'Chicago' Dazzles CV with an Award Nominated Performance

In recent years, the Clayton Valley Drama Department has tackled several renowned productions, including Little Shop of Horrors and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. However, their 2025 award-nominated production of Chicago (Teen Edition) may stand as their most ambitious, and impressive, achievement yet.

Chicago, one of the most well-loved musicals since 1975, tells the story of Roxie Hart [Abby Vibat], who murders her husband, and her life in jail where she meets fellow inmate Velma Kelly [Addison Grimesey] and lawyer Billy Flynn [David Giordano]. The witty tone of the musical, and intentional combination of music and comedy, attracted over 700 audience members to Clayton Valley to attend the rendition. This number includes the Saturday night performance, which gathered an audience of over 350 people, making it a sold-out show. 

When asked about the impact an audience has on the actors’ performance, Giordano answered, “When the audience is so big and you hear a crowd of people, you have to fight back from smiling. It just feeds into the energy and it makes you excited to perform, and when you are ready to perform it just makes you so much better.” As a senior, this was his fourth musical and final performance with Clayton Valley Drama.

With auditions in December, and rehearsals beginning at the beginning of the second semester, it’s clear that the cast understood the work that it took to meet the expectations that surround a well-known musical. This dedication shone through in singing iconic songs such as ‘All That Jazz’ and ‘Mr. Cellophane,’ and even earned them a slot in the national Jimmy Awards, which is the high school version of the professional Broadway award system, The Tony’s.  

In order to be nominated for The Jimmy’s, the Clayton Valley Drama Department was required to submit professional photos and a video recording of their performances, as well as having a mandatory judicator present for each performance, which heightened the pressure for the actors to work towards perfection in hopes of being granted awards. If they were to win, the cast would head to New York to attend a one-night-only presentation with high school students from all around the nation. 

This hard work in professionally presenting the program was also backed up through people who were not in the spotlight, but instead running them. Clayton Valley’s Technical Theater Crew began building the set before winter break and throughout the holiday season up until the week before the show opened. Through 12+ hour workdays, the musical was brought to life through carpentry, lighting, and sound design, all of which helped boost the actors into feeling as if they were truly in 1920’s Chicago. This work was topped off during “tech week,” where every imperfection was figured out during full show run-throughs the entire week before the show opened. This included working out moving set pieces, props, and every technical aspect of the show to make sure there was clear communication about their effects with the actors on stage. 

Sophomore Sophie Gerardo stage-managed the musical, which she began preparing for months ahead of the show dates. As stage manager, Gerardo was responsible for calling every movement that goes on, and for this show managed over 15 technicians alone. She stated, “Stage managing in general is pretty stressful because you are doing a million things at one time, but I feel like I had a really good crew and a great cast to work with, so it wasn’t as difficult because everyone worked together really well.”

There is no doubt that through hours of deliberate work, an astounding show was put on for audience members on the Clayton Valley stage. Although the drama department is still awaiting results on the status of their awards, they made a striking impact on all who came to see the show, including CVCHS’ executive director Bill Morones, and motivated many to even come back and see it more than once. Through dedication, lasting memories were created, and this show continues to serve as a reminder for all involved to take a moment to reflect on the work that they put into it, and be proud of the show that was produced. 

Clayton Valley Drama’s next show will be Peter and the Star-Catcher, which unfolds the background story of the beloved tale of Peter Pan. Show days will be on May 9-10, both at 7pm, with the final show on May 11 at 3pm.