Ballina Players has their opening night for Chicago tomorrow (Friday) night, and back stage excitement is high for this classic production to begin!
On stage, the Ballina Players version will have all the glitz and glam that people expect of Chicago. Iesha Wiliams, the Director, confirms, “We follow the script, keep it authentic. It has that iconic look people are expecting, but I also add in my own twist.”
Iesha started at Ballina Players at the age of 15 as an actor. Performances include being a dancer in the Ballina Players production of Chicago 13 years ago. Last year, Iesha directed her first production. Chicago is her second.
“I came into it with a very strong vision of how I wanted to see it,” says Iesha, “but you always have to mould and massage that, trying to fit it into the stage pace, or work around costumes.
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“I love it. It’s a massive job, but such a chance to be creative. I really do love it.”
Played out many times over on stage and film, Chicago has been a favourite story to retell. Both Iesha and Tory Puglisi, the Assistant Director, are fulfilling a dream being a part of this production.
“It’s Chicago! It’s a bucket list show. I loved the show, loved the movie, and it was on the professional circuit two years ago. It’s the 20s,” said Iesha with Tory in complete agreement.
Iesha explains the crux of the story, “It’s basically about two fame, hungry, murderous women who get famous. They get the fame they wanted in the end, but not how they intended to…”
The opening night begins with a “flapper party” where people will be invited to dress up in their 1920’s finery to really get into the feel of the night.
Iesha wanted to credit so many people that have been instrumental in making the production take shape, including Tory who she described was such a great fit “working together is like having a second set of hands.”
Tory Puglisi was unsure about taking on the Assistant Director role at first, “It was a hard toss up when Iesha asked me to be assistant director, because my plans were to audition for it.
“I’m very happy with my decision. Working on the creative side with Iesha has been a really good experience. I absolutely love it.”
For the most part, tickets are already sold out, however, at the time of writing, there were limited tickets left on two charity nights, only…
Have a look at the Ballina Player facebook page where they list the Charity shows that may have tickets left…
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