Roxie Hart: Age 25-40. Innocent, sexy, desperate, selfish. Roxie is not very bright
and never thinks about the consequences of her actions before she says or ...
April 14-17, 2011
Character Descriptions Note: All ages listed are stage ages – in other words, the age that the actor/actress appears, not his or her actual age.
Roxie Hart: Age 25-40. Innocent, sexy, desperate, selfish. Roxie is not very bright and never thinks about the consequences of her actions before she says or does things. Every move is selfish, every idea foolish and illconsidered, and yet she remains strangely sympathetic because we know her selfishness is not malicious; but childish. All Roxie cares about is getting into Vaudeville. Needs to be a strong actress, singer and dancer. (mezzo) Velma Kelly: Age 25-45. Sarcastic, sexy, tough, funny. Velma is a former vaudeville performer who also serves as the hostess. She often talks directly to the audience. She killed her husband and her sister after finding them together. Used to being the "headliner" she learns to hold her tongue and make nice to save her vaudeville career. Needs to be a strong actress, singer and dancer. (alto) Billy Flynn: Age 35-60. Sexy, persuasive, manipulative, masculine. Billy is a suave, educated lawyer who can persuade anyone to do anything. Billy will take any case as long as it is sure to put money in his pocket. Billy is a lot like a Hollywood Agent. Needs to be a strong character actor who can sing and dance well. (tenor) Amos Hart: Age 30-50. Charming, funny, vulnerable, timid man. Amos is an average guy, not very good looking, not very smart. Manipulated easily, Amos is the only character in Chicago whose motives are entirely pure, never selfish and he's the only character who really loses ultimately. Strong character actor who can sing well. (baritone) Matron "Mama" Morton: Age 35-65. Sexy, funny, powerful and tough. The matron of the Cook County Jail who believes that all favors she gives should be reciprocated or paid for. If Billy is the Agent, Mama would be considered the Manager. Needs to be strong character actor who can sing well. (alto) Mary Sunshine: Any age. Looking for a male soprano or counter tenor who can sing legitimately up to a high B flat who must play a woman with the image of a good natured talk show hostess but is actually a high powered gossip columnist. Must be a good comedian. (soprano) *** Please note we may consider lowering the vocal part for the right person.
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Page 2 Female/Male Chorus: Ages 16+. Looking for strong dancers and singers. Several featured acting roles including: Hunyak: Accused of chopping off her husband's head. She is actually innocent (one of the only ones), but because she only speaks Hungarian and refuses to plead guilty, she is found guilty and hung. **This is a challenging role as all her lines are in Hungarian. Would like this actress to have a strong background in ballet dance. Liz: Killed her husband with a shotgun because he "popped" his gum. Annie: Found out her husband had several wives and killed him with Arsenic. June: Killed her husband with a carving knife after he found out she cheated on him. Mona: Killed her boyfriend after she found out he was sleeping around. Go-to-Hell Kitty: Kills her boyfriend in her apartment after coming home and finding him with two girls. She is wealthy and goes crazy telling everyone to "go-to-hell".
Master of Ceremonies: This person is responsible for introducing all the "Vaudeville Acts". Must have strong speaking ability, lots of energy and presence. This person may double as a male/female dancer or may be cast as a cameo role with little rehearsal time. Fred Casley: Sleeping with Roxie Hart and is shot and killed. Must play a "regular guy" in the first scene but play an overly dramatic version of himself in the courtroom scene. This person may double as a male/female dancer or may be cast as a cameo role with little rehearsal time. Sergeant Fogarty: Police detective who interviews Amos after Roxie kills Fred. Typical "Chicago" cop who has been through this kind of thing many times. This person may double as a male dancer or may be cast as cameo role with little rehearsal time. Aaron: Court appointed lawyer who tries to defend the Hunyak. He gets extremely frustrated because he can't understand her language and she refuses to plead guilty. This person will double as a male dancer. Foreman: This person only has one line - however, he/she will play the part of all or half the jurors in the jurors' box by switching chairs and swapping out hats and various disguises. This can be a very funny bit if done well. (We may cast one male and one female to play 6 jurors each.) Harrison: District Attorney who is prosecuting Roxie. This person will double as a male dancer. Judge: Plays the judge in the courtroom scene. This person will double as a male dancer. Tailor/Bailiff/Court Clerk/Doctor/Reporters, etc.: These are small roles that will be played by members of the chorus.
Questions? If you have any questions about the character descriptions or expectations for any particular role, please contact Andrea Cronan, Artistic Director, via email at:
[email protected]
