The nonprofit South Fork Performing Arts theater company is putting an emphasis on its performers’ triple-threat talents for the first time, with a production of the musical “Chicago: Teen Edition” that opens Friday at LTV Studios in Wainscott.
There’s acting and there’s singing, of course, but there’s also dancing in the signature style of Bob Fosse, the noted actor, director, and choreographer who influenced musical theater for decades leading up to his death in 1987.
“Fosse is dance for non-dancers. His whole style was based on the fact that he was not a ballet dancer, so it’s more accessible to people who don’t dance,” said Tamara Froebel Salkin, who co-founded South Fork Performing Arts in 2018 with Amanda Jones.
The group’s choreographer, Stephanie Vertichio Brennan, “is so good at working both with dancers who have been dancing for years and those who are just starting out,” Ms. Jones said. So Fosse just fits.
The show, which pokes fun at a corrupt criminal justice system in Roaring Twenties Chicago and is based on real-life women who were on trial for murder, is known for racy language and sexy costumes, but this version has been toned down for its teenage performers.
“As a director, I think this show really fits in with the aesthetic that has always been in our mind when we created the program,” Ms. Salkin said. “You do a show like ‘Into the Woods’ and expect big, grand everything, which we don’t do. But in a show like ‘Chicago,’ you don’t expect that. Even on Broadway, it’s done with, like, chairs. . . . The minimalism helps highlight that because you’re not seeing anything on the stage that’s huge and grandiose and sparkly. What you’re seeing is the actors and the story.”
Dakota Quackenbush and Siena Link-Morse, who attend East Hampton High School, are sharing the lead role of Roxy Hart and the supporting role of Mama. Amaia Astorr and Silas Jones, also East Hampton students, star as Velma Kelly and Billy Flynn, respectively.
“The rehearsal process is a lot of fun,” said Silas, who along with Dakota is one of the original members of South Fork Performing Arts. “We really got to dive into our characters, and it’s really a lot of fun to do a dance-centered show.”
Fairleigh Stewart, a Ross School student, is a member of the ensemble and is simply having a blast. “From the time I was little, I’ve always loved to sing and dance and act,” she said. The theater company “is helping me with everything I want to do, so it’s really good to be here.”
The actors agree that having fun onstage will translate to a fun time for the audience. “We’ve all worked very hard on this show,” Dakota said.
Show times for “Chicago” are Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7, and Sunday at 2. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at southforkperformingarts.org.
In addition to “Chicago,” the group is hard at work on a production of “Willy Wonka Jr.” with a cast of 36 students ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade. Performances are on Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. and Nov. 19, at 3 and 7 p.m.