| 'Chicago' brings murder, sex and greed to the stage Robert Urich stars in this fast-paced musical. By Lisa Plavan Theatre Reviewer The signs advertising the musical Chicago were intriguing. The pictures showed women dressed in tight black tops covered with sheer black material. They wore fishnets and little bottoms that resembled bathing suit briefs. The men were also dressed in black with long, sleek-looking tight pants and some wore no shirts or just vests. The caption read "Chicago-the drop-dead Broadway musical." This show was about murder, sex, greed what all Americans live for and cannot wait to see. I did not know anything about the musical. I didn't know what to expect, especially after seeing the advertisements. When I started my investigation, I learned that Robert Urich was playing one of the leading roles. Urich, a native of Toronto, Ohio, has starred in the television series S.W.A.T., Soap, Tabitha, Vega$, Spencer: For Hire and The Love Boat: The Next Wave. Urich also won his battle with synovial cell sarcoma, a form of cancer, and has been cancer-free for more than a year. He has won the Gilda Radner Courage Award and an award from the John Wayne Cancer Institute. Also, one of the most creative and innovative choreographers of our time, Bob Fosse, did the original choreography for the show. Fosse, a personal favorite, became the first director to win a Oscar, Tony and Emmy Award in one year for the film Cabaret, the musical Pippin and the television special Liza with a Z. He has won eight Tonys for his choreography. Electrifying: Walking into E.J. Thomas Hall last Wednesday evening, along with the other 2,200 viewers, I grew excited with anticipation. The curtain rose and revealed the orchestra set up on risers toward the back of the middle of the stage. Just like I saw in the advertisement, the dancers came out dressed in the black, little outfits. The first number done by Velma (Roxane Carrasco) and the company was "All That Jazz." The dancers were electrifying to watch. The energy flowed through their bodies and set the stage on fire. This spark was contagious because the audience was waiting to be entertained. The choreographer, Ann Reinking, kept the same Bob Fosse style that was in the original. The scene is Chicago, Illinois in the late 1920s. Velma (Roxanne Carrasco) is in jail, along with other women, for killing their husbands or lovers. Roxie Hart (Belle Calaway) is the new kid on the cellblock. Roxie killed her lover and she is trying to convince her husband, Amos (Ray Bokhour), to lie for her and support her. Billy Flynn (Robert Urich), the lawyer for the girls in jail, tries to save each and every one of them, and it will only cost them $5,000. Of course it helps to have friends, like the Matron "Mama" Morton (Carol Woods) who runs the women's facility. She can make calls for the girls-for a price, that is. The musical was full of satire, greed, corruption, murder, sex everything that it said it would be. But some things did not appear to be what they were. This became obvious when Flynn pulled off the wig of Mary Sunshine (J. Maldonado), who finds the good in everyone. Mary Sunshine had the most beautiful male operatic voice. Less talk, more dance: Chicago was fast-paced. There were not a lot of talking scenes. There were a lot of dancing and musical numbers, which I enjoyed. Each actor knew his or her part completely and performed with a realistic and natural delivery. There was only one time when an actor broke character. Velma was performing the "I Can't Do It Alone" number and as she landed her cartwheel from across the stage, her top dropped a little low. The cast members sitting on the sides of the stage called it to her attention. Chuckles from cast members as the audience cheered loudly for her song seemed appropriate. Each character was so impressive and convincing in his or her part that the musical was exhilarating to watch. I do have my favorite numbers, though. The "Cell Block Tango," where the girls explain why they are in jail, was hilarious. Velma and the girls explain how they murdered their husbands and why they are "not guilty." My other favorite song was "We Both Reached for The Gun," which had Flynn and Roxie explaining the murder details to the press. Flynn has Roxie sit on his leg like she is a puppet so he control all the information that the press will get from her. Every number was well-staged and the audience seemed ready to have a good time. The audience was upbeat and laughed at each joke, which the show was filled with. |