Chicago (Broadway US Tour) at Dallas Summer Musicals 2007
Written: Jun 08 '07 (Updated Jun 08 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent production, great dancing and singing, good performances by the top-billed stars
Cons: Mama Morton's role "sung" rather than really "performed".
The Bottom Line: Get out to see the Broadway productions of Chicago if you have the chance, whether during it's US or UK tour, or on Broadway itself...
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| bob_tomato's Full Review: Chicago |
Never one to pass up the chance to see a show for free, much less one put on by a Broadway touring company, I grabbed the two tickets offered by my boss yesterday and took my wife to see Chicago at Dallas Summer Musicals at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas.
The musical is based on a true story of murder, passion, greed and media mayhem - two socialites who murdered in jealous fits of rage, but thanks to a sympathetic spin by a local newpaper woman and the slick legal maneuverings of their lawyer, both women were acquitted of the crimes.
Business as usual in the Windy City during the Roaring Twenties...
The story for Chicago was written by the newspaper woman, which was then turned into a movie a couple years later. Ginger Rogers starred in another version of the story in the forties. The musical premiered on Broadway in the mid-sixties, a production headed by the legendary choreographer Bob Fosse.
The current US Tour production is not just an extension of the long running Broadway revival that began in 1996; the staging and choreography of this Chicago is intended to evoke other Fosse productions as well.
The Dallas shows for the US Tour feature the talents of Lisa Rinna as Roxie Hart, the star-struck waif who rises to superstardom during her murder trial and falls just as quickly. Terra McCleod plays Velma Kelly, the star vaudeville performer who killed her husband and sister when she found them in bed doing "number seventeen" from their sister act. Tom Wopat is smooth talking lawyer Billy Flynn - all he cares about is love... and $5000. Supporting cast includes Carol Woods as Matron Mama Morton, R. Bean as reporter Mary Sunshine, and Eric Leviton as Roxie's husband Amos.
The dance ensemble, as with any Bob Fosse production, is a main focus of the production, and these twelve dancers are fantastic. Gliding sinuously across the stage, a celebration of the sensuous costumes and skin they display as much as the moves they so effortlessly perform, the ensemble provides the show's highly charged atmosphere with graceful ease. As a chorus, they support the main characters very well.
The orchestra, seated right on stage in a tall bleacher section designed to look like a jury box, is simply twelve players and the conductor. Some horns and woodwinds, a single violin, drums and an upright piano play with finesse; the sound of the twenties is genuine and helps greatly in transporting the audience back to this era.
As for the main characters, I was pleased overall with their performances. Though performing in her first Broadway related show, Lisa Rinna made for a convincing Roxie, creating a ditzy, common girl with dreams of stardom. While her voice and her dancing were not up to the same level as co-star Terra McCleod, she held her own and managed to avoid looking as if she were working hard at performing. My only gripe was with her seemingly over-long pauses between asides to the audience during the song Roxie; I felt this could have moved along quicker.
McCleod is a veteran performer, and casting her as Velma against Rinna's Roxie was a good choice. She IS the superstar, and her superior skills as both a singer and dancer served her character well. She shined brightest in I Can't Do It Alone, a difficult solo showstopper requiring great acting and pantomime in addition to the song and dance - Miss McLeod performed this number perfectly.
Tom Wopat was a surprise as Billy Flynn - while somewhat underwhelming in his singing delivery at times, he inhabited the character quite well with his acting abilities.
Carol Woods as Mama Morton was simply all right - she has a big voice, but I thought she didn't really get as much out of her very suggestive lines as possible. It seemed at times as if she were simply singing the songs rather than really performing them in character.
R. Bean played Mary Sunshine as a blowhard coloratura soprano, and I was completely caught off guard by the twist the show has for this character - I won't ruin it for you, but trust me, it's terrific!
As Amos, Eric Leviton did NOT have any problem performing in character; of all the characters on stage, his sad-sack rejected husband was completely believable. Leviton's performance of Mr. Cellophane was spot on, and he drew loud applause from the audience at the curtain.
Overall, the US Tour production of Chicago is top-notch. The musical itself features many great songs, and the staging and choreography are superb. The production value at the Fair Park Music Hall is good - the sound was clear and not overloud, and the sight angles are pretty good from nearly anywhere in the theater. I recommend the show as a great night out in the theater - take any chance you can to go see Chicago!
TOUR INFORMATION
For information about any of the current Broadway productions of Chicago, go to chicagothemusical.com
PRICING
Prices range from $15 to $69 for the Dallas shows, depending on when you go. The production runs in Dallas from June 5 to 17, and moves on to Costa Mesa, CA from June 26 to July 1, then on to Saint Paul, MN from July 10 to 15.
Recommended:
Yes
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