What does a popular seaside resort in North Wales have in common with the largest city in Illinois?.....Chicago! Kander and Ebb's ever-popular Vaudeville-style musical based on true events in the decadent 1920s of 'Gangsterland', is currently being performed at The Venue Cymru theatre in Llandudno, and it is most definitely worth watching.
Having never been to this theatre before, I was uncertain of what to expect; however a genuinely warm welcome from all the theatre staff, and a large and airy auditorium awaited; and it was a real pleasure to visit.
A black stage with a gold false prosc. arch and a single spotlit chair was how we were greeted as we took our seats, and when the stage revealed a large central tiered square for the band - a space which was used creatively and superbly throughout - and their first few notes sounded I knew this was going to be a most worthy production.
The story of 'Chicago' centres around two murderesses, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart. Chicago at the time had become a gangster's paradise, with the city being run by mafia, and corruption was everywhere. It was also known that women were never given the death sentence, and so, some of them used their notoriety to great effect and became Vaudeville stars upon their release. However, when, after 47 years that precedent was broken, and Hunyak, a Hungarian with no English except "not guilty" is hanged, the jailbirds start to be a little more worried. Enter superstar lawyer Billy Flynn, whose reputation goes with his pay-packet, as he is hired by the girls, and along with a little extra-curricula help from a butch lesbian, head jail-keeper, Mama Morten, both Velma and Roxie finally are acquitted and join forces on a Vaudeville tour together.
There is always an element of chance when casting 'star names' in shows which require them to do something other than simply be the person they are known for. ie: when they are not type-cast. Sometimes it works spectacularly well, and the performer is unrecognisable as their alter-ego, and we are fully immersed and completely invested in their role in the show, such as here with Faye Brookes's, Roxie Hart. As a personal preference I would have liked the character to have taken a much bigger journey, with Roxie starting the show too strong, not leaving enough room for character development; but that is just a personal observation - her character and her role within the show were completely solid and believable, and I was fully invested in Brookes's Roxie. However, sometimes, such castings don't work as well as perhaps they ought to do; and this was also evidenced this evening with Sinitta Malone, best known as a Simon Cowell protege, in the role of Mama Morten. Unfortunatley, for me at least, Malone failed to find the character required for this part, being in fact, almost the exact opposite.
The rest of the principal cast mostly fell somewhere in between the two, with some beautifully nuanced moments juxtaposed with some rather clunky, far-too-obvious ones. Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly failed to impress, as her character was presented as weak and ineffectual. Lee Mead's Billy Flynn was neither ruthless enough nor smoulderingly sexual enough to truly embody his role; and Jamie Baughan was an 'obvious' and 'noticeable' Amos Hart.. In other words, for this reviewer at least, he was too realistic and had a real character - which under normal circumstances would undoubtedly be a plus.. but sadly not for this role. And this led to the biggest faux-pas of the whole show, when he brashly and loudly asked for his exit music, and instead of eliciting 'ahs' and sympathy from the audience, he received loud laughter and a round of applause. Mary Sunshine (B E Wong), was excellent. Wong's delivery and characterisation spot on, and the big 'reveal', perfectly timed.
'The Cell Block Tango' was good, and I enjoyed the different characterisations coming from the 6 murderesses, with their underscored dialogues being much more heavily pointed than they are normally, meaning they could really work on their characteristions and motivations. In fact the choroegraphy throughout was mostly excellent. Taking inspiration from Bob Fosse and the original style, the chorus dances were simply amazing. The solo dances less so. I must also congratulate the director's idea of incorporating and using the MD and conductor (Andrew Hilton) several times throughout the show too. I've never seen this happen in this musical before, and it was such a brilliant idea and worked superbly.
As a personal preference I would have preferred more costuming, and better signposting of the smaller roles and scenes. Everyone stayed in their same costumes throughout regardless of what character they were playing, and so we were faced with a policeman at the start of the show, but no-one knew he was a policeman as he was dressed identically to his chorus dancer costume. Ditto the doctor in act 2. Ditto Fred Casely etc... And the worst moment in this regard was when Hunyak is hanged and then seconds' later enters the stage as a chorus dancer. with no costume change whatsoever. For those who don't know the show, or the storyline, I feel they might well have had difficulty understanding all of this. Reporters' coats or homburg hats, a doctor's white coat, a policeman's helmet, etc would have been welcomed and had made the story much more understandable.
Sound levels were perfect. [and that is something I rarely have the chance to say with big shows these days... finding normally that the sound department tend to go for volume over clarity and set the levels too high.... not here, thank you!]. Lighting was good and always on cue. In fact, technically this show was practically perfect, with one of the best on-stage bands I have heard for a very long time.
A very enjoyable show, well worth taking the time out from a day's sightseeing in one of North Wales's most beautiful locations, to be transported to the 1920s and 'Chicago'.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 25.7.22
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