Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society prepares for its 117th production
Back in November, Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society assembled its Production Team to hold auditions for its 2019 production, ‘Chicago’. Following hours of auditions and call-backs, the production team of Liam Butler (Director), Edel Quinlan (Choreographer), Eamon O’Malley (Chorus Master) and Fergal Carroll (Musical Director) finalised the cast for a show which will take to the Strand Theatre stage nightly from Saturday, March 2nd to Saturday, March 9th (8pm).
The Six Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Jail, whose "Cell Block Tango" will light up the Dick Meany Auditorium between March 2nd and March 9th.
With music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse, ‘Chicago’ is set in the ‘Windy City’ during the jazz-mad 1920s, and tells the story of two rival vaudevillian murderesses locked up in Cook County Jail.
Nightclub star Velma’s serving time for killing her husband and sister after finding the two in bed together. Ambitious chorus girl Roxie has been tossed in the joint for bumping off the lover she’s been cheating on her husband with.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Velma enlists the help of prison matron Mama Morton and Billy Flynn – the lawyer who can win any trial – who turn Velma’s incarceration into a murder-of-the-week media frenzy, thus preparing the world for a splashy showbiz comeback. But Roxie’s got some of her own tricks up her sleeve.
In the role of Velma Kelly, Sandra Power will infuse her many years of stage craft and wit into her performance. Sandra has played a range of major roles in previous Society productions, with her Baker’s Wife in last year’s ‘Into The Woods’ earning her an AIMS Best Actress nomination. Velma’s rival, Roxie, will be played by Louise Mulcahy, who has previously starred as Elle Woods in ‘Legally Blonde’ and Cinderella in ‘Into The Woods’ 12 months ago.
The remaining female lead role of Matron Mama Norton will be played by the multi-award winning Irene Malone, who will entertain the Dick Meany Auditorium with numbers include “When You’re Good To Mama” and “Whatever Happened To Class”.
One of the best known numbers in the show is the “Cell Block Tango” and this fast moving number is performed by the Merry Murderess of the Cook County Jail, namely Sheridan Brady, Sarah Power, Tarryn Attlee, Siobhan Grace-Regan and Aisling Healy. It truly is a show stopping number thanks to the hard work of these ladies, moulded and fashioned by Choreographer Edel Quinlan.
Of course, this show isn’t all about the ladies. Neill Bourke is no stranger to the boards he first graced during the CBS/Scoil Mhuire production of ‘Godspell’ in 1996 and he will fill the slick shoes of Billy Flynn over the show’s eight night run, putting his booming voice to great use in numbers such as “All I Care About” and “Razzle Dazzle”.
In the role of Amos Hart, Roxie’s forlorn husband, Caolán Deehy-Power will have audiences lamenting his plight, particularly following his memorable number, ‘Mr Cellophane’. The show’s other roles are Mary Sunshine played by D O’Donovan, Go-to-Hell Kitty played by Siobhan McCarthy, Denis Barry will play Fred Casely, D.A. Harrison will be played by Fergus Power, Deckie Smith-Robinson will fill Sergeant Fogarty’s uniform with Jim Kennedy playing Aaron. In all, over 60 cast members will take to the stage, including the dancing ensemble and chorus which will be split into three groups over the course of the show.
The levels of dedication and talent demonstrated by the cast in recent months has been phenomenal, so too the efforts of those involved in the set design, backstage work and promotion of the show, all overseen by the Society’s hard-working committee. Many hands do indeed lighten the load.
The Strand Theatre Box Office opened on Monday last, February 11th and initial sales have been welcomingly healthy!
The Box Office is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11am until 3pm and you can also call 051-645050 or 086-3571403. In addition, there’s also a new online booking service which is open 24/7 via www.carrickmusicals.com. There are also further updates available via the Society’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds. And after the show, it’d be great to see patrons pop upstairs to Christy’s Bar to begin the theatrical post mortem over something sociable!
With thanks to Carrick-on-Suir Musical Society PRO, Caolán Deehy-Power