This fast-paced, darkly humoured musical absolutely oozes sex
appeal and makes a life of boozing and crime in the 1920s seem like just the
thing any lady should strive for. Full of energy, passion, and choreography
that would make a saint blush, this production really stands the test of time
and continues to hold a mirror up to a seedy society.
‘Chicago’ tells the tale of nightclub dancer and wannabe
superstar Roxie Hart (Faye Brookes), who finds herself on death row after
shooting her lover dead when he tries to walk out on her. Blindsided by the
fame and opportunity that her heinous crime throws her way, we see her lie and
cheat her way towards her dream of stardom when she gets off scott free with
the help of silver tongued lawyer Billy Flynn (Russell Watson) Helped along the
way by the delightfully crooked Matron ‘Mama’ Morton (Sheila Ferguson) and surrounded
by murderesses with moxie who are just as determined as she is to work the
system for their own gain, Roxie charms and flirts her way onto the front page
of newspapers across Chicago.
As a leading lady Brookes was, quite frankly, astounding.
From the moment she stepped onto the stage, it was easy to fall in love with
her portrayal of such an iconic character. With an adorable
butter-couldn’t-melt look on her face and a sweet-as-sugar voice to match as
she shoots her lover dead and swears like a trooper, she’s such a walking
juxtaposition that it’s hard not fall for the charm. She’s funny, quirky and (no
pun intended) absolutely killer with her sultry songs and witty banter – the
woman just doesn’t stop. An actress so full of energy who’s clearly enjoying what
they do really brings a show to life, and she does that seemingly with so much
ease. She bounces beautifully off her enemy-turned-partner, the classy and charismatic
Velma Kelly (Djangela Scott) who absolutely dazzles with her larger than life
personality and power-ballad voice – the dulcet tones and strong notes of ‘All
That Jazz’ weren’t made for everyone, but boy does she pull it off. They paired
beautifully with none other than world renowned tenor Russell Watson as Billy
Flynn, whose vocal range and powerful voice were nothing short of sublime.
What stood out the most to me, though, was the choreography
– in the original Fosse style and brought back to life by Gary Chryst. The Charleston
style and raunchy rhythms of the roaring '20s made for some gorgeous moments in
movement, but none stick in the mind more than Roxie and Billy’s remarkable courtroom
puppetry bit during a high-octane, chorus-fuelled belter of ‘We Both Reached
For The Gun’. Their perfectly timed comedic gold of a ventriloquist act in the
stand perfectly highlighted Billy’s manipulation or Roxie to get the jury right
where they needed them – the vocals were spot on, the movement was impeccable
and it was a hilarious scene that was choreographed to perfection.
Although seemingly
very stark at first, the staging did take some getting used to – a dark
and dreary black stage and bandstand, with the house band front and centre, and
the actors perched on their chairs along the sides of the stage patiently
awaiting their scenes. This seemed like a bold choice – with a very basic and
plain setting there’s very little to distract the eye and so very little space
for slip-ups – but as the lights came up and the show went on it seemed to
perfectly encapsulate the raw and ready nature of a 1920's Speakeasy. I
particularly enjoyed the use of low hanging spots over each of the actors
during 'The Cell Block Tango' – nothing hammers home a point quite like a
spotlight. It definitely ramped up a little scenery-wise during the second act,
creating an all-Americsn courtroom complete with blinding spotlights and the
biggest American flag I’ve ever seen. The general plainness of the set design
left plenty to the imagination, and made the stand-out points all the more
noticeable – props to set designer John Lee Beatty for showing us that less
really is more.
Whether or not you know the story, if you fancy a night of
raunchy humour and a few fair pokes at the American justice system and good ol’
Lady Liberty, then this is definitely one you have to see - so start your car,
and all that jazz....
Reviewer - Hazel Kaye
on - 10.5.22
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