And it's a musical comedy.
Dubuque's Grand Opera House's production of "Chicago," a musical about a woman who murders her lover and then manipulates the media to win in the court of public opinion, opened on July 16. The cast features several area residents, including Dyersville resident Karen George, who plays the corrupt women's prison matron, Mama Morton.
"It's fitting because I'm the oldest woman in the show," George said, noting that the younger cast members call her "Mama" offstage as well as on.
George has been doing theater in smaller communities for over 20 years, but she says the Dubuque production is something special.
"This is as close as you can get to a real Broadway production without actually being there,"
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The music will also be of the highest quality, according to George. She says the pit orchestra is filled with "ringers," such as high school and college band directors and teachers. The orchestra is usually confined to a "pit" at the front of the auditorium, but in "Chicago," where the music is as much a star as the performers, they take center stage, disguised as nightclub musicians.
George says that the Dyersville area is well-represented in Chicago.
"I was thrilled when we were called back and so many local people were here," George said.
Among those local people are Beth Sullivan and Ashley Davidson, seniors at Western Dubuque High School and Sam Kramer, a 2010 WD grad. They perform as featured dancers and as part of the "Merry Murderesses," women who have killed spouses and lovers and have tried to use the media to get a sympathetic verdict. One of the highlights of the show is the "Cellblock Tango," wherein the murderesses describe and explain the motivation for their crimes.
"It's fun to play the evil person," Davidson said.
The girls are all veterans of high school theater, but are aware of the differences in venues.
"It's different than high school," said Sullivan. "It's not just family and friends in the audience."
In order to lower the licensing costs, the Grand Opera House is only selling 350 seats for each show.
Tickets cost $18 and are available at the Grand Opera House box office and online at thegrandoperahouse.com. The show will run on weekends through the end of the month. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m.