Set a century ago, in Prohibition-era Windy City (aka the city of big shoulders), it’s a satirical story that invokes questions around the power of publicity (good or bad), sensationalistic grandstanding despite the committing of a serious crime, and attempting to be above the law while undermining the judicial system (waitaminute?!- are we still talking about Chicago in the late 1920’s?).
It must mean the classic musical Chicago is back in town - “A story of greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery” (to quote the opening prologue) ...and Kansas City couldn’t be happier!
It’s playing through the weekend at the Kauffman Center as part of the current PNC Broadway in Kansas City series (via The American Theatre Guild), and we braved the aftermath of the snow blizzard, to take in opening night.
Based on a 1926 play, the production hit the live stage starting in 1975, and with its 1996 revival, has become the longest-running musical in Broadway history. It began with dancer Gwen Verdon first suggesting to her husband, choreographer and director Bob Fosse, that the play might be a good source to become a musical. Fosse was riding high from the success of Cabaret a few years prior, and that work and this one, has become the timeless personification of his very distinct contribution to American theater.
Many who don’t follow the theater, are still familiar with the work, thanks to the 2002 six-time Oscar-winning film that starred Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere.
The two leading ladies, Roxie Hart (played by Ellie Roddy) and Velma Kelly (played by Taylor Lane) are very competing women both accused of murder, each vying for attention and the spotlight, as they hope to be acquitted (in both the court, and court of public opinion) with the help of cocky, smooth talking lawyer, Billy Flynn (played by Connor Sullivan, who proved without a doubt during a solo song, he can hold a very long note).
Minimally staged, the emphasis of the show thus leans on the choreography, the lighting, and the songs, which also means very few costume changes (most of the ensemble is in frilly black garments throughout), a ‘non-set’ (the ten-piece band with conductor positioned on a multi-level grandstand dominates the stage) and a storyline just enough to move the narrative forward, without getting too emotionally invested.
That said, those core parts here are strong enough, and the underlying themes equating to our current world of 'social likes', 'fake news', and 'alternative facts' remain in the back of our mind as the tale unfolds. The ensemble members stay openly seated on both sides of the stage, reacting from their chairs and awaiting their next cue to spring into action.
The original music by John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, and book by Fosse and Ebb have all become a part of modern theater’s cultural zeitgeist and still have audiences clapping and nodding along with the more familiar numbers.
The production wastes no time and begins with the always impressive “All That Jazz” (set in the cleanest Cook County Jail you’ll ever see) with the company deftly and fluidly moving about, as they only can, as part of this trademark Fosse production (nicely updated by Ann Reinking for the 1996 revival with additional new re-creation by Gregory Butler and David Hyslop).
Illy Kirven rightfully commands the stage halfway through the first act as sassy Matron “Mama” Morton and Brad Weatherford’s supporting Fred Casely character starts with some one-handed push-ups at stage right, then follows with a vertical maneuver that requires near Olympic-level focus.
Andrew Metzger’s naive, sad sack husband to Roxie, Amos Hart, gets a compelling turn on his “Mr. Cellophane” solo in the second act, and the operatic falsetto of D. Fillinger’s character, the gossip reporter Mary Sunshine was enhanced and carried upward, by the fine acoustics of the intimate theater. And Sullivan’s Billy Flynn, who we don’t meet until halfway into the first act, is the right amount of over-confidence and slick assuredness (in addition to his previously mentioned vocal skills), to deliver a raucous “Razzle Dazzle” at the story’s apex.
As the show concludes, the two protagonist murderesses realize their own individual returns to vaudeville success would multiply exponentially if they joined forces. So, they do so, despite a continued mutual resentment, in a show-stopping feverishly frantic end number, performed in matching glittered suits that constantly catch the light.
Chicago rides off into the sunset triumphantly, but our own two rival political parties haven’t fully learned the lesson of combining forces for the greater good. We still have a few lessons to learn from these former jailbirds.
Chicago plays in Kansas City at The Kauffman Center through Sunday, January 12 with tickets available here: Chicago | Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
(National Tour Photos by Jeremy Daniel / Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
Recent Comments