The energy was high on Saturday night as Bi-Co students, family, friends, and community members filled Marshall Auditorium at Haverford College for the third and final performance of Electric Hour Theater’s production of Chicago.
Set in 1920s Chicago, Chicago follows chorus girl Roxie Hart as she manipulates the media and legal system to escape conviction for murder. After killing her lover, Fred Casely, in a fit of rage when he tries to end their affair, Roxie attempts to frame her husband but is ultimately arrested and sent to Cook County Jail. There, she meets vaudeville star Velma Kelly, who has been charged with murdering her unfaithful husband and sister. Both women enlist the help of slick lawyer Billy Flynn, who transforms Roxie’s trial into a media spectacle, overshadowing Velma and fueling their rivalry. Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins, Chicago satirizes celebrity culture, corruption, and the pursuit of fame.
Roxie Hart, played by Haverford senior Clara Bossi, was the only upperclassman in the production. “There really have been very few musical theater opportunities at Haverford since I’ve been here, and I was really excited to hear that there was this group of mostly sophomores that […] made this club happen,” Bossi said. She views the abundance of underclassmen as a promising sign for the future of musical theater at Haverford. “We’re in good hands for the next few years, I think; [There’s] some good enthusiasm,” she added.
Electric Hour Theater (EHT) was founded in fall 2023 by Aaron Tokay, co-head and director of Chicago, with the goal of filling a long-standing gap in musical theater at Haverford. “It was something that was unfortunately lacking in our community,” he explained. Tokay’s vision was not only to produce full-scale productions but also to host smaller events.
After the pandemic caused Haverford’s previous theater group, Greasepaint, to dissolve, EHT became the sole Bi-Co club dedicated to musical theater. In its first semester, EHT organized a showcase, a cabaret, and a 24-hour theater event.
With these smaller events under their belt, EHT’s members were ready for their first full musical production: Chicago, which was chosen for its accessibility and fun factor. Tokay also noted that the relatively easy music made it an ideal show for newcomers to musical theater. According to the online program, this was freshman Conrad Sylvester’s musical theater debut as audience favorite Amos Hart, Roxie’s sweet but dim-witted husband.
Although Chicago was originally slated for fall 2024, the production was delayed until winter 2025 due to logistical challenges.
Aware of the hurdles ahead, Tokay decided to take on the role of director, explaining, “I knew there were gonna be a bunch of […] speed bumps as we are a new club navigating this completely alone.” While EHT anticipated setbacks, Tokay admitted that many mistakes fell on his shoulders as director. However, he viewed the process as a valuable learning experience. “One of the lessons [we learned] was to ask for help,” Tokay said. “We are never going to be out of the weeds and look at ourselves and say, ‘Hey, we made it, we’re a perfect club.’ That is never going to happen, and that’s impossible to happen.”
Collaboration with faculty and staff was key in overcoming some of these challenges. Tokay credited individuals like Haverford operations manager Ciera Ismail, director of Student Engagement Jodi Mulhall, and Bryn Mawr Theater Production Manager Amy Radbill for helping him navigate licensing and logistics. Tokay told the newspaper that “being a student-run club and getting help from faculty and staff is not giving up anything; it’s not surrendering power—it’s collaborating with our community. There was something that I was trying to take on as a student and then was told that that’s not the way the process works.”
“Being a student-run club and getting help from faculty and staff is not giving up anything; it’s not surrendering power—it’s collaborating with our community. There was something that I was trying to take on as a student and then was told that that’s not the way the process works.”
For Bossi, the extra time was ultimately beneficial. “The initial timeline was fast,” she said. “Having the longer amount of time to work on this production has actually been a blessing. It’s given me more time to settle into this role and all of the work that goes into it.”
Despite the challenges of a demanding two-hour runtime and 18 choreographed numbers, the final performances of Chicago were well-received. “The biggest thing for us was always showcasing the wonderful work of the cast,” Tokay said.
He also praised the resilience of the students involved, “The biggest skill you can have is adaptability, and it’s rolling with the punches. And that’s the best thing about our cast […] is that we keep moving.”
Bossi echoed this sentiment, sharing that seeing their hard work “pay off and come together in the end” was the most rewarding part of the experience. “There’s been a great turnout, and this show is so much about audience reaction.” She also expressed admiration for the team, “I’ve loved working with everyone, and it’s so impressive that we were able to pull this off as a student-run production without major institutional support.”
Looking ahead, Tokay’s biggest goal for EHT is to create an inclusive and safe space that promotes fun without the exclusivity or gossip. He told the newspaper that the group “wanted to take the drama out of drama because it’s a discipline that is often associated with gossip, exclusivity, or an insular community, and that is antithetical to what we want our club to value.”
“We want to take the drama out of drama because it’s a discipline that is often associated with gossip, exclusivity, or an insular community, and that is antithetical to what we want our club to value.”
On March 1, EHT announced the selection of its second production of the semester, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, originally scheduled for April 17-20. However, just five days later, on March 6, in a statement on the club’s Instagram, they said: “After the overwhelming success of Chicago and the abbreviated timeline we had created for TGWDLM, we have decided to cancel our April production to give our casts, crews, and community more time to rest and recuperate before we hit the ground running again next semester—especially in the midst of illness, midterms, and general world badness!”
In the meantime, EHT will continue to engage the community with smaller events, including a Karaoke Night on March 20 at 8 p.m. in the Goodhart Common Room.
