“Chicago” All-That-Jazz's
It Up In San Diego
Words by Kristen Fogle
“Chicago” is funny without hitting you over the head with humor, sexy without letting it all hang out, glitzy without being ostentatious, and so good it needs no boasting to do it justice. In its sixteenth year, the Tony award winning “Chicago,”—in short, a musical about Roxy Hart, who shoots her lover and finds herself in jail scheming to get famous—is the fourth longest running production, surprising no one. So when Broadway San Diego announced the musical as a part of their already super fun lineup, we were prepared to settle in for another dynamite performance.
“Chicago” is funny without hitting you over the head with humor, sexy without letting it all hang out, glitzy without being ostentatious, and so good it needs no boasting to do it justice. In its sixteenth year, the Tony award winning “Chicago,”—in short, a musical about Roxy Hart, who shoots her lover and finds herself in jail scheming to get famous—is the fourth longest running production, surprising no one. So when Broadway San Diego announced the musical as a part of their already super fun lineup, we were prepared to settle in for another dynamite performance.
Then Christie Brikley was
announced to be headlining the production in the role of Roxy. Faces round the
county scrunched up in confusion as theatre goers responded to the news with…
“Huh?”
So before any Fossi had even filled the stage, most of us had only had one question: Can Brikley sing, or can't she?
The rest of the cast certainly can. Amra Faye-Wright's Velma Kelly has a voice that should never leave the stage (and hasn't...she's been Velma for ELEVEN years). Thin as a rail with an amazing badass attitude and a healthy dose of energy, she's worth the price of admission. Aside from Brinkley, the other remarkable performer is certainly John O'Hurley, who is perhaps most famous as J. Peterman on "Seinfeld," but has hosted "Family Feud" and was a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars." O'Hurley has quite the sound, and as the devilish lawyer Billy Flynn, certainly gives Richard Gere (who played the same part in the movie version) a run for his money. The biggest voice on stage though is definitely Mama, however; Carol Woods' crazy big instrument captivates with "When You're Good to Mama" and her and Velma's duet "Class." The "smallest" voice? Well, Mr. Cellophane of course. (He actually has quite an impressive voice, and though Amos Hart feels invisible, the crowd did not react that way to actor Ron Orbach's interpretation of the nebbish husband of Roxy. The Girls are all excellent too; "Cell Block Tango" was obviously well rehearsed and all were impeccable specimens of cell block powerhouse singing.
Oh...so you want to know about Christie now? Can she? Can't she?
The answer is...sorta. I'm confused about why she received critical acclaim for her debuts, maybe because people are just excited someone so beautiful can attempt that part? Without trying to get nasty, let's just say her breathy, never-hold-a-note for too long tactic worked for her, but I'm not sure if it did much to impress. It was delightful to see her up there, as she is obviously quite beautiful, but I don't know if we will see her go on to star in “Evita” any time soon.
The orchestra was fabulous, and I appreciated the seamless fusion between the dancers and the music...Fosse was done well. And though his original choreography can only be seen in one number (Velma and Roxy's "Hot Honey Rag") the rest of it was definitely not far off from his, done immensely well by Ann Reinking (who directed/co-conceived/and co-choreographed Tony Award winning “Fosse”).
Brikley aside, the stage, the movements, the songs, the everything—“Chicago” remains one of my favorite musicals. Whether you want to play the "Can she or can't she?" game and see the touring cast starring Miss Christie, or visit an altogether different company, I recommend getting some "Razzle Dazzle" and a whole lotta jazz from "Chicago."
So before any Fossi had even filled the stage, most of us had only had one question: Can Brikley sing, or can't she?
The rest of the cast certainly can. Amra Faye-Wright's Velma Kelly has a voice that should never leave the stage (and hasn't...she's been Velma for ELEVEN years). Thin as a rail with an amazing badass attitude and a healthy dose of energy, she's worth the price of admission. Aside from Brinkley, the other remarkable performer is certainly John O'Hurley, who is perhaps most famous as J. Peterman on "Seinfeld," but has hosted "Family Feud" and was a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars." O'Hurley has quite the sound, and as the devilish lawyer Billy Flynn, certainly gives Richard Gere (who played the same part in the movie version) a run for his money. The biggest voice on stage though is definitely Mama, however; Carol Woods' crazy big instrument captivates with "When You're Good to Mama" and her and Velma's duet "Class." The "smallest" voice? Well, Mr. Cellophane of course. (He actually has quite an impressive voice, and though Amos Hart feels invisible, the crowd did not react that way to actor Ron Orbach's interpretation of the nebbish husband of Roxy. The Girls are all excellent too; "Cell Block Tango" was obviously well rehearsed and all were impeccable specimens of cell block powerhouse singing.
Oh...so you want to know about Christie now? Can she? Can't she?
The answer is...sorta. I'm confused about why she received critical acclaim for her debuts, maybe because people are just excited someone so beautiful can attempt that part? Without trying to get nasty, let's just say her breathy, never-hold-a-note for too long tactic worked for her, but I'm not sure if it did much to impress. It was delightful to see her up there, as she is obviously quite beautiful, but I don't know if we will see her go on to star in “Evita” any time soon.
The orchestra was fabulous, and I appreciated the seamless fusion between the dancers and the music...Fosse was done well. And though his original choreography can only be seen in one number (Velma and Roxy's "Hot Honey Rag") the rest of it was definitely not far off from his, done immensely well by Ann Reinking (who directed/co-conceived/and co-choreographed Tony Award winning “Fosse”).
Brikley aside, the stage, the movements, the songs, the everything—“Chicago” remains one of my favorite musicals. Whether you want to play the "Can she or can't she?" game and see the touring cast starring Miss Christie, or visit an altogether different company, I recommend getting some "Razzle Dazzle" and a whole lotta jazz from "Chicago."
For more on Broadway San Diego, please visit www.broadwaysd.com.
To view the article, please visit: http://www.sdtheatrereviews.com/arts.php?newsId=255
No comments:
Post a Comment