Another visit to the Theatre RoyalNorwich on Tuesday night (31st October) to see the touring
production of Chicago The Musical, hereafter referred to as simply Chicago (I
always pronounce it as Chic-A-Go after Peter Kay). I was originally meant to be
going with my fabulous Bezzie, Kaz, however after a horrible incident with her
car (hope it gets sorted soon Beez) and me having assessments the following day
on the new job I took along my boyfriend Ben for our first live musical
experience together. We both had a lovely time and really enjoyed this
production of Chicago. Similar to my last review, The Sound of Music, the
filmed version of the musical is so well known and starring the likes of Renėe Zellweger, Richard Gere,
Catherine Zeta Jones and John C Reilly, so many people think they will see a
carbon copy of what a film shows the audience. No, no, no, that is not the case
with a stage (or film) adaptation, there are changes and differences, some
slight, some huge. I really enjoyed the stage version of Chicago, the first
time I have seen it on stage (I have seen the movie a few times of course). It is
really worth seeing at the Theatre Royal, tickets are available for Thursday
evening performance (7:30pm) but all others are sold out so keep an eye out for
re-sales or phone the box office (01603 63 00 00).
Chicago is a vaudeville musical
using aspects of song and dance, mime, acrobats, circus, puppetry and
ventriloquism as well as other forms of theatrical entertainment to tell it’s
story. This story being about murder, adultery, fame, cheats, lies,
relationships and corruption – how cheerful I hear you cry. This musical has
lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander (another well-known Kander and Ebb
musical of course being Cabaret). The original book was also by Fred Ebb and
Bob Fosse (Fosse also directing and choreographing the original Broadway production
in 1975). Chicago has some fantastic numbers that are recreated in the 2002 film;
however what the film didn’t show us was some of the other classic songs. One
song you will know and love is ‘All That Jazz’ sung by Velma Kelly at the very
start of the performance. Kander and Ebb are also to thank for the other
Chicago hits including, ‘Cell Block Tango’, ‘When You’re Good to Mama’, ‘All I
Care About’, ‘A Little Bit of Good’ (not in the film), ‘We Both Reached for the
Gun’, ‘Mister Cellophane’, ‘Razzle Dazzle’ and the amazing finale which is pure
fabulousness. I have to say the Chicago soundtrack is great to listen to and of
course with the vaudeville theme running through the whole musical there are
some beautiful variations in performance and style so you will definitely not
get bored.
As many readers of this blog will
know I love it when the orchestra are on stage throughout the performance. I
love it as they get their own spot in the lime light which is so well deserved.
Often hidden below the stage or off into the wings the audience can quickly
forget there is a band creating all this wonderful music. Well when the curtain
went up and the full band that were presented to me I gasped. I think Ben
thought I was gasping at the male dancer who happened to be topless, but no, it
was the band on stage that did it for me, honest! The ten-piece orchestra was
directed by Leon Charles and he himself was a full member of the cast by the
end, shouting to the audience, dancing in his box, leaning over his box with
some interesting dance choices. Yeah he deserved his round of applause and even
more. Ben commented saying how much he enjoyed the orchestrations and for him
one of the best bits of the production was the band, it was great. I thought
the stage direction and movement was wonderful to watch however one thing I
didn’t really understand was the ensemble sat on the side of the stage when not
performing. I have seen this executed well in other musicals (such as Once),
however it did not appear to add anything to the story or music and therefore I
felt this was not necessary in this production.
I have to admit that the staging is
very minimal and I am not sure if this is coming from the original stage
production, but this is a problem when musicals are made into films as a
stripped back musical can be completely changed. I have to admit I didn’t mind
the minimalistic stage design (John Lee Beatty) but it was a shame that there
wasn’t more costume changes (William Ivey Long) with more than just Black as
the predominant colour choice. I have to say the costumes were all very sensual
and sexual which is great for Chicago, I guess I like a bit of glitz and
colour, especially for a finale of any musical act. Ken Billington’s lighting
was something I did very much enjoy, apart from when the first court room scene
appears on stage as I was nearly blinded, but generally fabulous mood and scene
setting by Billington.
The star of the show for me has to
be Hayley Tamaddon who plays Roxie Hart (I sometimes think I could have been
Roxie Hart, as if I had been born a girl this was what my Mother was going to
call me). Tamaddon was a brilliant Roxie Hart. She is perhaps best known for
her soap roles in Emmerdale and more recently Coronation Street and I think
when you know a soap star you don’t ever think about their singing voice (this
is a theme of this post). Well Tamaddon has an amazing voice, best on the stage
that night I think. She had power and sass which is what you need when singing
as poor little viper, Roxie. Tamaddon also had the comedic ability to play the role;
she was funny and had the audience laughing out loud with her shenanigans on
stage. What I also loved about Tamaddon was how much fun she was having on
stage, she clearly loved being up there and playing the role of Roxie which to
me means everything. Jessie Wallace, also best known for her portrayal as Kat
Slater in EastEnders, again someone you don’t automatically think of as having
a great voice. Wallace plays Matron ‘Mama’ Morton, the keeper of the keys down
at the prison. Wallace has a great voice and it was so strange hearing her with
an American accent and not that London spark (“Oh yes I am your mother” –
brilliant). Slater reminded me of Karen in the hit US comedy Will and Grace,
not sure why but she did. The only problem with playing Mama Morton is you are
not on stage that much which was a huge shame. A D Richardson plays Mary
Sunshine, one of my favourite characters who is certainly undervalued in the
film as the character loses her song and is featured less. Richardson is a very
convincing (SPOILER ALERT) woman in the musical and if that was his actual
signing voice, standing ovation to you, loved it! It was so good at one point
it felt like he could have been miming, he is a fun and funny Mary Sunshine,
and we all know a female impersonator on stage gets my vote every time.
Neil Ditt portrayed Amos, the poor
husband of Roxie who is almost invisible to the rest of society. I feel so
sorry for Amos and the audience agreed with me as he was receiving so much
sympathy every time he walked off stage. A great version of Mister Cellophane
was sang by Ditt. Sophie Carmen-Jones plays Velma Kelly, a sadistic entertainer
who will kill if she needs to, although she also suffers amnesia it seems. I
have to say I was not blown away with Carmen-Jones performance and I thought
her singing voice was poor compared to her fellow thespians. I loved her solo
dance numbers and when dancing with the rest of the company but it was the
singing that just didn’t get me going unfortunately. John Partridge (better
known for playing Christian in EastEnders – see what I mean I felt like I was
at the National Soap Opera Awards) plays Billy Flynn. Now maybe this is because
Richard Gere played Flynn in the film but I felt like Partridge camped up the
role. Don’t get me wrong, I love a camp character on stage and I look forward
to seeing Partridge in La Cage Aux Folles early in 2017 at Norwich where I am
sure he will camp it up. However for me, Billy Flynn is a flirtatious man who
will use his charm and demur to get whatever he wants and needs; and I just
wasn’t getting that from Partridge. I know he can do it as I have seen the
filmed version of Cats countless times where he plays the Rum Tum Tugger, the
sexiest cat of them all, so I was slightly disappointed.
Chicago is at Norwich Theatre Royal
until Saturday 5th November 2016, as I said only Thursday evening
has tickets available. It is well worth a see but remember if you have only
ever seen the film go with a fresh and open mind and don’t expect to see the
film copied onto stage. It is a fun night and I have certainly been singing
some of the songs today. After Norwich Chicago is due to visit Leeds,
Sunderland, and Birmingham and please check the website for casting changes as
I feeling there may be some. Hopefully you will get to see it somewhere is not
hopefully a new tour will arrive soon. Chicago still plays in Broadway and a US
tour is currently underway so that is always an excuse to visit the states. Please
get in touch on Twitter, AaronBurgess89, would love to hear some comments from
you all.
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