News you can use

MAT brings 'Chicago' to Havre

The local acting troupe is bringing both New York and The Windy City to Havre starting this week, with Montana Actors' Theatre's production of the musical "Chicago."

The Broadway institution, which has won multiple Tony and Olivier awards and a Grammy, starts Friday with the doors and the backstage lounge at the Little Theatre in Cowan Hall at Montana State University-Northern opening at 7:30 and the performance scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

A special spring gala is scheduled with its final performance May 10.

The musical, which is written by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse and opened on Broadway in 1975, is based on a play written in 1926 by journalist Maureen Dallas Watkins. Her play, set in prohibition-era Chicago, was based on her coverage of two unrelated murder trials - both defendants were acquitted. The play opened on Broadway that year and was made into a silent film by Cecil B. DeMille in 1927.

The musical in 2002 was adapted into an Academy Award-winning movie starring Richard Gere, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Directors Audrey Barger and Rachel Dean warn that the play contains adult material and may not be suitable for all audiences.

The play has been described as a tale of "murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery." It tells the story of two women accused of murder, set in the cabaret world in Prohibition-era Chicago. One is accused of killing her husband after finding him in bed with her sister, and the other with murdering her boyfriend because he wouldn't help her become a star.

The show is $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors and free to students with a valid MSU-Northern student identification card.

It runs Friday and Saturday this week, with additional performances May 1-3 and 8-10.

A $30 purchase will buy a ticket to the show and the "Cell Block Sangria" scheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 10, with costumes encouraged but not required. Tickets to the Sangria will be available at the door, space remaining, or can be purchased online at http://mtactors.com.

 

Reader Comments(0)