The Life of a (1920s) Showgirl

October 17, 2025
• The 1920s musical centers on villains, but the young performers in the show hope to do some good through the performance.

“Chicago” starts with a bang. As Velma Kelly croons “All That Jazz,” the show’s famous opening number, fellow performer Roxie Hart shoots her lover dead. Jazz hands, showgirls, murder — all that jazz.

While the subject matter may be dark, especially for that of a high school production, the young Needham actors involved are counteracting their morally questionable characters by giving back off the stage.

Needham High School’s Students Acting to Make a Difference, abbreviated SAMD, raises money for different local charities by staging a musical every fall. Proceeds from ticket sales this year will benefit OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center, a nonprofit dance company in Boston.

“What I love about it is that we’re all taking our passion and our talent for theater, but we’re using that for something more than just putting out a show,” cast member and SAMD board member James Casale, an NHS senior, said. “We’re putting money towards this great organization by combining all of our musical abilities and our acting and all that, but we’re putting it towards a good cause.”

Last year, SAMD donated about $8,000 for Circle of Hope, a Needham nonprofit that assists people experiencing homelessness. The troupe hopes to meet or exceed that amount this year.

The show opens Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at Newman Elementary, with subsequent shows on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. Given its mature themes, the show is intended for audiences 13 years and up.

“Chicago” is a story full of despicable people doing reprehensible things, said senior Mia Allen, who plays corrupt prison warden Mama Morton. “Nobody’s pure of heart to say the very least,” she said.

Following the death of her fling, Roxie (played by senior Nadia Tess) is imprisoned alongside other women accused of murdering their romantic partners, including Velma (played by junior Amelia Broderick). Both women seek fame, relevance and absolution in a 1920s America, perhaps to the detriment of their morality.

“There are tons of crazy characters, like [Roxie’s] pathetic husband (Amos, played by Casale) and her showman, ringmaster lawyer, this other murderess Velma Kelly, who killed her sister and husband,” Allen said, “all these evil, amazing roles that come together to tell a larger than life, satirical story.”

This will be the second time SAMD staged “Chicago,” the first being in 2013.

The cabaret-style show, complete with jazz-tap dance numbers inspired by the original “Chicago” choreographer Bob Fosse, diverges from NHS’s recent productions. “Legally Blonde” — last year’s SAMD show — as well as the spring’s “Mamma Mia” brought uplifting, family-friendly storylines to local audiences.

Tess, who is also on the SAMD board, said the show’s darker themes and dance-heavy songs provide a welcome change and challenge for her and other cast members.

“I have to do a cartwheel in the show, which — I cannot do a cartwheel. And I have to do a cartwheel in heels, so that’s a little bit scary,” Tess said. “But, I think it’s so exciting to get to try to do this new style of Fosse dance, which I haven’t really gotten a chance to do before.”

During a rehearsal at NHS on Tuesday, an unaccompanied pair of dance shoes on the floor symbolized that nervous energy. Actors lifted Tess on stage, and Broderick started breaking in her own pair of heels to prepare. Broderick admitted she’s “not as fast as I usually am.”

While the choreography may pose a challenge, Broderick’s familiarity with the show’s music excited her.

“I’ve known all of Velma’s songs for a really long time, because they’re such iconic songs, like ‘All That Jazz,’ ‘Cell Block Tango,’” she said. “When I found out I was Velma, I was so, so happy just to be able to take on these iconic songs that everyone knows.”

Among the cast members, a favorite number is “When You’re Good to Mama,” in which Allen’s Mama Morton sings about the bribes she takes from inmates. During “Hot Honey Rag,” toward the end of the show, Tess and Broderick will showcase more Fosse dance movies together.

In “Mr. Cellophane,” Casale, as Amos, reaches a turning point, deciding he’ll no longer be looked past or manipulated by his wife.

While audiences are expected to recognize some of the setlist, Casale said the show will keep things fresh.

“I think we’re taking it in a new direction. I know our director [Jill Tokac] is trying to put her own creative twist on things, and I think it’ll be a very interesting take on a show that people have probably seen.”

The show, Allen said, “is a musical masterpiece.”

“It’s a show where every member of the cast gets to shine, whether they’re primarily a dancer, singer or actor. It’s digestible because it comes in a lot of different vignettes,” she said. “It’s relevant. It’s incredibly topical, given its themes of the justice system and sexism especially, and it supports a great cause.”