After a long day of school, the cast and crew of the spring musical gather in the auditorium for the beginning of a three-hour rehearsal. Everyone rushes around preparing for the rehearsal ahead. After stretching and getting warmed up to practice for the dance-heavy musical, the cast begins to work on perfecting their dance numbers and blocking. 

This year, the MCHS theater program is putting on “Chicago” for its spring musical. 

“Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s,” described chief of publicity, David Henry,  “’Chicago’ is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer, Billy Flynn, to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today’s tabloids.” 

Over the last eight weeks, the cast and crew of “Chicago” have endless hours into memorizing lines, learning choreography, and working through blocking. With two weeks until opening night, everyone is focused on running through the acts of the musical and cleaning up all the little details. 

“I want [the audience] to be surprised at how professional this looks,” said Derek Galvicius, director of the musical. “I want them to say ‘that could have been in “Chicago,”’ like a theater in Chicago, but it’s just a bunch of high school kids. I really think some people will be able to say that.” 

The entire cast of “Chicago” put in endless hours of hard work and dedication to be able to create their best version of the musical. 

“20 min of stretching, laps around the auditorium, three hours of dancing and that’s just learning the dances,” said junior McKenzie Scott, who plays Hunyak in “Chicago.” “It’s a lot of commitment.” 

The student actors are looking forward to performing the spring musical and showing off the results of all their hard work. Senior Jonathan Krug, who plays the role of Billy Flynn in “Chicago,” is excited about the upcoming performances. 

“’Chicago’ has been like one of my favorite, if not my favorite musical since freshman year,” said Krug. “It’s been one of my dream roles to get it so it’s really cool that I get to go out with a bang my senior year, and it’s just a really fun show to be in overall.”

Freshman Joseph Sacramento, who plays Harrison in “Chicago,” is excited for the 1920 theme of the musical and working with all of the other student actors. 

“We’re working with a lot of lights and a lot of different types of props and stuff,” said Sacramento. “And this [musical] is more dance-heavy than past musicals. They haven’t done a really dance-heavy show in a long time and I’m really excited about that.”

Excitement surrounds the musical as people count down the days until opening night. Showtimes for “Chicago’ are February 28, February 29, March 6, and March 7 at 7:00 PM, as well as March 1 at 2:00 PM.