The era of 1920s Chicago is being fused with modern day hashtags, selfies and reality televison. This is the vision for senior Ryan Kanfer’s revamp of the iconic musical “Chicago.”
Kanfer is directing and choreographing the show for his Elon University College Fellows project. He was inspired by a criminology course he took his junior year and wanted to combine his fascination with the criminal justice system with his love for musical theater.
“Through criminology, my thesis started to evolve into media manipulation,” Kanfer said. “Especially how media controls how we think in regards to criminal cases, which is very apparent in ‘Chicago.’”
Kanfer’s criminology class examined the infamous Casey Anthony trial, in which Anthony was accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.
Kanfer was intrigued by the overwhelming presence of media in Anthony’s trial. According to Anthony’s lawyer, ABC Network paid for her defense, which Kanfer said perfectly exhibits media manipulation in the court system today.
“There’s a line in ‘Chicago’ that goes, ‘It doesn’t matter whether you’re innocent or guilty, it’s how you put on the show,’” Kanfer said. “I think that shows what our judicial system has turned into today.”
“Chicago” is the story of vaudeville performer Roxie Hart, who murdered her lover and is now in prison, where she meets famous vaudevillian Velma Kelly.
In the 1920s, publicity was a huge aspect of court cases, similar to the big murder trials of today, and Roxie and Velma competed for the media’s attention.
Fifty-seven students auditioned for roles in “Chicago,” but with an ensemble of only 17, casting for the show was competitive.
The auditions were held in one night and required a vocal piece from the show and a dance number. Kanfer taught the hopefuls dance combinations that they later performed in groups of two or three.
Senior Jadi Curtis was cast as Roxie. She heard about the production through Kanfer and knew she wanted to be a part of it.
Curtis said the show is different from others she has been involved with at Elon because it is more experimental.
“Ryan is really open to collaborating and trying new things,” Curtis said. “We get to use our personal connections, and it has been amazing seeing how many people have come together just to help out.”
As Kanfer’s classmate and friend, Curtis loved watching the process unfold and feels especially pressured to perform well.
“It’s cool to see the gears working in his head,” she said. “This production has been more of a personal process because we all want to do well for him.”
She has been watching original portrayals of Roxie on YouTube to brainstorm how to approach the role in a new and fresh way while living up to its legacy.
“Chicago” is known for its iconic Bob Fosse choreography, but after Kanfer did the Elon in LA program, he was inspired to use contemporary, modern dance in his performance. The majority of the choreography is contemporary, but Kanfer did want to pay homage to Fosse by incorporating his style in certain numbers.
To get inspiration, Kanfer and Curtis went to see “Chicago” on Broadway during spring break. They had the opportunity to go backstage to meet Jennifer Nettles, who is currently playing Roxie Hart.
Kanfer is basing his production on the movie version of “Chicago.” To incorporate his thesis topic of modernization, he decided to use livestreams and pre-recorded material to establish a reality television setting.
“My roommate is obsessed with the Kardashians, and he suggested I have confessionals, where the cast does commentary following a scene,” Kanfer said. “I imagined Roxie as a diva, like Kim Kardashian.”
Other modern twists include a live Twitter feed during the number “Razzle Dazzle” and a fan taking a selfie. Monitors will be placed on the stage so tweets can be projected to the audience.
As a first-time director and choreographer, Kanfer has been busy with overseeing every aspect of his production.
Although he has a team behind him, including media director and senior Brian Mezerski and assistant director and senior Nick Martinez, Kanfer has been in charge of everything from sending out schedules to finding and reserving rehearsal spaces.
“I live in the world of ‘Chicago,’” he said. “It’s exhausting but really cool.”
“Chicago” will be performed April 20-22 in the Center for the Arts’ Black Box Theatre.