 students make up the tech crew.
The musical is directed by theater teacher Tony Wooley, and vocal directors Mitchell Moore (also choral director) and Kirstine Buchanan, and choreographer Bria Bannister.
“All other aspects, from the cast to the set construction to the backstage crew and most of the pit band, are carried out by students enrolled in musical theater, stagecraft or by passionate student volunteers,” Toon said.
Leading the cast are Bryson Keasling, a senior portraying Roxie Hart; Case Pappas, a senior playing Billy Flynn; Jude Smith, a senior playing Amos Hart; and Kaitlyn Mee as Velma Kelly.
“I’m so excited,” Keasling said about playing Roxie. “I’m just over the moon to work with Mr. Wooley again and be a part of the show.
“(Wooley) puts such an imaginative, magical spin on his shows,” she added. “I think it’s going to be eyecatching.”
“I’m honored to be a part of this production,” Mee said. “Our theater class is just like a family that lifts each other up in the art that we create.
“I think the talent is just incredible,” she added.
From being the tech director in “Mama Mia” to student director in “CHICAGO,” “I have been so blessed to call musical theater my family,” senior Sydney Romer said. “Each and every single person in this class has been so hard-working and welcoming, and I am forever grateful for all the memories that I’ve been able to make.”
The decision to choose “CHICAGO” as this season’s production rested on a team of students according to Wooley.
“We try to challenge the kids,” he said. “Last year’s show, ‘Mama Mia,’ was a great success. It was a very bright show with the pop music from (the ’70s musical group) Abba, and our whole set was this huge white hotel.”
“CHICAGO,” “which is juxtaposed to last year’s production, kept coming up on everyone’s list,” Wooley added.
For more information, contact Wooley at Anthony.wooley@knoxschools.org
