By Mikaela STONE

“Chicago: The Teen Edition” opened at Crescenta Valley High School (CVHS) on Feb. 28. Featuring feather fans, sequins, glitz and glamor, musical theater director and English teacher Kathi Chaplar-Beerman confirmed CVHS is “trying to live up to the razzle dazzle of the original” even with softened language. While Chaplar has approached “Chicago” as “just putting on another show,” to keep focus on her “extraordinary” students, this year marks the end of her 29 years at Crescenta Valley High School. 

Also leaving is Chaplar’s husband, fellow English teacher and theater director Brent Beerman, who has worked at CVHS for 31 years. 

Working together, the pair oversaw dozens of student shows and musicals, including ambitious productions such as “Sweeney Todd,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” Wishing she had more time to work with students, Chaplar petitioned for her own musical theater class, intending to focus on singing, vocal training and movement. 

Unfortunately her inaugural class happened to take place during 2020, forcing students to perform from their bedrooms over Zoom. Nevertheless, the class produced “A Retrospective Review,” which focused on key moments from past productions. 

The following year, the hybrid learning model allowed students to attend in-person rehearsals for “The Spelling Bee.” The audience cameos the musical is known for were performed by teachers already in the CVHS bubble. As luck would have it, gathering restrictions were lifted shortly before the first performance of “The Spelling Bee” allowing an in-person audience to celebrate the play’s opening. 

“The luxury of having a class for musical theater is that I know what talent I’m working with,” Chaplar noted. With this in mind she could anticipate challenges of “Chicago,” such as the famously difficult Bob Fosse choreography, which focuses on “isolation and extensions” of the body.
She confirmed the students took to the play well enough to receive the opportunity for up to five full dress rehearsals before opening night. (For reference, other CVHS productions may have anywhere from three dress rehearsals to three days of any rehearsal, depending on how pressed productions are for time.) While other productions require broad brush notes to fix sweeping issues, Chaplar had the opportunity to focus on carving out moments for the actors to shine with detailed instruction. 

With “Chicago” in the spotlight, Chaplar admitted there is “not a lot of looking back” for her.

“The show that I’m doing now is the favorite show for me,” she said. 

While she will always have a soft spot for past CVHS productions, she is finally ready to focus on her own artistic endeavors. 

“For me it’s not retiring,” she said, “it’s a 2.0.” She intends to move forward her previous professional singing gigs, like at weddings and churches, to taking the time to audition for projects that interest her. Already she and Beerman have five shows between them that they look forward to working on.

Both Beermans are members of the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theater in North Hollywood. Chaplar will work as a pantomime consultant for an upcoming production of “Our Town.” Beerman will direct the play “Heidi’s Chronicles,” a longtime favorite play he noted is “relevant” for the modern day with its analysis of womanhood, then travel to Connecticut to act in “Requiem for a Heavyweight.” Both submitted finalist plays to the Group Rep 10 Minute Play Festival. Other work they share includes oral short stories performed with VAMP LA and So Say We All, which focuses on creating and improving short story performances. 

Somehow in this busy schedule the pair intend to find time to travel and spend quality time with their two grandchildren. Yet for Beerman, novel chaos is a relief. For him, teaching often feels as though students graduate and change while he stays the same. 

“I am looking forward to graduating,” he joked. 

Chaplar recognized that when she first started teaching she often bit off more than she could chew. While her advice for her younger self would be to learn to be patient and recognize her own limitations, she added that everything she did she found applicable later – who knew learning to pantomime would open so many doors?!

“Chicago: The Teen Edition” will celebrate its closing weekend at Crescenta Valley High School on March 7 and 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://gofan.co/app/school/CA18788.