The Farmington High-School drama club put on their annual winter musical on March 14, March 15 and March 16, 2025. Their director, Mr. Gagnon, revealed the play and musical for the year during the first few weeks of school this past fall. This year, he announced the Drama Club’s winter musical would be Chicago: Teen Edition.
On November 17th, the FHS Drama Club finished their three day run of the fall play, Cyrano De Bergerac. Two days later, dedicated students and staff of Drama Club went right into working on Chicago: Teen Edition. The cast, stage crew, audio-visual crew, choreography team, and the stagecraft classes worked diligently to make this show a success.
Chicago: Teen Edition follows the story of murderers Roxie Hart (played by FHS junior Stella Huang) and Velma Kelly (played by junior Morgan Parsons). It explores the complexity of criminals being perceived by the media as celebrities, as audience members watch these two female murderers compete for publicity through their murder trials.
This show features catchy numbers such as ‘Cell Block Tango’ and ‘Roxie’. Musical numbers such as these are fan-favorites, as well as personal favorites of director Mr. Gagnon.
“‘Roxie’ is Roxie’s big number where she thinks, wait a minute with this trial I could take this publicity and use it to start a career in vaudeville. Either ‘Cell Block Tango’ or ‘Roxie’ is my favorite,” said Gagnon.
This was the first musical in the new, state of the art auditorium. The new space came with a spacious backstage area which offered more opportunities to elevate the technical side of the production. New tiered seating gave the audience many angles of the show, making it accessible for everyone to enjoy the musical.
Audience member Sophomore Olivia Machlarz-Earle attended the Friday performance to see her friends perform.
“I loved seeing all the hard work my friends and classmates put into making Chicago an amazing performance,” reflected Machlarz-Earle.
Every aspect of the show had a team of dedicated students and teachers working behind the scenes. The hair and makeup team consisted solely of FHS students, ensuring everyone’s stage hair and makeup matched the time period. The mesmerizing dances were choreographed by student choreographers, teachers, and cast members working together.
Junior Morgan Parsons starred in the show as Velma Kelly, the main antagonist of Chicago: Teen Edition. Days after her role of Sister Claire in the fall play was over, Parsons went right into working on Chicago: Teen Edition, working hard and rehearsing multiple days a week.
“Chicago was one of the best experiences of my life. We all put our whole hearts into this production and our hard work was definitely reflected in the incredible outcome! I will never forget this show and will always cherish these memories,” reflected Parsons.
