With a film that won best picture and inspired by a true-crime play by a journalist, "Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville" is about as fun a musical as they come.
An award-winning musical director, Michael Rice was the Arkansas Rep's choice to bring the distinct Jazz Age sound of 1920s Chicago to life.
Rice has worked extensively both on and off-Broadway, with two premieres as composer/lyricist at Arkansas Rep directed by the theatre's late founder Cliff Baker. He's also a composer, arranger and pianist hailing from the south Arkansas town of Monticello.
Arts Scene's Ann Nicholson caught up with Rice and Arkansas Repertory Theatre Board Chair Ruth Shepherd before The Rep's production of "Chicago" which ran from Feb. 20 to March 24, 2019