CHICAGO opens '11-'12 season at The Keeton Theatre

Tonya Pewitt and Stacie Riggs star as Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly as The Keeton Theatre will present Chicago, the first show of its 2011-2012 season, running September 15 - October 1 at the theatre in Donelson.

Directed by Keeton artistic director Kate Adams-Johnson, with musical direction by Ginger Newman, Chicago is the Tony Award winning musical about Roxie Hart, a chorus girl who kills her lover as a career move, Billy Flynn, her sharp, razzle-dazzle lawyer, who turns her into an instant celebrity, and Velma Kelly, a dancing jailbird with an ear for headlines and an eye for talent!

"With a talent filled cast and a five piece band, Chicago is an exciting show to be opening the Keeton's new  season with," according to Adams-Johnson. "After packed auditions we have been able to select an incredibly strong  group of performers for this show. We are using an ensemble format, and these 19 cast members are just stunning in their abilities to perform this music and choreography. As choreographer for the show as well, I am reveling in being able to set Fosse choreography on a group that can really dance it."

In addition to Pewitt and Riggs, the cast includes Terry McLemore as Billy Flynn and Joshua Waldrep as Amos Hart, and Laura Crockarell, McKenna Tramel, Jamie London, Bobby Milford, Stephanie Brooks, Hannah McGinley, Christina Candilora, Abby Horrell, Caitlyn Elese Williams, Tony Nappo, Macon Kimbrough, Matt Stewart, Brandon Johnson and Thomas Harton.

Chicago runs September 15 through October 1, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2p.m. Each performance is preceded by a delicious three course meal starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $26 for dinner and show and $21 for show only with a special show-only price of $11 on Thursday nights.

The theater is located at 108 Donelson Pike in the FiftyForward Donelson Station building. The Larry Keeton Theatre is operated by The Senior Center for the Arts, a non-profit corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of FiftyForward. 

Jeffrey Ellis is a Nashville-based writer, editor and critic, who's been covering the performing arts in Tennessee for more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Theatre Association's Distinguished Service Award for his coverage of theatre in the Volunteer State and was the founding editor/publisher of Stages, the Tennessee Onstage Monthly. He is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and is the founder/executive producer of The First Night Honors, held during Labor Day Weekend, which honor oustanding theater artists in Tennessee in recognition of their lifetime achievements and includes The First Night Star Awards and the Most Promising Actors. Midwinter's First Night, held the first Sunday in January after New Year's Day, honors outstanding productions and performances throughout the state. Further, Ellis directed the Nashville premiere of La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and An American Daughter, as well as award-winning productions of Damn Yankees, Company, Gypsy and The Rocky Horror Show, with Ellis honored by The Tennessean as best director of a musical for both Company and Rocky Horror.

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