“Lights, camera, action” is at the forefront for the young thespians known as the Hays Legacy Players, who have been dedicatedly working the last three months for their upcoming performances of the teen edition of “Chicago.”
The students will take the stage Dec. 7-8 and 12-15 in the Burdine C. Johnson Theatre at Hays High School. According to the Hays Legacy Players website, the musical production’s description reads, “In roaring twenties Chicago, 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 joining forces in search of the ‘American Dream’: fame, fortune and acquittal.”
“We've been working on it for three months. By the time it goes up, we will have put in three months of every day after school, Monday through Thursday. We have a wonderful crew, technical crew, that are doing the lights and the sound,” explained theatre director Lory Stewart. “We have brand-new microphones that we bought with a grant from the Burdine Johnson Foundation, so we're really excited about that and lights and sound.”
What’s unique about this year’s musical is that the Hays Legacy Players are joining forces with the Hays Highsteppers. The dance team’s director, Doneece Williams, is helping with choreography, while also allowing her students to be a part of the production, Stewart said.
The theatre program at Hays High School has a 5A classification with approximately 200 students who are involved and, specifically in this year’s musical, there are approximately 64 total who are involved in the cast and crew. Every year, the Hays Legacy Players do a fall play and musical, spring showcases, spring children’s musical, student-directed One Act Play competition and summer kids camp.
A special component of the theatre program is Adaptive Musical Theatre, designed for students with special needs to be paired with supportive peers who will help them dance, sing and act on stage. It’s going strong, said Stewart, and there is a performance with those students for their parents, friends and family at the end of the school year.
Being a teenager navigating the ins and outs of high school can be challenging, Stewart explained, but theatre can provide that safe space for them to be who they are, allow them to explore the opportunities that various characters bring and help them learn professionalism.
“Theatre saved my life. I came from a very dysfunctional, abusive household and theatre was the one place where I felt safe. It gave me a lifeline to get scholarships to go to [The University of Texas at Austin] and become a teacher, so that I could give back and help other teens survive being a teenager, which is one of the hardest things to do. I feel like we teach because we want to help students have success and become productive members of our community,” the theatre director said. “That's what our theatre department is based on — giving students a place to have success and learn how to be productive members of society.”
There will be several opportunities for the public to support the Hays Legacy Players by attending one of their performances of the teen edition of “Chicago.” While the rendition was modified to be appropriate for teens, including taking out language and two of the songs, it is still rated PG-13, Stewart said.
On Dec. 7, 12, 13 and 14, the students will perform at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 8 and 15. Opening night, Dec. 7, will also be American Sign Language Night, which Stewart said that they try to do at least once for each production.
Tickets are $5 for students, Hays CISD employees and senior citizens or $10 for general admission.
“We hope that the community will come out and support these amazing high school students as they do this challenging production full of incredible music,” Stewart concluded.
For more information about the Hays Legacy Players, and to buy tickets for their upcoming musical, visit www.hayslegacyplayers.com.
