Chicago
August 6th, 2017
The final show of my brief trip to NYC was
the classical musical staple: ‘Chicago’. After finally seeing the movie for the
first time last spring, and thereafter performing in a short excerpt of the
musical, I was anxious to see the staged version.
Seat/Venue Review: Chicago is presented at
the Ambassador’s Theatre, and I was sat in the centre of row A (third from the
front), Orchestra, and they cost $89. It was an excellent seat, and extremely
well priced (Chicago offers cheaper seats for matiees). Close enough to
appreciate the little details, but not so close as to miss the bigger picture.
Overall, Chicago was an interesting, albeit
bizarre, production. Though I wouldn’t count it amongst my favourite shows, I
nevertheless enjoyed the experience.
Chicago featured Charlotte D’Amboise in the
role of Roxie Hart, with Lana Gordon as Velma Kelly. D’Amboise gave an
energetic and humorous performance. A clever actress with excellent comedic
timing, D’Amboise spiced up lengthy monologues with improvisation, and
regularly pulled particular audience members into her performance (including
one very embarrassed fourteen year old boy). D’Amboise’s voice was solid,
although unremarkable, but it was really her acting and interesting character
development of Roxie that made her stand out onstage.
Gordon as Velma Kelly was D’Amboise’s polar
opposite, which, in some ways, worked, as they acted as each other’s foils.
However, when Gordon was performing either as a soloist or part of the
ensemble, she stuck out for all the wrong reasons. Her voice has a whiny, nasal
tone to it, making the iconic “All That Jazz” a painful experience. She also
appears to lack a dance background, which really stuck out in “Cell Block
Tango”, where it felt as though the very skilled ensemble was being held back
by Gordon’s lack of ability. A strong, well-rounded Velma is essential to the
show’s success, and here Gordon fell seriously short.
Chicago was full of a number of strong
performers; the majority of the ensemble were excellent dancers, and were able
to deftly move between characters (and occasionally act as narrators). It was
an unusual directorial choice to keep all of the actors onstage during the
show, but the ensemble managed this well, never looking bored or distracting
from the main action. Standout performances came from ‘Mama’, who is a
vocal powerhouse with superb comedic timing. I also enjoyed ensemble members
Jessica Ernest, Robyn Hurder, and Jennifer Dunne. Dunne (a swing, playing
Hudyak at this performance) blended into the background for a while, but in her
two minute death scene, proved herself an incredible actress by delivering and
emotional and heartbreaking hanging. I truly felt for the character in those
moments, not an easy feat considering the character doesn’t speak English.
Dunne expertly communicated all of her character’s feelings (heartbreak,
desperation, sadness) in body language and facial expression. Ernest and Hurder
were entertaining and engaging performers, full of personality and excellent
dancers. You couldn’t take your eyes off of them in ensemble dances, and in
their short individual scenes, both proved strong actors as well. A number of
the male ensemble members, though skilled dancers, looked almost bored onstage.
Whether this was a directorial choice, I can’t say, but it seems likely. I
think it was a shame to not allow some personality and acting in the male
ensemble, if that was the case .
I really liked how the set was done; it was
cabaret-style, with the musicians onstage and regularly interacting with the
actors. The conductor was regularly part of the plot, occasionally narrating or
providing extra information during scenes. I was concerned that the black on
black on black of the costumes, curtains, and set would blend together too much,
but lighting was done such that it wasn’t too much of a problem. For the most
part, the costumes were adorned with glitter and rhinestones while the set was
matte, and the back of the ‘bandstand’ had a gold glittery strip around it,
helping to add some dimension and depth to the set.
Altogether, Chicago was a skillful and
innovative piece of theatre. Though it featured a number of exceptional
performers, there were also some glaring weaknesses, particularly from one of
the leading ladies.
★★★
