During an open house in December, dance students from Kennedy heard about a production of “Chicago: Teen Edition” being held at the Edgewood Fine Arts Academy.

The show was open to allow dance team members from Kennedy High School to be a part of the show. For most of them, this was their first year performing in a musical. However, this was nothing new for many of the seniors.

The 1975 Broadway musical “Chicago” has become a classic staple of the genre. It is notable for its gripping story about Roxie Hart and Billy Flynn who attempts to acquit Roxie from her death sentence for murder, the story’s mature narrative pulled along by the catchy and well-written songs.

From “Cell Block Tango” to “Mister Cellophane”, “Chicago” is wrapped up in a light tone to balance its darker themes. However, the high school showing would take creative liberties to adapt it for a teenage cast.

Preparing for the show took a load of work. Kennedy dance students were able to catch roles as background dancers and singers. However, since this was the first musical performance for some, there were a few things they had to adjust to.

They had rehearsed choreography before, but this show required them to work on singing. The Kennedy dance team actually had to work on their voices to perform songs, as well as memorizing a good bit of lines for the show. Their dedication and consistency allowed them to churn out worthy performances.

“At one point we had to sit in a circle and work on our voices,” junior Marissa Morin said.

As for the show itself it was a marvelous showing of lights and music, with rhythmically beautiful numbers by the stars and ensemble, paired with a level of skill that can be referred to as near professional. The Kennedy dance team danced with flow and style.

The two standout stars were senior Elijah Gonzales and junior Alexis D’Angelantonio. Their rousing performance in “Cell Block Tango” as Velma’s cheating husband and her sister, was masterful. The duet performance gave a visual dimension to Velma’s backstory.

As “Chicago: Teen Edition” there were some limitations to the show. But it was able to adapt the musical nearly one to one to the Chicago movie. all the while keeping the combination of dark humor and drama.

Songs like “Razzle Dazzle” and “Me and My Baby” were given great support by the Kennedy’s dance team as the ensemble who provided amazing choreography whether they were in sparkly gold dresses or soft pink onesies.

“This was my twentieth year here, and I wanted to do something big for that,” Fine Arts Theater teacher and director Claudia Casso said.

But the most notable part of the showing was an initially unplanned addition. Due to another ensemble member not being able to make it, D’Angelantonio had to step up and shoulder a major speaking role at the climax of the musical.

The spotlight was quite literally stolen for this singular moment. D’Angelantonio, however, was able to shoulder the responsibility and perform the role of news reporter with speed and wit.

“That was the first time I’ve ever done that was so nervous about it,” D’Angelantonio said.

While some members of the dance team may have had some butterflies performing the first time, they had mastered the musical’s beats beautifully by their third performance. The final showing demonstrated the Kennedy dance teams mastery of the mature, gripping, hilarious, and dark story of “Chicago: Teen Edition.”

“I would like to do it again if I had the chance” sophomore Ariel Werning said.