SHOWBIZQ
'Chicago" For a New Generation
Mon. March 2, 2009 12:00 AM
by Michael J. Roberts
Looking around the Oriental Theatre on the opening night of the latest visit by Chicago: The Musical, one was struck at the amount of audience members who were in their teens and early twenties. Because of the success of the Oscar winning 2002 film version, and also buoyed on the heels of Wicked, it seems as though Walter Bobbie's revival is finding a whole new generation of fans.
Whether attending Chicago for time, or for those of us who have seen it numerous times, the current cast is one of the best to be assembled in the show's history.
Based on a 1926 play by
Chicago opened at the 46th Street Theatre on June 3, 1975, with a cast that included Gwen Verdon (Roxie), Chita Rivera (Velma) and Jerry Orbach (Billy). Although the show enjoyed a run of 898 performances, it was overshadowed by A Chorus Line which opened the same year. (Chicago was nominated for 11 Tony Awards, but lost out in every category when A Chorus Line swept the awards.) As a result, Chicago would remain quietly in the shadows, one of Broadway's most under-appreciated gems, until 1997 when it was revived on Broadway with choreography by Ann Reinking "in the style of Bob Fosse." This production spawned a national tour and went on to win 6 Tony Awards including "Best Revival of a Musical," "Best Lighting Design," "Best Choreography" and "Best Direction of a Musical."
Heading the cast, for this tour stop only, is the phenomenal Charlotte d'Ambois, who has played Roxie Hart on and off for the last decade, both on Broadway and on tour where she originated the role. d'Ambois, who comes from one the finest lineages in dance, is simply the best Roxie to have ever played the role. She is sexy, strong , funny and more importantly, vulnerable.
d'Ambois is paired with the sensational Terra C. MacLeod as Velma Kelly. MacLeod originated the role in the French and Montreal production and has a statuesque figure that commands the stage. Vocally, MacLeod seems to hover over some notes rather than hit them directly but all faults are forgotten when she dances. Roz Ryan's Mamma Morton, a part which has been claimed by Queen Latifa since the film, brings down the house with "When Your Good To Mamma" and her duet with MacLeod in the number ‘Class' is harmoniously delicious. Kevin Chamberlain, recently seen in The Ritz on Broadway, is perfectly cast as Amos Hart, Roxy's loaf of a hubby and shines in his big number, 'Mr. Cellophane'.
The most recognizable of the cast members is John O'Hurley who plays razzle dazzle lawyer, Billy Flynn. O'Hurley, though charming and handsome in a sleazy way, seems stiff and unconnected with the rest of the ensemble and doesn't possess a voice or dance ability to carry the role to any convincing level.
What separates this tour from some of the prior ones is the incredibly gifted dancers that lift the Fosse/Reinking choreography to the stratosphere. Most of the focus goes to the incredibly chiseled Adam Pellegrine who makes the rigorous Fosse movements seem like second nature. The ensemble, who just returned to the States after presenting the show in Bangkok, is young, sexy and brings vibrancy to the show that is electric.
With the much expected reference to our city's current political leaders (or lack thereof), Chicago: The Musical shows how the media is able to shape opinions of the masses which has implications far more reaching than a Broadway musical. Hopefully the new generation seeing this show will reflect on the manipulation that they are subject to everyday.
Chicago: The Musical plays through March 8, 2009 at the Ford Center For The Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, 24 W. Randolph, Chicago, Illinois. For show times and tickets, please visit www.broadwayinchicago.com or www.chicagothemusical.com