CHICAGO: THE MUSICAL | STAGE REVIEW
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Tue 26 July
John Kander and Fred Ebb’s original Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville, with choreography by Bob Fosse, is one of the great modern success stories of the American Musical. Debuting in 1975, this scandalous tale of betrayal, revenge and redemption shrewdly plays on the American obsession with celebrity and criminality that both shocks and teases in equal measure. Based on a true story that became a tabloid sensation in the 1920s, the tale of Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly and their unscrupulous lawyer Billy Flynn caught the public imagination with the 2002 film adaptation, which won several Oscars including Best Film 2003. The show that comes to the Wales Millennium Centre is not the original Broadway show but the 1996 revival, Chicago: The Musical, with choreography by Ann Reinking based on Fosse’s famous style.
Hayley Tamaddon’s ingénue Roxie Hart finds herself in prison after murdering her lover, where she comes under the wing of Mama Morton, played by Gina Murray. In jail, Roxie learns quickly to play upon her newfound notoriety, following the lead of Sophie Carmen-Jones’ Velma Kelly, a femme fatale who is on trial for killing her husband and sister in a crime of passion. There they meet the crooked lawyer Billy Flynn, all smiles and shiny shoes, played by John Partridge with a winning combination of sleaze and sincerity. Through Flynn’s devious manipulation of both the press and the credulous jury, Roxie finds herself acquitted but no longer the great tabloid sensation. It is a wonderfully satirical indictment of the corruption of the American legal system, the guilty set free and innocents sent to their death.
Reinking’s choreography infuses the iconic opening number All That Jazz with Fosse’s signature stylishness, all hips and angular moves that starts the show with a sleek and sexy atmosphere that continues throughout. The company are dazzling as an ensemble, creating a vibe of 1920s Chicago combined with the seedy ambience of a 70s New York nightclub. Chicago: The Musical’s tradition of placing the band on stage cuts down the playing space considerably and offers a heightened theatrical feel, breaking the fourth wall in Brechtian style and, at times, making for an uncomfortable experience for an audience. Personally, I like the detachment you get from that effect, with actors introducing characters at regular intervals, but can appreciate that not everyone would embrace it.
Kander and Ebb’s musical score combines vaudeville jazz and blues numbers with more traditional show stoppers. Highlights of the show include the brilliant Cell Block Tango, with its chorus refrain of “they had it coming” making a catchy reversal of misogynist violence; the ventriloquist dummy act of We Both Reached For The Gun, with Partridge and Tamaddon perfectly in sync; the pitiful sight of the cuckolded Amos Hart’s Mr Cellophane (perhaps the only sympathetic character in the show); and the centrepiece Razzle Dazzle, which lays bare the showbiz culture of American justice. The dancing throughout is superb, especially from Carmen-Jones as Velma, and Tamaddon’s Roxie is both endearingly and annoyingly perky. It’s a sophisticated and stylish revival, luminously entertaining but the subject matter, choreography and performance style won’t be to everyone’s taste.
words ALEX WREN photos CATHERINE ASHMORE