Alinta Chidzey and the ensemble. Photo: Jeff Busby
Alinta Chidzey’s mesmerizing opening number All That Jazz sets the bar high for this return season of the longest running American musical in Broadway and West End history, and it’s great to be able to say it stays high. The Kander/Ebb and Fosse book and lyrics are as sassy, sharp and satirical as ever, and the 14-piece orchestra under the musical direction of conductor Daniel Edmonds is strong and jazzy, with all the razzle dazzle anyone could hope for.
Then there’s the rest of the cast, led by such talents as Tom Burlinson as that dodgiest of dodgy lawyers and ‘champion of the downtrodden’ Billy Flynn, Natalie Bassingthwaite as Chicago’s newest homicidal blonde Roxie Hart and Casey Donovan as the fabulously savvy Matron ‘Mama’ Morton.
Set in the 1920s (think Al Capone), Chicago takes the cult of celebrity apart, with jailed murderesses Velma Kelly (Chidzey) and Roxie vying for the biggest headlines and more than 15 minutes of fame, and Flynn shamelessly and blatantly manipulating the media. The choreography (based on Ann Reinking’s 1966 New York production) is slinky, sexy and sensual, and the atmosphere, like the sets here, is dark and seedy whether it’s in a nightclub or in the jail.
Talking of which, the Cell Block Tango has to be one of the most memorable routines in a musical, and this one does not disappoint. It is performed with fabulous flair and finesse by Chidzey, Chaska Halliday, Samantha Dodemaide, Hayley Martin, Jessica Vellucci and Romina Villafranca.
John Lee Beatty’s set which encloses the orchestra in a tiered bandstand, and doubles as a jury box, rather dominates the stage, sometimes leaving the dancers little room to move but move they do, with precision and pizazz in the tight spaces left to them. Reinforcing the sleazy underworld feel throughout are William Ivey Long’s costumes, which are more cabaret than clink, all black lace, sheer mesh and black glitz – and all minimal.
Chidzey’s Velma is as sultry as they come although her rendition of her double murder is amusing rather than terrifying; Bassingthwaite’s Roxie is a wonderful ‘dumb’ blonde, whose street-smarts more than make up for any lack of intellect (or should that be morals?). Of the two, hers is the more rounded character here, but Chidzey’s dancing and vocal abilities are just wonderful to watch and hear.
There is so much to like in this Chicago, especially Donovan’s Mama Morton. She absolutely rocks it, playing up every nuance of the lyrics as she belts out When You’re Good to Mama with rich and seemingly effortless force. And she looks like she is having a helluva good time.
Burlinson’s Billy Flynn is played for laughs than lack of scruples, especially in the All I Care About is Love number, which although intentionally satirical and visually gorgeous, seems almost of place, but he and Bassingthwaite are brilliant as the ventriloquist and his puppet in We Both Reached for the Gun. Rodney Dobson evokes our sympathy as Roxie’s long-suffering and long-duped husband Amos, getting a deserved round of applause at the end of his touching Mr Cellophane number in Act 2.
All up, it’s a fabulous show. The pace and the vitality never flag and there are many memorable moments.
With the present state of politics in the US, many lines in many older plays and musicals are super-charged again right now – never more so than at the end of Chicago, with Roxie and Velma thanking America for all its wonderful opportunities, as they successfully bypass the law, lie their way to success and, of course, get away with murder.
Be that as it may, there’s no fake news here, folks. This Chicago is highly recommended.
In Sydney until October 20, then touring to Brisbane and Melbourne.
