ACTC Theatre Presents "Chicago, The Musical"

Ashland Community and Technical College Theatre will open the 2011-12 Season with Chicago, The Musical. Performances are Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 13 to 15 and 20 to 22 at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays, Oct. 16 and 23, at 2:30 p.m.

Set in Chicago during the roaring twenties, chorine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband Amos to take the rap...until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie.

Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess" Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines. Ultimately they join forces in search of the "American Dream" of fame, fortune and acquittal.

The hit of the 1997 Broadway season, Chicago won six Tony Awards, including Best Revival, and in 2003 the movie won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The sharp edged satire features a dazzling score of music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb that sparked memorable staging by Bob Fosse. The book is by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse.

Molly Maynard, Boyd Co. Extension Fine Arts Agent and a Catlettsburg resident, plays Velma Kelly and Rachel Coleman, an Ashland resident and Ohio University Southern student, plays Roxie Hart.

Other cast members include Andrew Potter, Ashland resident and a paralegal at The Potter Law Firm, as lawyer Billy Flynn; Jeffry Brian Duty, an ACTC student from Wurtland, as Roxies husband Amos Hart; Ashland resident Lindsay Taylor as jail matron Mama Morton; and Clay McKnight, a Community Trust Bank employee from Flatwoods, as reporter Mary Sunshine.

Also in the production are ACTC students Demi Eicher, John Freeman, Troy Hall, Alana Mullins, Justin Munn, Gregory Picklesimer, Adam Swinford, Michael Seagraves and Ashley Taylor and several high school students and area residents.

Professor Edward Figgins, ACTC Director of Theatre, is the director and scenic/lighting designer. Kathy Saltsman, ACTC Musical Theatre Director, handles the vocals, and Eric Akers, ACTC Musical Theatre Conductor, directs the orchestra. Yvonne DeKay Sinnott, owner of Yvonne DeKay School of Dance in Ironton, is the choreographer. Paula Krepsik is the costume designer and costumer. Roger Hagley, ACTC interactive TV Facilitator, is the sound designer.

Performances are in the J. B. Sowards Theatre at ACTCs College Drive Campus in Ashland.

Tickets are $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. Tickets may be reserved with a major credit card through the college bookstore, 606-326-2014. Unsold tickets will available at the door before each performance, for cash or check (with photo ID) payment only.

For more information, call the ACTC Theatre Office at 606-326-2073.